Myles of joy................

Finally a review for Myles. That’s the Pulsar 180 DTSI (2008 model) that I own. Naming bikes is an attribute of the gay fraternity, say the wise dickheads. Well, please go and do your “Is-He-Gay-Or-Not” and “How-did-it-Happen?” thesis somewhere else. Am not gay and that shall be the end of it. Now piss off, will ya?

I confess that this comes a tad too late. 7000 kms too late. Any human with a normal brain does not need as many kilometers to ascertain the worth of his mode of transport. Thanks to truck loads of laziness on my part. Still, that gave me space to be a spectator to some amazing adventures and incredible rides. Indelible memories for this lifetime.

Well, statistics first…….well, no. Refer to the Bajaj website for that (which does not open most of the times). It is major boring whaleshit. Straight to the point. What hits the eye first is the form. The color red, as I have always stated, is like a panacea for a cold heart. It sets it on rage. A blood red paint scheme with some pretty decals, the street-mean looking headlight cluster, the LED stop lights and the carbon black exhaust. Matter black finish engine and 6 spoke alloy wheels add the kind of menace that goes on to complete the maxim “beauty and the beast”. The sum of the parts is one brilliant contraption as far as pleasing the visual senses goes. The best view I think (this one is for the lens men and shutter bugs) is the rear three quarters view. Try it once to understand what I am all about. Kudos to the designers. Will massage the owners’ ugly ego very nicely.

This is a touring bike with a spark for some throttle-opened-till-the-stop action. The 16 PS of power comes in handy on the highways. Maxed the bike out at a 116 kmph on NH 4B (Karad – Kolhapur section). In a very smooth manner. This is no pocket rocket. The engine is in no hurry of speeding up and revs up in a very graceful manner. Suits my riding style to the T. My bulk and a heavy back pack which robbed me of, 4 kmph, I think. Well no use crying over stored blubber and clay brick aerodynamics. And it’s no back breaker. The rider seat is very comfortable. A butt pleaser to say the least. But the same cannot be said about the pillion seat. Thin on foam I guess. And the 15.5 Nm of torque do a great job of handling the chores inside the city. The handle bars are a bit uncomfortable, but not exactly wrist breakers. The 2^nd gear is a huge relief in the stop and go and seek and murder and then again go Pune traffic.

Speaking of gears, I don’t think the Bajaj boffins spent a lot of money on the gearbox. The weakest link in the entire package has to be the gears. Clunky and often unpredictable shift. Infrequent but regular false neutrals too. But these gremlins are more restricted to the lower gears. Put it in 3^rd and beyond and all this is long forgotten.

The real eye opener for me was the chassis. Been through many ghats for that bit. And the bike handles it with such aplomb that the apothegm “corner cutter” sounds very appropriate. Brilliant on the twisty sections of tarmac, never letting the 150kg odd kerb weight affect its chassis stability at high speeds. Sublime is the only word that comes to the mind. The suspension is a bit to stiff for normal riders. For me, with the extra pounds, it is perfectly tuned up. The front disc brake is powerful too, lacks a bit of feel though. Not linear enough. Rear drum brakes are more than adequate and the combination has saved this skull from going under a scalpel on many occasions. Full marks on the handling front.

The ergonomics are spot on too. Digital display is my favorite bit with the orange glow reflecting the numbers adequately. The data gathering sensors are a little slow, but that should not bother me one bit. The switches are fantastic and operate with absolutely no hassles at all. The headlight and the parking lights, fire up with a good glow and to date I have had no complaints about them at all. Even at a low beam position, the beam spread is pretty good, hardly raising the need for the full beam. The fuel reserve light (on the analogue tachometer) also doubles up as the rev limit indicator. The side stand light is a deft touch too.

The Indian commuter is always obsessed with we know what. How many K’s to the L. And am very happy to share that my bike, with a single person riding all the 7K odd kilometers inclusive of a healthy mix of city and highway riding, throws up the figure 42. DTSI and some good riding habits (hecklers beware) deserve a mention here.

All in all, a package, I would say which is more than the value for the money spent on it (64K Indian rupees in case you start searching). The spares are cheap, should you need them at all. Almost bullet proof. That’s just cause I haven’t put a real bullet through it as yet. Dealers and service centers are stocked with these and should not be any cause for trouble. Reliable and frugal. That’s what Bajaj do stand for. In a very Indian way. Don’t they?

Happy and safe riding. Always use the helmets