Modification on the P220 red

Hmmm I have had enough of the stock pulsar 220.

I have given work to my gray cells and came up with an idea of playing around with the paint job on engine, alloys, disc callipers, grab rails and what not! infact I wanted to change everything from stock to get that exclusive look. But money does matter !

In my budget, I spent whatever i could and tried to achieve a sober but smashing looking bike with multi tone colors and little graphics !

I have enquired quite a few people before getting this job done as I was worried my babe would not go crazy after the job. I am fully satisfied and would post all the details slowly.

List of what you should look for when you are getting a paint job done.

1. Talk to people who have done that before and get some information on the paint mechanics or graphics store, materials, cost etc.
2. Ensure you get the right person to do the job. If the paint is not done properly it gives a very bad look exactly opposite of what you desire.
3. Do some research on what you want the bike to look like after the paint done and explain it in a very simple way to the mechanic so that he doesnt mess up the things

Various options were available but the following were my choice for the job:
Paints:
1. DuPont --> has a very good collection of heat resistant paints and great choice of colours
2. AsianPPG --> Pittsburgh Paints in collaboration with our Asian paints offer a huge variety or clear coat, base coat, and paints. Worth considering ahead of DuPont. I have used Asian PPG, heat resistant Grey with matte finish.
I selected grey because it has a tinge of black and little gloss finishing like an imported sportsbike color on the alloys and engine.

Mechanic or Shop:
Since I am staying in Bangalore, I went across the city asking my friends for contacts and visited various workshops in banshankari, indiranagar and J.C.Road but following two were most promising and impressive.

1. Venkat Shyams' Auto Service:
Spoke to Mr. VV Shyam on the warranty issues and got it clarified that provided the job is done well, warranty is not void. He was charging 4500 for the job of painting the engine and alloys including grab rails, swing arm etc with DuPont Black paint which effectively gives the same finish as of the company black theme on p200. The time quoted was 10 days or more depending on the work. Labor charges might be extra, not sure though

2. City Mobike Works (CMW):
This workshop is situated in Indiranagar, very close to the RTO office. They have been renovating the place and I am sure, it would look different in a few days from now. The workmanship is of high quality, tools used are fine and understanding of customers is excellent. The more you talk, the more they understand from you on what you want. They have quoted Rs. 3500 for the paint job on alloys, engine, swing arm etc, 1500 for clear finish on the whole bike, service charge of 900 for re assembling the bike after paint and any extra job will be priced accordingly like stickers, lacquer etc. Paint used can be either DuPont or Asian PPG. DuPont black shall cost 500 bucks cheaper but the finish may not be as good as Asian PPG.

Mr. Anand, from CMW was very keen on working out a right paint job for the bike and we had spent long time together trying to sketch out the possible outcome of the work and I am thankful to him for the wonderful job he has done on my bike.
Initially I was skeptical on giving the bike in a private service center as I am more concerned on the quality of work and the finish. But, now I can confidently suggest this place for any person who wants to get his bike modified or painted.

The paint was finalised to GREY with matte finish, and a clear coat to add that gloss over the job. A little graphics and the job would be done.

Rear Disc Replaced

YES !! Bajaj is listening to us --> the valued customers !

As I have mentioned in my earlier posts about an existing problem in the rear disc and that not being solved, I have visited Venkat Shyam's Auto Service, Bangalore, with the same issue. As always, they patiently listened to my greivance, tried out various options and when nothing seemed to work as expected, They have directed me to visit Khivraj motors on Kasturba Road, saying they would provide faster replacements, since AS Bangalore(Auto Service) didnt have the spares of new rear discs available at the moment.

I went to Khivraj and explained them the whole issue.

My Observation:
The pattern of holes in the earlier version of rear discs is entirely different from the present lot. This I feel eventually results in some kind of resonance and produces the sound unusual in discs. And may sometimes heat up the disc for no reason.
The pattern on the new disc is more similar to the one on front disc. I dont have the pic of the earlier rare disc, but I managed to take a pic of the new disc after replacement.

Mr. Majeed, The service engineer in Khivraj, understood the situation and assured me a replacement, if the holes pattern on the disc was really the cause of concern.

He has ripped down the rear disc assembly, inspected all the parts and concluded the pattern was the only change reflecting and thus agreed to get it replaced under warranty. Thus, the new rear disc as shown in the picture is put on and from then, I am not facing any issue with my rear disc and the braking as well. Its a good change and happened for the good.

Note:
If you have the earlier generation p220 bought before september and facing rear disc issues,
you should check the following:

1. The pattern of holes in the rear disc. It should be similar to the one in the picture. if its not similar and quite different (eg. Mine had a straight pattern of three holes in group) then its a cause of concern, and you can get it replaced.


2. Check if the brake fluid has any air bubbles in the line. That happened to few of my friends and removing the bubbles improved braking.


3. Check if the pressure built up in the fluid is proper. Immediately after servicing, the pressure is less and you need to apply more braking to get the pressure to normal


4. Check the disc plate for dust and clean it ocassionally to avoid damage to the disc pads.


5. The disc pads may also be worn out or damaged and should be checked.

After the second service

Let me first apologise for the delay in updating !! Well I was waiting for the rear disc problem to be rectified before i update the blog on the results of service. And though the rear disc problem still stays unresolved, here I go updatin on the service issues that were resolved and what else could have been done!

Engine Switching OFF:

This problem seems to be quite unique for my pulsar as I have not seen many guys talking about in any forums. So I guess my bikes is really Uniq and out of the box !!

The guys at autoservice, bangalore suggested me to change the petrol and observe for a few km. Till then I was using shell super unleaded and then changed off to speed 97. I guess that was not the actual solution for the problem as even after changing the fuel and drivin for about 600 kms, the problem still exists and I am glad that Mr. Venkat Shyam himself is going to look into this matter on this wednesday. He has requested me to leave the bike with him for a day so that he gets to analyse and get to the problem and possibly try out some trial and error solutions. I think now My Bike has become an experimental setup for AS bangalore !! I will update the news of this problem as and when I have the updates and the problem gers resolved.

Fairing Vibes:

Discussed this issue at length with Mr. Venkat Shyam, and He says its common and quite normal for the fairing to vibrate at rpm below 4000 and after that its realy is quite stable and not vibrating. SO I guess this is one of those inherent characters of Pulsar to remind us about the ruffness it can handle !! So guys, dont worry if your fairin vibrates quite a lot below 4K rpm. its normal...

Checking CO:

Whoooaaaa this is one thing where I can really see the technological advance in vehicles and especially this breed of 220s. My bike's CO was checked and it was wonderfully above normal.. at 6.2. Now they have reduced it to 2.4 and they say that should actually solve the problem of engine switching off also as well. But after this CO setting, the bike seems to be revving better than before and it surely feels great.

Rear Disc:

This problem still needs to be addressed and I have even visited Khivraj to discuss about a possible replacement of the disc plate and pad assembly all together. They have asked me to talk to their service engineer Mr.Mazid on monday(tomorrow). So i am sure i will get some info about it tomorrow and you can find an update on it definately when i get it.

Chain Slag:

The guys have tightened the chain a bit and used the chain lube spray to make it smoother and lubricated. Otherwise my god, I was wonderstruck seeing my chain so dry when I gave it to service. AIdeally, the chain should be lubricated every 400kms as told by the service guys. Otherwise that will result in the rougfhness feeling in the engine during breaking and slowing down using the clutch etc. The lubrication is very simple, You need to get the Chain Lube Spray being sold in the AS

Geting the Second service done

Now finally after the gruelling run-in period--> my bike is going for the second service and lets note down the check points for the same !!

let me note the problems or issues i have noticed in the bike before going to the service!
-> The bike was not as smooth as it was
-> Chain little loose(slag)
-> Rear disc brake not upto my expectations.. it takes its own sweet time to stop the bike and its really waste of using it in traffic
-> faring vibes ! little too much on high speeds . this i hav noticed wen i was cruising on the highway towards nandi hills
-> tripmeter resets after 950 kms
-> engine stops by itself when i start it in the mornings . surprisingly it doesnt go off during idling but only when we use the clutch.
-> check the CO and set it to optimum value

I have all these problems and one cosmetic issue.. i observed the paint chipping off ! can u imagine?? the factory paint slightly chipping off?? yea thats happening on the bike .. may be due to the loads of pollution to help it !! but who is to be blamed??

I give My bike for service at Auto Service. I met venkat shyam quite a few times and i feel this is the best service cntre in india for pulsars any breed !! if u r in bangalore auto service is the way to GO !!

will update the blog after the service ------> vrooooommm into the service centre !!

My First take on Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS FI

Here comes the BIG Daddy of the present generation of bikes -- Pulsar 220 DTS FI from our good old Bajaj stable, ofcourse the fastest production bike in India. The next time you happen to hear a thumping zoom past u, leaving an impression of performance biking, be sure its this Mean Machine just into action !! Now this undoubtedly puts the so called competition (which never existed actually !!) into the back seat.

Bajaj seems to have learnt the lessons of bike making the hard way, but they seem to improve their products regularly -- implementation of learnings, which is very important to sustain the growth. Now, coming to the details of this beauty of a machine, lemme tell you, no matter wat U ll never fall short of power for that real thrust in adrenaline. Delivering power and speed jus wen you want -- thats wat seperates this real BIKE from the so called bikes or rather commuter vehicles !!

With all the electronic ignition, LCD speedo, Fuel Injection, rear disc and oomph the list goes on to a never ending one... you really get more than wat you deserve for 92 Grand that you pay to own it.. This is one area where Bajaj has continuously excelled , pricing. For almost the same price, few thousands less, we used to get the zma with mere 2 bhp more than p180. the lazy zma, I can never forget the way 180 used to rock in the sprint races, kicking the a** of bigger 225 cc bikes( No offense meant !!).

Let me highlight the comfort features you get with this cool performer:
1) Engine fault indicator LED:
This light comes on when the ignition switch is 'ON' and goes'OFF' when the engine is started. If the light remains 'ON' even after the engine is started, it indicates a system malfunction. Simply, warning you to contact the service center soon to avoid any more damage. Isnt it great, having known the kind of busy life we live, the bike warns us to visit service guys !!

2) Auto cancelling of turn Indicators:
Do you have the habit of switching 'ON' the indicator during turns and occassionally or regularly forget to switch it 'OFF'?? if 'Yes', then dont worry, Bajaj has a solution for this too. Cancelling the indicators once we take the turn. Believe me, this feature has helped me a lot, and has never failed till date.

3) Tubeless Tyres:
Though we don’t actually find the difference between normal tyres and these in the first instance, tubeless tyres definitely help in handling and give you the sure footed feeling which is the most required feeling for riding with confidence defying the law of gravity. ( handling helps a lot in doing the sought after stuff eh – wheelies ).

4) Loads of indicators in LCD display:
You get low oil level, low battery, High engine temperature, and air filter element choked indications in the lcd display that help a lot in the fault diagnosis of the engine in case of a failure which I guess is a rare happening with this beauty.

5) Twin Head Lamps:
All the headstrong truck drivers, cabbies and car drivers beware—This bike comes with factory fitted with two 55/55 parabolic headlamps, stacked vertically inside the fairing. These lights really introduce a sense of shame to those drivers who don’t dip their lights in the night. These are easily the best, powerful and class defining lights I have ever come across.

6) Rear disc brake:
Now, giving us such a powerful beast, Bajaj was thoughtful enough to think of our safety too. That reflects in the rear disc brakes to reduce the stopping distance, though not enhancing braking experience to any great extent, they still do their job with good efficiency. Add to this the “automatic engine kill on fall” feature, which sounds quite new to us, gives us that added safety to pillion too. The bike engine seizes to run on the event of a fall and thus avoiding any damage due to engine running when bike falls off.

Well, as I said, if I had to list all the features of this beauty on the road, it would take me a very long time and lotta efforts. Hence, I will keep posting the additional features I find as and when I come across those. I hope this effort of mine does enlighten you on the bike’s features. In the next post, I shall discuss a few short comings, though very few – it will definitely matter a lot when you pay 92K for a beast which gives you raw power and license to thrill !! Kudos---

And as the sayin goes, It takes quite an effort to make a journey of thousand miles, and it starts with the first step ahead. I m sure Bajaj has done that and now it is for us to sit and enjoy all the others stepping up and play catch up ---- we are all smiles :)

Feel free to add a comment. As you spent your valuable time reading till here, let me know what you felt about this post.