I am in Mysore, toiling! (part 3)

Life sure has taken me to places ,albeit without my bike! and when I saw superb highways here, I miss my bike even more.
If things appear to be taking more time here, next on my agenda would be to ride to mysore from pune.Although
that seems to be long shot.In near future I am looking forward to meet my friend sandeep from banglore, who is a great bike enthusiast and also owns a P200.He will be riding from banglore to here.
lets see how it goes.

I am in Mysore, toiling! (part 2)

The thing is that I am on roaming and friends and family of mine have been calling up like never before.Add to that unlimited gprs, all raking up huge bills.But as they say old habbits die hard and I can't resist net surfing and just now I discovered that blogspot works nicely from mobile, shrewd minded of you must have guessed that I am blogging from mobile,hence every post can have only 450 words and thats why I am breaking up the posts.

I am in Mysore, toiling! (part 1)

I guess there are some loyal readers if not many to this little blog of mine.So hello there everybody! and sorry for no activity on blog for some time, but you see, yours truly is holed down here in Mysore,karnataka at lovely Infosys campus as me happens to be employed by them.And yes the bike is currently enjoying holiday at home,free from my thrashing!
but no worries bebe wll be back soon and me promises a huge review on p200 very soon.
bbye!

Meddling with carburettor

Last few days of mine were lost into digging information about Fuel Injection and Carburettor and thankfully with help of some of my friends and netsphere I was able to get a good dose of knowledge.
P200 being a carburetted one I concentrated on carb mostly.As you might be knowing, carb plays a vital role in welfare of your bike's health.A detuned carb can greatly reduce the performance and efficiency.While a neatly adjusted carb can do wonders.
The fact also helps that carbs are much easy to tune/alter than FI.It doesn't need all that electronic gadgetry which FI needs. Once you get to know the basic hardware of carb its easy to do a makeshift operation on it in case anything goes wrong.
In my case the fuel efficiency had gone awry and engine was jerky in 1st and 2nd gear.When I enquired with some, it turned out that carb was set for too rich mixture(which meant it was forcing more than necessary fuel into engine).
Locating the volume control screw is easy.In fact its the only screw on LHS of carb other than the one for setting idle.Besides its bronze color so no mistaking!









As from the pic, I don't need to say the obvious, But will say it nevertheless!
Turning right the carb will channel less fuel and more air making it lean while turning it left will channel more fuel and less air(as in my case).
So adjust it accordingly.
However don't go overboard on either side. Maintaining it on a perfect position is best and will give you right amount of performance coupled with efficiency.
(Remember one thing turning it completely towards right or left doesn't mean peak efficiency or performance respectively) For engine's health you must maintain the balance.
There is one cliche though. Before you embark onto this learn to read your spark-plugs.Don't panic!!Its easy and a must know for enthusiast biker.
Remove both the sparks and check their electrodes for color.
If its more on the brownish side your bike is running on leaner mix if its way too much black your bike is running on rich mix. So ideally it should be dark-brown(almost black but not black!).
When you adjust the volume control ride the bike for a few kilometres and then check for color of the spark plugs tune it accordingly until your bike is running on balanced mix.
One more precaution to take- Don't turn the volume control like you do with normal screws.Do it slowly and only by half or a quarter turn at a time.Its much sensitive.

Update On Fuel Efficiency After some tune-up

Time for quick update, I am in hurry(some of you might be wondering)!As usual I went to Pune last week.Yes it is one place I am always ready to go, superb highway from my town to Pune is one of the reasons.Other reasons follow -
Once there I wound up some unfinished businesses of last 3 tumultuous years of MCA.:)
Then I went to new Probiking authorised service station in Pune.(readers if any from pune - Its on sinhgad road behind IBP petrol pump.name-B.K.Automobiles).I had a prearranged appointment with Mr.Vivek Pendharkar of BK auto.
I had already called him and told him about my bike's falling fuel efficiency and front disc brake that was way too much effective.
So upon reaching there , they quickly went onto business and opened the front disc caliper.Due to rains and my recent trip to konkan had deposited a lot of dirt in it and there was not much lubrication also.
So the calipers were polished with sand-paper and front wheel's axle was greased.
Secondly, carburettor was cleaned and checked for fuel mix.It turned out that the mixture was too rich.Thus channeling much more fuel into engine than necessary.This was the primary reason behind fallen efficiency.
Although I don't know how did it happen.
Anyway it was corrected and also Idle RPM was set.

All said and done, time for real road testing.Here's the cracker - Right after the tuning, bike returned 42kmpl in Pune's horrible traffic.Then I embarked on return journey to home.Believe it or not , on highway at a steady 65kmph she returned astonishing 48Kmpl.

When ridden hard like some occasional bursts to 100kmph or above and steady at 80kmph , it was down to 40kmpl, but still me think it is very very commendable.
Whoever said that performance comes at efficiency's cost, I am sorry, eat your words.

Welcome bebe!

Its raining bikes!In the market also and in my close vicinity also!! In recent past many of people that I know very well ,have bought some kind of wheels(me included).
But what is even more startling , from this buying spree by my friends and all , 4 vehicles have been...yes you guessed it the Pulsar 200.
It all started with when tushar aka sunny bought first P200 amongst us.Followed by me , one more friend and now this.
A black 200 and that completes the circle.Now every colored bike is there (at my disposal? hehe ).
So here I welcome another of 200's example in black color bought by chetan.
And as always I can't stop uploading pics - here we go then!

Here's chetan with his newest possession.
I wish him happy and safe and hopefully trouble-free riding! :)

We Won! and how!

Yeah its slightly off the topic.But who says bikers cannot be cricket fanatics? I am no exception , and letting this wonderful happening slip away will be a sin.
Yeah yeah I know you all were glued to stupid box and are still watching re-runs,but still its not stopping me from publishing this post after all we are in damn democracy(largest at that) and more over this is a personal blog.So here I present you , once more , an opportunity to rejoice!.
Here are some pictures, forver engraved into my heart already.

what a celebration! I wish I was there (as an spectator of course!what you thought?)
Glory glorified.
Robin uthappa looks like a wax-statue while Gambhir seems to have lost something.(is it man-of-the-match trophy that he never won? - inner me)
But check out dude in left most corner, who is he? he is so intriguiged by someone else's .. what to say ...a**!





we are the champions!yeah indeed.I was never in doubt.(Ok I am lying here, never in my dreams did India lift the cup)But some sentences have to be there just because they have to be there.

Just like what SRK said after the match - "I always believed India would win the T20 world cup"
How lame! but just because he is great SRK (and I am just me,how sad) he can say it and world has to believe with him.
While we are at it, SRK is here with his son aryan(lucky dude - he met with every indian player)waving India's tri-color madly.Yes, after "chak de India" he is a sports icon also, me thinks!
( "hey he is wearing velvet jacket from DON" -courtesy ever so eagle eyed Tushar.Ok.is it so ,SRK?booooooo)

I feel a little bit of irony though, on SRK's side.
Just imagine - Chak de was sort of waking call for other sports, especially hockey was coming of age and people were actually delving into hockey and all, such was impact of chak de.
And here's our great hockey hero in ..err how do I put it?
But as it is well known that he is a true sportsman it won't hurt him too much,Right?
Here's a kudos from me(with yours truly at his humble most) SRK,clap clap.

Cricket is all over again and me for one doesn't mind a bit(whines all around?) but thats how things are sometime, in life.

Ohh!Poor Misbah.Do I feel sorry for him?Now common I am little stubborn at times as some of you might be knowing, But I am no way inhuman , robotic like damn aussies.So yes I do feel sorry for him guys.
He had almost drown us once again in endless cycle of India's history of choking.I guess some times history just doesn't repeat it.
Why did you hit like that misbah?(On serious note , Ohh thank you misbah for your brilliant shot selection)
Yes poor Misbah , I would say it again - but thats how things are sometime, in life.

All in all , India not only won it , me thinks Team India provided real enjoyment for all those mortals present actually and other milions watching on teevee.They have been biggest entertainer of all and thats what T20 is all about.
Now I am coming back to my biker self , and an inner voice tells me thats what P200 is.A true entertainer.(A very lame attempt to somehow go into bikes).But still, believe me guys she really is that intriguing and that fascinating.

And like all posts here , I can't help wihout my beloved P200's nice photo.Here it is.
Finally for you poor souls also I would repeat "but thats how things are sometime, in life"

Q & A - My bike's fuel efficiency has dropped suddenly what do I do?

Seems like a pretty stupid question , and I am sorry for making you feel like one but the fact that various people all over face this problem and don't know what to do , lessens it's stupidity.
And another fact that yours truly himself asked this question , puts it into very legitimate terms, ahem!
So here we go.
I asked this very question to people who are in business and know much about such things.
Following is summery of what I got -
possible culprits -

1. The brakes.
2. Tyre pressure.
3. Clogged air filter.
4. Adulterated fuel or filling stations cheating you on quantity.
5. Riding style.
6. Spark plugs with incorrect gaps between electrodes.
7. Carburettor.

A very sedate list?Well thats what experts are, starting with basics and getting them right.
Now I go along the list and check for eliminations , Brakes? No the front disc seems to be in love with caliper :) or is it vice versa? anyway time to get it aligned.
*Tyre pressure? checked Ok and same for Fuel, Spark plugs.
*Air filter looked clean and well soaked.Besides If the air filter icon on dash is to be believed then there is no reason to clean it again. But then again I am not leaving any stones unturned and clean it as directed to me.
*Riding style? well now, time for self check.But considering the fact that my bike is only 2600kms old and me for one is not the type who thrashes his bike like anything puts me(or my riding) into safe perspective.
*Moving onto spark plugs.Opened both of them and checked their color.They showed a very dark brown almost black tinge.Indicating that my bike is running on rich fuel mix than necessary.
But the gap in electrode was perfect, so only cleaned them.
And ahh the fuel! yes there are some filling stations that do sale adulterated fuel and also fill in less fuel than your money is worth.So I filled in petrol from 3-4 places and right now settled on ESSAR.

Time for carb.One of the most important part.This little thing can turn things upside down if not set properly and also gives a very visible change in performance when tuned perfectly.
From my observation of sparks I had come to know that the carb was channeling very rich air-fuel mix into engine and that meant I had to control the fuel mix either by myself or by some mechanic.
As some of you might be remembering that I am far away from ProB showroom. And local mechs are such risky proposition, all this made me do it all by myself albeit with a helping hand from Sandeep and Mr.Venkat shyam of autoservice, Banglore(or bangluru...is that right?)

The whole thing as one can easily make out is vastly general and anyone can use it as a guideline on any bike or vehicle for that matter.
P.S.
**Prior to this the bike was returning about 34 kmpl.
**And now after all the trouble (which seems to have paid-off though) the bike recently returned 39kmpl.




-: Phantom menace.The fear is in the eye of beholder :-

2nd service (and aftermath)

I had planned for a 1 day return trip which was of about 400kms.(Check that ride here).
So I thought of getting the 2nd service done before going onto the venture.
The bike was running fine actually but neverless got it serviced at something like 1890 kms.Took my bike to ProB and thankfully thay delievered it within 2 hours.
Although the manual doesn't say to change the oil, it was done.One good news - Pune ProBiking now fills 'Motul 3000t ' as standard oil at no extra cost.This oil, I was told is very popular amongst enthusiasts, but due to its non-availalbility I never had chance to fill it in my bike ever.
While I write this the bike has run 2533kms.

Coming back to point, This is what the mechanic did in front of me-

1.Opened the drain nut and drained all the oil.
2.Cleaned the air-filter.
3.Checked tyre pressure and both the brakes.
4.I had told him about hard gear shifts, so he loosened and then again tightned the clutch cable...thats all.
5.Checked the battery,lights,indicators and horns.
6.Lubricated the chain.
7.Filled in the oil and washed the bike.
Done!
And I paid Rs.260 for this...anyway,

The changes I noticed after 2nd service-
1. The engine is now infintely more smooth.Overall sound output has reduced considerably.The gruffness that you feel in new bike is fully gone.
2.The gear shift which was edgy and rough (especially 1st -> 2nd and vice versa)to my choice is more or less same.
3.Throttle response has sharpened.or is it the smoothness that's fooling me?But its welcome anyway.
4.Sadly and amazingly, Fuel efficiency has gradually dropped since then.To be frank I was expecting a rise. Previously I was getting efficiency in the region of 45kmpl.Which has now come down to 38-40kmpl!
How did this happen is beyond me.Next time I go to pune, will surely go to ProB and consult them. I suspect some screw setting in carb has gone awry or is it the spark plug or is it the air filter or is it..... :)
5.Fuel gauge that was faulty from day one is still faulty.The sensors are out of stock(still).Bajaj please do something!
6.I heard Starter motors were being replaced in all P200s.Again those starters were out of stock, no luck here also! In any case my starter is working perfect so no gripes about it.

And yes the ProB people are not that great at washing the bike.May be rush and very narrow space there freaks them out!
All in all its mixed bag of things after 2nd service.Smoothness is welcome but at fuel efficiency's cost?No sir I am not game for it.
OK!Now drool -

P200 v/s Karizma in Overdrive Sept '07 issue

The 9th anniversary issue of 'Overdrive' is out.Its a huge 500 page special issue well keeping in with OD's tradition so far.
Me being an ardent fan of OD since last 8 years,I can surely tell you its a must read.
There are many good articles but the one of interest is here the P200 vs. Karizma report.I was expecting a full blown comparo but its nothing like that.Although you fairly get the idea.
According to OD, P200 feels more powerful and lively compared to ZMA.Besides being a tad faster on both 0-60 and 0-100 runs.I agree with this one fully.Pulsars have always been like that since the first incarnation in 2001-2002.Fuel efficiency is also somewhat better in P200 although real roadies will never bother about it.
Where it P200 lags behind is the comfort levels.ZMA is lot more roomier and plush.P200 is more of the tighter side both space and suspension wise.Sitting position of P200 is such that it makes you lean on handle bars and you feel like riding hard.However this cannot be exactly termed as a negative.This solely depends on rider's liking.

Things turn upside down when ridden over broken roads.P200 clearly scoring over ZMA.
Now comes the most controversial topic of all time.Who is faster in the end?
According to OD, the ZMA can clock a real world top speed of 125kmph (which is almost 7kmph more than that of P200's).This slots 200 in sub 120kmph catagory.Now I can't really comment on this as of now.Till now I have touched only 105k before I ran out of stretch.But I have heard from various people all over that P200 can well go upto 123 to 128 kmph anything in between.I even remember reading one forum where one P200 owner went well beyond 130kmph.But this claim looks a bit far stretched to me as even P220 brakes into sweet to go beyond 126kmph.
So this makes a real close competition.(I have clocked something 122kmph odd on the ProBiking Dyno before the sales guy stopped me.I am not sure how 'real' is that dyno thing though)
So as soon as I try this top speed thing I will let you know,till then you people keep me informed.
Now are you one of these - young,restless,show stopper,challenge lover?

UPDATE - Sandeep from Banglore has reported 126kmph on his 200.

Time For Some mod - HID lamp on P200

After the launch of P220,What had people talking about it most, was its fairing and the great head lamps it houses.Not only do they look good but are also superb when it comes to illumination.No other bike in India has such powerful beams up front,reason behind it is Projector lamp(albeit for low beam only.High beam is regular halogen).
Now with HID kits making their apperances in car shops, one can have such powerful lights on almost any vehicle that has battery.Unlike Halogen (or incandescent) bulbs, HID(stands for - High Intensity Discharge) bulbs do not have filaments.Instead of heating a filament, HID bulbs emit light by bridging an arc between two electrodes similar to the energy transfer of lightning. This arc stimulates a mixture of Xenon gases and metallic salts, producing a phenomenal bright white beam of light which is approximately 3times brighter than conventional halogen illumination, while lasting 10 times longer.

A lot of people have been wondering including me, whether these lamps can be fitted to P200?because the P200 already shares most of its parts with P220 but not those fabulous lamps.However it does not imply that P200's lights are weak.They are alright, but ride it on hilly roads with lots of ups and downs and you will crave for better lights.Add rain soaked wet roads to equation and the lights feel even more inadequate.On the normal city roads though P200's headlamp is very fine.
May be the next P200 will sport those HIDs!But till then here's way to do it.
As you might have guessed,This is not as easy as just going to Bajaj spares and buying 220's HID and then fitting on P200.It needs some clever mods to its electrics.
But after saying this let me tell you that its not impossible either.
And one fine guy from down south has done it successfully.Namely Sandeep K. Ram of Banglore.
Here is the link to Sandeep's guide on Xbhp.

YouTube video of HID in action on P200.


The diagram for changes made in wiring to fetch the current directly from battery.(Sandeep drew it on his own,great work!)
As for the expenses, these kits cost anything upwards of Rs.3000.The one Sandeep used is of VisionX Bi-Xenon ,which he bought in Banglore.This kit cost him close to 11K.
Contents of kit usually include 2 bulbs, 2 ballasts (amps), one relay coil, fuse, connecting wires etc. According to him many vehicle specific kits are also available and prices vary vastly.
Kits with only one bulb and ballast are also in the market for around 3K.(But these low range kits have only single beam bulbs that is - low beam.For high beam you will have to use another bulb, a halogen.The kit that Sandeep used has bulbs that have both Low and High beams like usual halogen, that's why the additional cost)
But apart from this, other expenses are minor.The wiring needs to be slightly altered, because HID lamp needs DC current(It runs directly off the battery) and not usual AC of P200.This mod however is easy and most mechanics will be able to do it at negligible cost.Availability can be and issue though.Suggested places are up-market car accessory shops.(Yes, these kits are basically for cars).Happy Night riding!
Thanks to Sandeep for wonderful article and the video!Keep it coming.
For the whole guide and pictures of HID kit see his blog here-
http://sandeepkram.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-hid-silencer-and-starter-motor-plus.html

one week in Pune and around

The odometer showed something 1400kms odd.I hoped to cover next 600 kms in my Pune trip before the 2nd servicing was due.And that I did,at the end of the my pune trip odometer is showing 2400kms! 380 Out of those 1000 kms I clocked in one day,that too on hilly roads of Pune-Konkan(diwe-aagar to be exact) on Saturday 25th august.Just a day before I had got my bike serviced from ProBiking,FC road.
There were no serious problems as such save faulty gauge which wasn't repaired in 1st service due to non availability of fuel sensors.
If you are curious about what happened to long awaited fuel-gauge issue's result,there's bad news.Those sensors are still not available meaning that I have to wait even more before they replace it.

But otherwise the everything was pleasant.They delivered my bike in 1.5hours flat.I waited there itself and watched my bike getting serviced.
So nothing special about 2nd service.What happened after it,is exciting.The bike became even more smooth and its acceleration noticeably improved.Besides the gear shifts which were a bit too clunky to my choice,smoothened out.
(*Special note - people who drain the oil (which ProBiking people fill in) and put in their choiced oil like Motul/valvoline or any other brand here's a good news for you.The ProBiking now houses Motul 3000t oil as standard.So each bike they now fill up with Motul with no extra cost.This oil is supposed to be long lasting and give more performance,although I could not verify it)



Now coming back to my konkan tour.There were only two of us besides of course my P200.
We started our journey in morning itself at 8am.The destination we chose(diwe-aagar) is 150kms from pune.
Right from start we witnessed some scenic views and clouds were floating literally on the roads.
Every kilometer of that whole stretch runs through mountains.A perfect road for any tourer.There aren't many fuel stations though so be wary of the fact and fill up your tank up to the brim.
Once we reached diwe-aagar we did normal rituals.Like finding a good inn to have lunch.
You have to tell them in advance to cook the food.These are not regular run of the mill hotels.Instead these inns are family owned eateries.You get finest of fish recipies here.
As for the sea and beach front, I can't really comment.All the beaches in Konkan are so good that favouring one of them will be an insult to others.So I will just say this is one of my favorites.
But alas,due to rainy season the sea is too risky and water is muddy.Local people advised not to go in the water.As you may have guessed these people know probably a hundred times better than us.So we did not dare to cross check their claim,and remained on sand itself while watching the roaring sea.
However,Instead of writing everything,I will let the pictures do the talking.

This is somewhere en route to konkan

The famous tamhini ghaat.

The road to clouds.

Mulshi lake.

Diwe-aagar beach,bewitchingly empty.There were only 3 of us.Me,chetan and the 200.

The sea was dangerous to say the least.Parked my P200 well off the water.

Clicking a self portrait is tough job.


Clicking in macro mode is even more tough!The fish that we didn't catch!
(The furious sea had pushed hundreds of fishes onto the beach most of them died since the sea never reached them again)
The morning was sunny and no rains while we reached there.Bike remained clean even after 150 kms of journey.
That provided for nice photos.




Riding on sand is fun.Check out that grin on my face!
Even a slightest push on brake pedal leaves a huge scar on sand.Fabulous.But strictly no to Front disc.You will be knee deep in the sand even before you realise.

Now the question arises,whether P200 is a good touring machine?
Just to say it is one terrific tourer will be an understatement.It is so good that never once did I feel something missing.Not even once.
Handling and suspension is near perfect for typical Indian roads(even with pillion).
Disc brake worked like magic even though most of the time it was soaked in water most of the time.
The whole journey it took into its stride as if it were regular city roads.The occasional potholes,pools of water,loose gravel,mud,sand not withstanding.P200 rode through all this like anything.
Not only this, I really opened the throttle open whenever I got the chance.And after all this torment she returned 42kmpl.Now seriously what more can you ask for?
I know a serious tourer will hardly care for fuel efficiency,once he is astride his beloved machine.But still it amazed me.
The only gripes I felt were slightly hard seat and those grab-rails.After riding continuously for 4 hours my bum started aching and I needed to stop and descend from the bike.Besides,Those grab-rails can be best termed as fashion accessory.All show and no go.Clutching them for support is useless.You just can't hold onto them.But these are really insignificant glitches and almost non existent.P200's other virtues more than make up for it.

The question is answered then.P200 is one of those rare breeds which can handle almost anything you throw at, with ease.She is a top notch motorcycle and I will bet my last penny on it.

This is what 200 leaves behind...

Dead and burried : The classic fork breaking controversy

Ohh I am really sorry my fellow updated-every-minute-bikers,But I must for this damn cool bike's sake invoke the ghost of that fork!( But I hope to clear all doubts this final time so...)
Much has been said about the P200's front forks.Ever since photos of some P200's with broken forks were published on Internet, people, especially the bikers community has been chewing it restlessly.Nothing wrong about it though but one sad aspect that I came across in this whole scene was that people who had never even ridden the bike or seen the broken fork, were maligning the Bajaj's and P200's image by giving "valuable" insights.
And like it happens with every hot issue people got so carried away that they actually forgot (conveniently or not I can't comment) what had Bajaj done in the meantime.
While we were all busy in discussing how P200 is bound to be doomed, Bajaj redesigned the front fork(Or rather the mounting points that hold the Disc brake calipers).These revised P200s were out in the showrooms even before anyone got any hint about it.(or like I said we were too busy to take notice of it).
I along with many other like me, have been writing about this in many other sites,blogs and orkut all along but no one seemed to take notice.The discussions continued as if those comments were written in invisible ink!

But as things stand today,I would really like to tell the world with all my vocal cords strained - that please wake-up and take a look at current scenario.The fork controversy is nothing but a dead meat.
Here are some picture taken off Internet(most of you would have seen it probably a zillion times and don't give a zilch, but just for the sake of it and P200 they are here again!)


Front-fork broken!(what a sorry picture)But forget about it now.Its just for your curiosity.
Notice the 2 separate mounting-points for caliper.


Close-up of previous illustration.

And finally the picture that matters now.See the newer design of mounts,wherein they have been connected to each other by same material as fork itself.

So herein lies the ghost of broken fork.May it R.I.P..Thank you all!!

Fool-proof remedy for saving your Starter relay! (DIY)

You might have read my unfortunate previous post about starter relay.Here is what I have done to stop the water getting into it.Including the pictures as I promised.

1)Open the left side middle panel
2)Look for starter relay on the left side of the battery.Its small, plastic box in black color and bolted onto the inner part chassis.

3)Pull out the cable and plug from bottom of the relay which connects it to battery.

4)Next remove the bolt that holds relay in place.

5)Take any thick plastic sheet which you find suitable.(like the small oil-pouch that you get at fuel stations)
6)Cut a smaller piece of that sheet.Make sure that it can fully wrap the relay.
7)Wrap the sheet fully around relay leaving the lower part exposed(plug needs to go in there!)
8)Put a hole in the sheet with screw-driver exactly where the relay has(there is a small extention on relay's upper part which has a hole and a nut weld behind it to house the bolt).
In picture below look how the plastic sheet has been tucked inside the bolt-housing along with relays holder-

9)Now holding the sheet and relay together with one hand in its proper position,screw in the bolt with other hand.Then you can use spanner to fully tighten it.
10)Insert the plug again.
this is what final assembly looks like-

11)You are done!Fit the panel.

A few glitches here and there - Starter relay

Well, this was truly unexpected and frightening.OK,I already knew a bit about fuel gauges that didn't work well from my friends pulsars but I never had heard a starter relay that went kaput and that too on day 2...read on-

I came back from pune myself all wet and the bike looking like a she just came from ladakh tour.So naturally next on my agenda was to wash the bike before I show it around.Instead of taking it to washing centre I washed it thoroughly then dried and polished.
showed it to my friends who all had ride on it and were clearly taken by its beauty.
Just then one of my friend reported that tail-lamp were not working besides the orange display was not lit-up.I had no clue about it.We stopped to check and turned off the bike.Then restarted the bike and gosh!The engine started making a terrible sound as if someone was rubbing the insides of engine with a heavy-duty polishing paper!(Frankly speaking I was terrified beyond imagination)what the hell?One of my friend turned ignition off...and ...and even more surprise!The engine went dead all rite but scraping noise continued-YES even after I had turned the ignition off and removed the key from key-hole.
I understood everything in a moment that it was the starter that was still trying to crank the engine despite the fact that the engine kill switch was in off position and ignition turned off.But how?that was beyond me.I just stood there out of my senses.Thankfully one my mate quickly opened the left panel,unlocked the rear seat ,took out tool-kit and dis-engaged the battery.Only then did the starter stopped.
what next I thought?P200 having no kick lever meant that to start the bike either I had to start it down the hill or push it hard.We tried pushing but it didn't start.Only option was to connect the battery.So I turned the ignition on and put the engine kill switch in on position.
As soon as I touched the cable to battery terminal, starter got into action and bike started!again I put aside the cable and starter stopped leaving the bike alive.(However none of the electricals were working including headlight).With help of my friends bikes light I reached home all heart broken and ego hurt!

Next day I decided to take the bike to local Bajaj dealer as there is no ProBiking here in Ahmednagar.(word of caution for would be buyers- normal Bajaj dealers wont service your P200/P220).
My fear turned true there.Guys at Bajaj dealership refused to touch the bike.
I was exasperated to say the least.After some requesting head mechanic there came to my rescue.I explained the problem and also showed him "practical".He just looked indifferently as if it was routine!But thankfully he ordered for his tools and checked the wires for any short circuit.There were none.Next, he pulled out the plug connecting to starter relay and then took out the whole starter relay.After that he bought one spare starter relay from P150 and inserted the plug into it(the one he had pulled out earlier).Connected the battery,turned on the ignition and cranked the engine.The bike started perfectly and the starter also came back to normal...
Conclusion? He told me , some water most have seeped in through the gap into the relay making it short thus it drew current from battery directly with no concern whatsoever from ignition switch.
Then he took out that new relay and blew some air into my own relay and deployed it to work.This time the relay acted as if nothing had happened.Every other function also worked perfectly.
I rode the bike home without any problem.
(Coincidentally a call came from ProBiking that day in the afternoon asking me wheather there was any problem.I told them exactly what happened.They took notice of it and promised me to rectify the problem on 1st service)

Note - You might be wondering how the relay got cured all by itself?Well it didn't.The relay was still short.What happened exactly is this - When that mechanic fully disengaged the relay from battery,it went into reset postion as there was no current at all flowing through it.So when it was fitted again,everything was normal.
In the end it turned out to be a minor problem with what only the relay needed to be changed.

(After this incident I created a home made cure for the starter relay's problem of getting wet.Interesting pictures of it are here)

A few glitches here and there - Fuel gauge.

While taking delivery it is extremely important that you check your vehicle thoroughly.Following is my personal experience at the time of delivery on 3rd July.I hope you get some help from it.This article is not to try and convince you that every vehicle has faults and gripes.But just be careful.

So here it goes.I completed the formalities like signing some forms and signing the register book.One of the person there then brought my bike.He explained me usual functions and parts locations which I already knew by the way!
After that he told me to inspect the bike and take a ride.My dad was there who instantly noticed a scratch on silencer of about 3-4 inches long.When we brought that scratch to their notice,one of the person there tried to 'wipe it off' saying it was some kind of paint.Even after rubbing for some time it did not go.And I insisted on changing the silencer.After some talks they agreed and took my bike into the servicing area and replaced the silencer with newer one.After that I again checked the bike and took a ride.Everything was perfect.

My mission was to ride the bike to my home in ahmednagar which is about 120Kms from pune.I got ready for the take off just when the rain gods decided to step in,leading to instant termination of my mission!
I then decided to stay for the day in pune and leave early next day.
That decided,I went to petrol pump on FC road and filled in Rs.100 petrol.To my surprise the fuel gauge didn't show any bar.At first I left it thinking that it most need more than 5 litres of petrol.
That evening I rode the bike for about 40kms.
Next day I woke up early and got ready.Went to petrol pump and filled in Rs.250 worth of petrol.With my fingers crossed.But no!This time also it didn't show anything...conclusion?a faulty fuel gauge.
went to ProBiking and showed them the bike.Service engg. checked the fuel level in the tank and agreed that fuel gauge was problematic and they would rectify it on first servicing.
Ok,I said and started on my first journey towards home.

There's nothing much to tell about that journey though as I restricted my right hand from twisting the throttle.The whole 120kms I did at speeds below 55kmph(due to run-in period) taking occasional stops.(performance and other reports will follow soon in different topic)
One thing I may add though - its fuel efficiency.The bike returned an astonishing 48kmpl.Frankly speaking I had never expected a kay above 38.I was like,gasping.Its an achievement of the sorts for a bike still in run-in period.
("Run-in" is of utmost importance and would need a seperate article altogether,which is what exactly I am doing now a days.keep watching this space)

A word about raised stickers

New Pulsars (both 200 and 220) come with different style for stickers.They are at their minimum and get 10 on 10 from me.However its really a thing for concern.Unlike normal stickers(like on 150/180) these stickers are made up of thick rubbery material and are raised above the surface.When you rub cloth over them for normal cleaning fibers get stuck on it,and the corners start to peel-off.

Apart from this of course there are nuisances done by public when you park your vehicle somewhere.Large dimensions and attractive looks of the bike catch the eye of the onlooker and they come to admire it.up till now,OK.However when they see those stickers can be very easily plucked people just cant resist...and whoa gone is your pulsar and so is 200 sticker.

Here's example of what I am saying.Below is my friend Sunny's silver 200 whose sticker(Bajaj logo) has been peeled off by someone in his own apartment parking.

Not only it is heart breaking to see those stickers gone,they leave behind ugly marks of sticking material used.That can't be easily wiped away.You need patience,Petrol or (nailpaint remover) to clean it.

Small things that make Big difference

Head lamp assembly with Blue-tinged parking lamps and main bulb.

Parking light -Blue tinge visible

Main bulb-White

Split seat and split rear grab -rail
All aluminum silencer.Also notice slightly curved rear-sets.


Sexy brake-lever its bolted on rear-sets.Instantly Giving you super sporty riding position.

120/80 MRF zapper-G tire.Huge!

Extended swing-arm to accommodate bigger tire.

A small extension on front mudguard.

220spec disc-brake and bigger forks as compared to P180.And they are black.

Most visible change.The tank flanks.Excellent!if I may add.

Raised lettering is nice touch.However they are a cause for worry-can be very easily plucked.Little oil-cooler.It is nestled perfectly between those flanks.

Zip-guard on the tank.