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