200 No longer.

As most of you will already be knowing that, Pulsar 200 will no longer be in production. All those versions with 220's fairing, big forks have proved to be just concepts. I must admit that this particular news has dampened my spirit. I will never understand why most beautiful bike in Bajaj's stable was ultimately turned into an organ donor. However as the things stand out today, the 180 is the new 200, so buyer's won't be missing much atleast in looks department. What baffled me was the inclusion of those tank scoops on 150, besides of course the all black treatment. But as you all know, Bajaj engineers,designers,managers and what not are obviously better than me at judging people's requirements. Then again, "personally" me isn't a bit happy about this.
The termination news also brings a question on whether I should continue with the blog. This might as well turn out to be last post on the blog.
Until I change my mind.

Long time no see?

When you open this blog you don't see my bike's picture featuring anywhere on first page. However all other pages have it. I am wondering how did this happen? And to wipe out this poor treatment to my own bike, here are some random pics of her along with some facts and figures.

1. First of all, the bike completed 10k. It is currently running at 12k something.

2. Most of this 12k has been city riding, almost 70%.

3. So that means I am not a tourer.

4. Of late, the bike runs 100kms on 100INR petrol. I put normal petrol which runs at 45.56INR. Go figure the efficiency.

5. Loyal readers may remember that my bike particularly has been ridden with electrical issues. This trend seems to be breaking as the bike is running flawlessly for past 5k kms. Or is it that I have become more liberal towerds her? need to find out because the weird fuel guage, pain in the ass self-cancelling-indicators which are rendered to normal push-cancel indicators now a days, don't seem to bother me.

6. According to ProBiking people chain and the sprockets are due for change. I can see some links in that O-Ring chain are not properly aligned, So they might be right after all.

7. Inquired with some experts. They said 15k is the limit for such chains. And I am 3k short of that mark. I remember the day I bought the bike was not so particularly bad at all. But it happens. The chain set including 2 sprockets costs 1150INR. plus 200INR service tax.

8. Oh and yeah, it also met with its first puncture. At the rear wheel. Repairing was surprisingly easy and quick(and expensive). The puncture repair kit retails for 350INR. Need to get one.

9. I wanted those rim stripes badly. Checked with shops which make number plates. But the red redium stripe which glows in dark when light falls on it looks cheapo in my opinion. And then happened to go to Yamaha showroom and I saw that they have these ready cut vinyl stripes for 17' rim size for sale. Bought one set in golden for 350INR. It doesn't glow in dark. Thanks yamaha,but what an irony!

10. Osram Night Breaker (55/60w) H4 lamp combined with stator plate from avenger 180 looks like a good option to resolve the weak head lamp issue of pulsar 200.

I have not done this, but seems a good and not very expensive option. You can find out more details about this here on RoadRollers. Thanks all at RoadRollers :)

In the mean while, we have another alteration on Pulsar 200 coming from sunny who owns this fabulous bike. Stripping the already naked street fighter? He just doesn't know where to stop ehh?
But I hope you all like it as I did.Poor baby loses the already skimpy bikini fairing here and I am not unhappy with the results. After all I am yet to come across a guy who hates skin show.


Thank sunny for wonderful pics of a wonderful bike.

Ride safe.

2009 edition pulsars

Well well well, 2008 passed without much movement by Bajaj. To make matter worse their current model sales also deepened. Considering the gloomy scenario all over it was expected. But still enthusiasts were craving for a new version of one model which they have always cherished. Pulsar. Auto show came and went. What we got was a pulsar 220 with carbon fiber effect silencer, that too as a concept and that was all. That was all, you ask me? Ummm not anymore if recent news are to be believed. Bajaj has already started rolling stones for 2009 and XCD 135 is the first of them all.
But as I said, for enthusiasts it's not 'the' news. News of the hour actually is that, that they have really gone ahead listened to all us people and have devloped newer versions of much loved pulsar 180 and of course Pulsar 200.
So what is new really? For the starters, and I am not too happy with this- that 180 is said to have those tank extensions straight off 200, robbing much of latter's identity. Thankfully (and probably) they have spared the aluminum exhaust.
Second update which is also not confirmed and is kind of OK-OK concerns pulsar 200. As per one of the versions being shown to public (In Pune), pulsar 200 will have 220's front fairing. And that doesn't make me too happy either. It will also have fatter front forks of 220 plus clip-ons.
However there is another version being displayed, which retains current bikini fairing which is obviously sexy, for it being bikini :). And gets those fat forks,clip-ons and rear disc off 220.
This second version has rather intrigued me and I am really hoping that Bajaj goes ahead and makes it without second thoughts. Of course those who want 220 look alike should be given option. Apart from this, I think Bajaj should provide a better head lamp preferably a HID on 200 also even on normal bikini fairing version. Current head light setup sucks and is the most hated item on current 200.
Apart from cosmetic changes, the engine is also said to have gone under revamp and is now believed to pump out 19BHP which is 1+ on current engine. Unfortunately or fortunately 200 seems to retain carburetor and no FI at least for 2009 edition.
Those who are in Pune can go and check these models. Others, please be patient. It won't be too long before Bajaj goes ahead. It has been dead for too long now and India's one of much beloved brand does not deserve that.
(Above article talks about bikes which are still in concept phase and word should not be taken as final atleast for now. There may be changes in final products if they ever come to production.Pictures and videos are not published intentionally.)

UPDATE : Looks like Bajaj fired first salvo at the rising pressure, (read yamaha R and FZ) in the form of UG4 pulsar 180, and in my opinion isn't something really worth the long wait.What it achieves is what people have been doing since long-Convert their 180s to 200. So Ok, people will get knock off of P200 at almost 6k less than original P200 which I think can be put to good use of buying that aluminum exhaust which the new 180 lacks.
In short, all the pulsars except 220 will now look like P200. Not a good news for P200 customers for sure, including me. There is more bad news. The P200 itself is slated to look like P220. Wait, what? Yes exactly, where goes the original bad ass P200? Fingers crossed, but from what I am listening and seeing, no great hopes.And I am sad. This time I am not even go and bother finding 2009 pulsar pics. They are all over the place. Thanks.

UPDATED UPDATE : Got some pics of 2009 edition pulsar, not a exciting piece of news but I had to oblige. as they say, its literally a mix bag of feelings and parts.

New pulsar 180.Déjà vu.


forks from 220.

clips from 220.

new pulsar 150.damn.

In addition to these lame upgrades, they have also added 3D logos.I am excited!!

Rides around hyderabad - Bidar.

Finally I have something to say. It had been more than 6 months since I went to a long ride. Ok for a 240 kms round trip, no self respecting bike rider would say as long but then,something is better than nothing at all. As it goes, the trip was initiated by some enthusiasts who have been to bidar previously. Bidar was probably chosen because of its closeness and good stretch of road which connects it to hyderabad.We started from lingampally,Hyderabad at around 7.30 even though we were scheduled to leave at around 6.15AM. We had people joining from various places and some of them first timers, so it was all expected. For the records,There were 10 bikes and 20 people and we reached Bidar at around 9AM without any hiccup mid way.

I will, however tell the reason why we went to Bidar in first place and that is the fort over there.It also has India's second largest canon. After the fort, we visited a gurudwara near followed by Papnash temple. The Gurudwara provides excellent lunch and suplimented by peace and calmness, all this for free. If you want to voulnteer, you can do that also.
The Papnash temple must have a special mention. This peculiar temple is located under a huge rock. And to reach, you have to traverse through almost neck deep(and muddy) water for 200 metres. It is actually like a cave full of water, and on ceiling you can see hundreds bats hanging, to add to the effect.
Following are some pics from that ride, I don't like writing travel logs much and believe photos are mightier than words.

Jemshed on his now defunct avenger 180 with Sadiq the photographer.

That's me with Jemshed and others at some break-fast point.



And no its not Afghanistan. Welcome to Bidar.


Clock-tower at Bidar.


A famous Madarsa in Bidar.


Bidar Fort. The reason for the ride.


India's second largest canon. And I don't know where the First one is.



We all at papnash temple near Bidar.


Information if you are in hyderabad and want a days break by leaving towards Bidar:
distance from Hyderabad to Bidar is about 115kms. Roads are generally good. You have to take Pune highway, from there its easy as hell, just don't miss the all important right turn near zaheerabad.

A new take on pulsar 200.

Sometimes when I look at my bike and wonder about improving it, I just can't think of anything. Because the design is so complete,simple and uncluttered.
But then this guy sunny ,who apparently thinks not like me,is always full up to the brim with ideas (mostly crazy) comes along with a superb thought.Looks like He had a front mudguard (ohh), rear panels (ahha?) and a tank (what?) lying around(!!!!). Question arises how did these things can lie around? Obviously not, thought sunny and proceeded with something ,result of which is pretty beautiful. Images of that are below.

Look carefully.Its not simple black and silver job.






Now you got it.The black paint is done in matt finish.


Overall the craftmanship is superb I should say even though I have not seen it in person yet. Personally speaking, I give him a Hi-5 and would any day take this type of modest mods instead of those wannabe R1 mods with full fairing and filthy ill fitting panels.
This job here is very simple and does not lose on originality.According to him, some more things are on the way, and I can't wait for that to happen. So better hurry up and show whats there in the store!

All pictures courtesy, tushar aka sunny. Thanks man.

P.S. some more pics with minor cosmetic change.



My favorite shot of the lot. Clicked at a tunnel of new katraj bypass,pune.


I don't know how to thank you man, its just awesome.

Hyderabad (not exactly) blues.

Looking back at all the period I spent in Hyderabad, one thing I can tell you from it for sure is that, that Hyderabad is one city which makes you fall in love with it.Yeah yeah I know this is pretty mehh statement to start the post which sounds so obvious.
But I am not a man of many words and neither I am good at expressing a deep feeling, so I would suggest you to better believe this :).
Sure it gets very hot and unnaturally rainy, but then again, you are in middle of India where this kind of atmosphere is not unexpected.
It started with few good friends that I found after coming here and slowly we started enjoying this place. To say that I had fun from very starting will be like betraying my true feelings. Yes,I did get bore to the core initially, missed Pune like anything , called my parents and friends in pune almost daily out of boredom. Add to that the (in)famous bench of IT companies and you have a perfect self kill weapon. But then you can't get bored beyond a limit and start enjoying whatever is there around you. Now, what do you do in that case? Yes, you explore.Especially when you have this much time.I did same and Hyderabad did not disappoint, not at all.
This city has everything that a good city should have ideally and then something more.
It's combination of modernness and old world charm is amazing.It is almost as if, the old city has been forgotten by time and then suddenly some architect woke up and realized that the city needs to grow, with time , so he built new-age constructions all around the old city.Fantastic.
Only city I can recall which has similar characteristic is Pune.(Considering that I have lived in only 3 cities in all of last 23 years, this is pretty gross overstatement,but still... you get the drift!)

Charminar, In my opinion could be the most used, abused, visited, hyped, term and landmark in not only Hyderabad's but India's history.Here are some snaps for your pleasure.

and another one ,


When I first visited Charminar, I was pretty surprised by its location. The image I had in mind was totally different. I was hoping it to be a typical tourist spot, but as you can see it's not.
It is totally surrounded by shops, hotels, by lanes, roads etc, making it uniquely unique :).
It is so very important and so non-assuming at the same that it makes you wonder.Superb stuff.
I take a bow.The famous by lanes house the even more famous pearl jewellery shops.The typical Hyderabadi Hindi is at its epitome here.If you ever want to learn it, this is the authentic place.
These two pics certainly doesn't cut it. I will try to put better and bigger pics sometime.

Here is another of Hyderabad's numerous famous spots : Golkonda fort.



A staircase in the fort :


Hyderabad from Golkonda's point of view :)
(credit for this supreme snap goes to Bitterscotch)


Magnificent Buddha statue installed in Hussain sagar :


In and around Lumbini park :

Note , people in above snap are not at all related to me.


But in this snap yes these are us.

And finally me, at Golkonda fort's alley that leads to main staircase towards top.

I can almost here some of you saying "And ramoji film city?? ".It is there, still for sure.And I have been there,husshhhh. But sadly I was not carrying camera or camera phone at that time.
However to be frank, I will say Hyderabad has far more spots that are far more interesting than Ramoji film city(with total due respect, Ramoji film city is a wonder in itself and a must watch for all especially if you are a film buff).
My point is that, If you are coming to Hyderabad only for film city you are missing a great deal.
This almost brings up the rear end of the post, but where is my bike? yes, it is in very good shape, in fact better than ever. The thing is, all these snaps were taken before I got the bike transported here.I guarantee, next post will see some of my bike.
Keep riding.

A long hiatus,and back.

I agree.3 posts in 9 months is not called as regular blogging.I agree I have been very lazy to update this thing. Have I lost the drive?the interest?the purpose? Not really.But hey things happen, things change, don't they? Starting afresh, I see today is a very bright and sunny day.So there you all rise and shine.If someone of you still have my blog bookmarked down there,please click on it,I am alive if not exactly kicking asses :).
To begin with, my bike is here in Hyderabad finally.Brought her here in June via VRL transports in a truck as there is no direct train service from my town to Hyderabad.Courier was also ruled out due to astronomical charges.Only options left were 1.Transport and 2.Load it in Volvo bus' storage compartment as suggested by some.
I tried option number 2 first.It was only after lots of efforts and a ugly scratch on tank, that I realized this was wrong option indeed.
P200 simply refused to go in to loading bay of Volvo semi sleeper.Extra height of the bike being the culprit.My heart sank when I saw the way they were cramming my bike in.But the coolies were confident - "Pulsar jaati hai saab" they said.
But this Pulsar did not.Next they deflated the tires. Still it refused to go beyond tank portion.And then it happened - the tank's upper part scraped against the sill of that compartment, removing about an inch of Teflon coat and some color, I closed my eyes.
I remember my dad told them to pull out the bike and went to cancel the bike's ticket.(Yes, you will need to buy a ticket for one seat if you,ever, plan to transport your bike this dreadful way.)
So, finally before the bike got crumpled,totaled it was out on the road.Dad took it to a cyclewallah and filled in air and rode it back home.He said I will now send it through some transport service. This happened in April.After that something or other kept him busy and it was not until the mid June that bike reached here safely.
In the meantime, previous post gathered a lot of attention and many people mailed me with their questions and doubts.
The first and foremost being "dude where are the pics?I can see some empty boxes only or is it just me? ".
No its not just you.
And answer to this question is "I have no clue". I remember posting some pics over there for sure.But they are not showing now.
Second most asked question(which is actually the most asked question.ever.)"Are you serious about the mileage thing? Mine never returns above 34kmpl".
well I am in a fix.Its not that I lied. In answer to this highly spirited question I would say "ummm yeah..i mean no.why yes".Or did you buy your bike on particularly bad day?Not actually.
This particular post can be found here.
I would like to let you know some insider knowledge after all this time. Yes, the bike did return 48kmpl.But it was 4-lane newly laid highway.Wind totally standstill.(standstill?).Not much traffic.Me at perfect peace with whale lot of time.Tires inflated more than enough.And cycle parts nicely oiled.
So I did what generally doesn't happen.I rode at constant 65kmph almost all of the time.
I don't think any one of you does this regularly.In fact I doubt some of you have never known to ride it sanely.
So,I would let you know on more thing. 34-38 Kmpl is perfectly alright a mileage for this machine in normal riding situation.If you are getting anything above it, you are truly a good rider.
Now something about my own bike.The bike seems to be suffering from electrical phobia of some kind.First it was the starter relay,then the regulator and now the ignition coil that failed for no reason at all. Finding this ignition coil turned out to be a tough job. I could not get it in any service stations authorized by Bajaj. Thankfully at the same time I had to go to Pune. To my surprise both the Pro-Biking service stations did not have it.On the last day of my stay in Pune, I managed to procure a older,used one coil somehow from a friend.
This seriously makes me wonder.Is this part (called HT coil in their speak) so rare,that I couldn't get it in land of Bajaj itself?

Guess I have exhausted the words now, writing is surely not an easy job. Will keep all of you informed on whatever happened and happens in this great city.I am loving it already.
Keep writing,keep riding!