Hello to all. Let me first introduce myself. I’m Akshay Tendulkar, a BE graduate from PCCE in E&TC field of engineering. Well most of the people who know me will tell you all that I’m an automotive fanatic & an avid biker.From the automotive world the 2 wheeled wonders are the one those turn my fanaticism on big time!!! Yeah u all heard it right, I am a bike lover. So I’m here to write a short ownership review of the legendary& probably India’s first performance range motorcycle the Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i (UG3). I have brought this bike on 14 September 2008, which was my Dad’s birthday. I haven’t ridden much on this bike & in the span of 3years it has managed to clock only 25000+ odd kms of high revved riding.
I had purchased this bike in the time span when there were no 200’s & the 220’s. But still even up to date I’m proud of this bike as its engine characteristics are still the same as I had noticed it from the day1. I started riding this baby inspite of my highly revved-up riding manners.
What pleases me about this 180cc, 16.7bhp churning motor is its low & mid end torque characteristics which make it zippy n potent in the initial 3 gears of its acceleration, sadly for such a high revver like me the bike isn’t rev happy but boy!!!!
Its frugal enough to blow my mind out. This highly potent mill from Bajaj has helped me achieve top-speed of 122kph which is 3kph lesser than stated in bikes manual, considering my hefty build. I have to say to Bajaj that “mera paisa pura-vasool”.
I won’t say this bike is comfortable of all, but it does the job quite well. The bike is very well balanced in terms of seating & riding position, for everyday use as well as if you are of the type that want to take it for a trackday. It will perform there as you need it to.
In the handling department I can assumingly tell that due to lower ride height & lower stance appeal it definitely handles very accurately on those tighter curves that you dream to lean on or scrape your knees than the new generation of pulsar’s ( As I have ridden all kind of pulsar’s on curves P180 UG3 handles best on curves than the UG4’s).
Now speaking about the efficiency. To let you all know I ride my bike in a higher rev ranges from 6k+ to rev-max line most of the times. In this hard riding my bike returns me respectable 38kmpl, in average riding (hard & normal) it returns around 42kmpl. The highest mileage figures on my bike are astonishing 56kmpl in a very cheesy riding (completely in economy range).
Unlike as I have heard from others there has been no significant drop in mileage of the bike, but it has dropped by 4-5kmpl over years. I have changed my spark plugs to dual electrode type from Bosch which has helped me gain back the original figures I stated above back.
I service my bike at regular intervals to keep in good health, up & running. I use fully synthetic Motul 300V oil, as it has higher change interval, works well in keeping engine cooler when riding in high revs.
I haven’t done any intense mods to my bike except a K&N RC 1060 universal air filter & the Bosch dual electrode plugs. These two changes have helped me gain a slight increase in smoothness, a bit in efficiency (no rejecting being done after filter fixation) & a bit in acceleration. All and all I have got the completeness which my riding soul desires for it to ride satisfactorily on the ride that I own.
As far as safety goes I have got for myself pure white 6000K HID on my bike for better night visibility (note: the beam isn’t powerful enough to cause glare oncoming traffic at night & cause a distress to others), I have a ECE/Snell/DOT certified SHOEI helmet & the riding gears from DSG, Pune (Riding gear includes: DSG Nero riding jacket, DSG MotoMesh basic gloves).
So that’s it from my side about my ride. Hope it has helped you all in someway & you all liked reading it.
Always make sure: All the gear, all the time!!! Thank you G.O.W for accepting my review for the site. Take Care. Ride Safe.
Ownership review of the Pulsar 180 by Akshay Tendulkar
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