Bajaj Pulsar 180 UG4 Ownership Review by Piyush

Hi! I am Piyush from Bangalore. I am college student doing engineering. I am a great passionate lover of bikes with 7 years driving experience. In this duration, I have used 3 bikes cd-dawn, pulsar 150 and finally pulsar 180UG4 on which I am going to write a review .I have been using this bike from last 15 months and I drove it for about 20,000 kilometers with a daily up-down of 40 kilometers and it includes many long drives with my friends.

Coming to pulsar 180 which is a real vengeance to others and which has brought a renaissance in Indian biking, also a complete “Value For Money” bike. The first thing which I and mostly ‘we’ see while buying a bike is our economy then usage and finally power and my bike fulfill all these 3 with great ease.
I would also like to say that this is the most suited bike for Indian roads from my experience. Starting from pricing, pulsar cost me Rs. 74k approximately Rs. 20,000 more than any 100-160cc bike. But what you get in this bike is really unmatchable. Listing it point wise-

• Its wider MRF zapper tubeless tyres provide an excellent road grip.
• Front disk brakes for proper braking without skidding even at high speeds.
• Superb aerodynamic design and sporty headlight reduces air friction.
• Unconquerable power and torque best till 180cc segment.i.e-power-17.02@8500rpm and torque-14.22n-m@6000 rpm.
• Style factor with sporty tank with front cowls, 3D decals and tank scoops.
• Thick alloy wheels provide stability.
• Suspensions are simply superb with thicker front telescopic forks and twin shock absorbers rear suspension which provides jerk free riding even in long drives.
• Clip on handlebars which provide great handling.
• Split seats for eye-catching looks and comfort.
• Silencer with muffler for proper cooling and safety.
• Side stand indicator, self start and ignition off switch for safety, easy start and safety.

These were something which you may have to sacrifice in other 100-160cc bikes mostly. Not only it leads from 100-160cc bikes but also is best in its class. Let me tell you how?

• Best power and torque.
• Best design and looks with definitely male tag.
• 0-60kmph in about 5 seconds which is best till its class.
• No engine heating problems.
• First to launch digital odometer and many other features.
• Many metallic parts with less fiber stucture.
• Re-sprocket bike with 14/39 teeth -something unique.
• Least or almost no vibration at high speeds up to 105km/hr while other bikes like Apache, Hunk and even FZ vibrates-tested personally.
• Great mileage up to 45 km/l. I normally get 37-40.
• Best top speed in its segment. 132kmph highest observed by me.
• LED taillight makes it distinct and good looking.

These all specifications make this bike as the KING. And, I personally feel that there is absolutely no use of wasting another Rs. 30,000 for getting more capacity bikes and then drowning it to petrol pump frequently and also if you are looking for normal 100-150cc bikes then just pull up another Rs. 20,000r and get all these high features. After all you never know your usage or power requirement may increase or decrease.

Driving conditions:
To be very frank I love speed and thus I do drive my bike at an average speed of 70-80 kmph as I get free traffic lanes and also airport road is in my way to college. I always felt that the driving is very smooth in this bike.
Maintenance:

• I love my bike and hence maintain it a lot. I never accelerate heavily unless I drive for at least 5 kilometers for oil regulation in the engine.
• I get it serviced after each 3000-4000 kilometers only.
• Gear shifting at proper speed is another issue for maintenance also don’t take the clutch and drive at slopes or even normally.
• I normally change my bike engine oil after 2000-2500 kilometers only. The engine oil which I use is Shell Helix 20w50 or Castrol Active 4T Extra 20w50 which are the best for pulsars, try it. Also whenever I go for long drives, I get engine oil replaced after 1200-1700 kilometers only as in long drives oil gets heated fast and loses its viscosity and stickiness property. You can also change your engine oil if it gets black and opaque (new is semi-transparent and brown red). Also never let your engine oil to get less than 400-500 ml as engine has adverse affect. And if your engine oil gets over, your engine will get seized and then you have to spend a lot nearly Rs. 5000-8000
• I always use unleaded petrol for my bike as it enhances engine life and mileage.
  A small tip: Never experiment with your pulsar. Mine is a pulsar and I am proud to have it as company’s make only, so why destroy its status. Also you and your mechanic can’t be brainier than company’s engineers for, which they perform various tests on designs, performance and its looks. Common experimenting like change in re-sprocket, changing headlights, putting filters will affect your bike badly.

Servicing:

• Greasing clutch wire and brake wire in each service.
• Cleaning chain-not only in service but  once in a week as open chain catches dirt easily which can cut the teethes of gears. Also apply grease or oil after cleaning.
• Cleaning air filter and also replacing oil filters after 1 or 2 services.
• Waxing or polishing the bike prevents it from rusting. Also keeps dirt away and adds shine.
• Getting suspension oil change after 2-3 service before it gets leaked.
• Checking spark plug functionality and removing carbon deposit.

Concluding it with some pros and cons:
PROS:

• No large investment or major parts replacement required in my bike.
• Very low maintenance cost.

CONS:

• Handle could be made of stronger material as it bends or cracks if it falls accidentally.
• I would like to have 2 changes for pulsar 180 i.e. putting pulsar 220 headlight in 180 and getting more colour configurations.

I hope you find my bike review useful and may it be useful for buying it. I would whole-heartedly like any queries, suggestions and advice. So bye guys and don’t forget to give your expert comments on my review.

~PIYUSH~

Thanks piyush for the reviews.


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