Best Bike of the Year 2009??? - Pulsar 220 i

Well!!! friends here comes the review...

I know that i have tested your patience to a higher level. But for the patience you will really love reading this post.

Ok... let's get into the discussion. 2008 was a good year for the Bike enthusiast as there was a great change in the top speed of bikes from just 135kmph(by Pulsar220Fi) to 140kmph(by R15)
But the prices of the best bikes sold in the market was also higher. (80K to 1.1L)

The Year 2009 has brought us a great change which made R15 a smaller machine which was considered the best in 2008. Because the mighty 250 Ninja entered Indian market.

Not only that the revamped Karizma ZMR Fi, which is no more waiting for others, with its excellent pickup and perfect combination of Gear Ratio make it a bike well suited for tracks possibly.

Other than that remodelled FZ series - Fazer 150, Excellent looks and styling but yamaha forgot to upgrade the engine which slightly made the bikers to make it as a second alternative.

The Suzuki GS150R considered to be one among the best but after its launch market grew enormously making it un-noticable. Not a big fall, still it gives the best mileage in 150c bikes

The new Pulsar 180 UG4, completely new with boosted up looks and engine, provides the best out of it than expected also the 150 gets new design but the engine remains the same.

Apache RTR 180 Menace, Next level of bike Enthusiasm with ultimate pickup and top speed and comfort (not for tall guys).

Ninja is the bike that has won the Bike of the Year in India by almost all reviewers. But am not going to support Ninja. Because it was a product that was over-priced in an economical market like india.

Only because of the prie am nopt willing to provide the Best Bike award. If it was priced between 1.5 to 1.8Lacs sure it will be the Bike of the Year for Indian Bikes review site. (Expecting Bajaj to reduce the price).

There is no immediate competitor to ninja, even though Pulsar 220dts-i, Karizma ZMR Fi and Apache RTR180 follows (Pulsar 180 was not included since its family member was included already)

Comparing Apache 180 and Karizma ZMR Fi,

Karizma Fi is completely revamped, but not to the level of the market. In terms of pickup, Karizma hardly over takes Apache below 70Kmph of speed and some times loses too. But above 70Kmph it rules Apache. But for a 220cc bike it is so miserable to compete with a 180cc bike even after spending more than 10K.

But Karizma with its new fairing gains more attraction but which also make the bike more heavier than others.

Pulsar 220i cheaper than the other two and performs better to the satisfaction apve the mark expected.

Not only the lesser price but also good mileage which makes the bike best suited for an Indian who needs power play with his economic bike.

I could hear rumours about Bajaj's poor quality spares. but compare the prices it is around 50% lesser than the other brands which we mention to be a good quality product.

So considering the Pulsar 220i a best bike with the combination of Economy, Performance and Style and wat so ever an indian biker needs.

Pulsar 220-i Best bike of the Year

Cheers!!!

(Oops! sorry to mention the Runner - None other than the Karizma ZMR Fi - cos he has the best styling and he was designed to rule.

even though he has not won the Best Bike of the Year.

He is the "King Bike of the Year"

Cheers again!!!

Pulsar 180 UG-4 vs Apache RTR 180 : Let's Rate the Rebels

Pulsar 180 vs Apache RTR 180

Ofcourse it's really a difficult task to ompare two great warriors who are rebels knocking out meach other in various aspects.

Pulsar180 - All time hero, won many awards and races. But UG4 upgrade had a big change in the bike's performance, looks, handling, etc...

Apache RTR180 - Racing bike just took a step ahead and with unlimited performance packed with the same old sturdy body design.

Lets start the comparison with the Engine:
Pulsar has the bigger engine with 178.6cc, where as Apache has got only 177.4cc. Also considering the performance of the engine Pulsar is more efficientnt than Apache.

Top Speed:
Both the bikes carries a tag of top speed of 125Kmph. But actually pulsar 180 will not cross 119 where as Apace has some speedo - errors which inturn will equal the top speed of both the bikes. But i personally feel that Apache will be 2 or 3 Kmph faster than Pulsar 180.

Pick Up:
The Racing Throttle Response wins here, since pulsar will have very low torque at higher rpm (say above 9500rpm) where the bike will not reach better speed within its 4th gear. Once 4th gear is reached Pulsar will start ruling the road.

Mileage
Pulsar wins Apache in terms of mileage. Apache cannot provide you a good mileage (at max you can expect 42kmpl). But pulsar can make you feel better with its 47kmpl mileage on city roads and above 50kmpl on highways)

Price:
Both the bikes are ost effective and not much costlier. but a solid difference of 5000 persists between the price of Apache and Pulsar.Apache can be bought for around 71,000.Rs and Pulsar can be brought around 67,000.Rs incluive of Tax,regn. and insurance.

Final Decision:
Best Value for Money: Pulsar 180
Best Racing experience: Apache 180

The best bike of the two is none and i consider both the bikes as equal competitors and announce that both the bike has won the race in Indian Bikes Review.

Hoping that am Honest!!!

Cheers!!!

TVS Jive - Hands free in automobile

TVS Jive, the new comer for the TVS Automobile, is the first entry towards Hands-free (Clutch-free) two wheeler segment.

It has been a strong competition in India in the two wheeler segments with the giants (Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda) rocking the market. Questions arose whether our Indian manufacturers will survive. But as an immediate action Indian manufacturers Bajaj and TVS placed some strategy that is nothing but innovation.

Bajaj and TVS has been constantly innovating and Jive is also a result of innovation.

The Jive bike is an intermediary between Scooter and bike, but the convenience of Bike and driving experience will be just like scooter changing its gear automatically.

The Bike offers a very good output power and pickup. Hence the performance is also not an issue.

Specifications:
Engine Displacement: 109.7cc
Engine Type: 4 Stoke, Air cooled, T-Matic
Output Power:8.4Bhp@7500rpm
Engine Torque: 8.3nm@5500rpm
Weight: 105Kgs
Gear: 4-speedT-Matic Gears
Top Speed: 98Kmph(approx.)
Mileage: >70Kmpl

Due to its good looking and revolutionary T-Matioc gears. the bike would be an real success. Also the T-Matic not only just decreases the lead time for the gear shift, the bike also performs well in terms of pickup because of it.

Cheers!!!

Pulsar 135 LS - Small Thunder

Pulsar 135 with its predecessor's name is not worthless when compared with other bikes of its segment.

Pulsar 135 Engine is from Discover 135(old) though there are many upgrades which just brings the bike to the peak of performance. Out of which, i would say the best upgrade was the four-valved engine which provides the bike a better output than we think from a tiny 135cc engine.

First when i started the bike, it was just like XCD engine, but still i could find the difference in the Exhaust sound which sounded something rebellious. Since it was my first ride with Pulsar135 i don't wanted to clock top speed. But once i started my ride smoothly, i shocked to see my bike crossing 65kmph at no efforts. The bike's vibration slightly disturbed me that am driving fast(other pulsars will disturb gradually) . (Vibrations are not like XCD that's really cool). Actually i should not compare it with any of the 125cc or 135cc bikes. Its worthy to be compared with 150cc bikes.

The bike is very light and also carries a small engine tank unlike other pulsar, due to this Kutti (Chotta) pulsar, can rock the roads easier due to lessr weight that it carries.

About pickup, the pulsar135 has a good pickup. Am able to reach 0-60kmph within in 6 secs (with the third gear when crossing 60). the sound that was produced was reduced much in this bike. But i feel that the foot rest gives me more vibratin compared to our bigger pulsars.

Seating position is also good but i dont think that this bike will suit tall guys (say above 5'10''). However the clipon handles and the engine soop will make you feel definitely that you are on a race. So commuters drive carefully.

Smaller front suspensions used in Pulsar 180UG-3, Pulsar 150 UG-3&4, was used in this bike, since the bike weighs only 122Kgs, also it will be best suited.

Other than that arrogant looks, Excellent top speed (111kmph) were also the features that will knock your heart.

Speifications:

• Engine Dsplacement : 134.6cc
• Engine Type : 4 Stroke, Air Cooled, 4 - valved
• Output Power : 13.5Bhp@9000rpm
• Engine Torque : 11.4nm@7500rpm
• Gear : 5 Speed gear box
• Fuel Tank : 8Ltrs (XCD)
• Weight : 122Kgs
• TopSpeed : 115kmph

Hope the bike would disturb both 125cc and 150cc bike segment.

Expecting more and more outcomes interms of innovation and technology.

Cheers!!!

Kawaski Ninja - The King of Kings

Ninja... The name itself makes us feel Wow!!! Isn't it?

Well... after a long time in this new year i'm proud to review about the best Indian Entry Level sports bike.

a 249 cc bike with more than 30bhp is not just a simple information to discuss about.

Remember that the follower, P220 itself is unable to produce more than 21.5bhp. Then the bike is undoubtedly a leader in the current market situation.

Unluckily i didn't get a chance to drive the bike. But i am very much glad that at least I've been allowed to get seated on the bike.

Man!!! you wont believe that was the most aggressive seating position that I'd seen in our old Indian bikes. Actually i should not compare ninja with the current toppers of Bike Pulsar, Karizma, R15 due to their smaller sized engines. Not only the seating position, the view of the bike is also astonishing and sure the owner will not be on earth when he rides on it.

Specifications:

1. Displacement: 249cc
   
2. Engine Type: 4 Stroke, SOHC, Fuel Injected
   
3. Output Power: 33Bhp @11500rpm
   
4. Engine Torque:22nm @8000rpm
   
5. Fuel Capacity: 17Ltrs
   
6. Gear: 6 Speed Gear box
   
7. Weight: 172Kgs
   
8. Top Speed: 175Kmph
   

Pros:

1. Style and Design
2. Over-All-Quality of the Bike
3. Durability and Longevity of the Engine
   

Cons:

1. Very Costly nearing price of cars in india
   
2. Mileage is not satisfactory even when bajaj claims 42kmpl

Ratings: 9.1/10


Cheers!!!

The Dubai story - 2

Dubai is a city of rich. or rather Dubai Emirate is Emirate of rich. Its not a city per se. And if you are rich with U$Ds, the better. Your american-ness will be very helpful here. Dubai and USA share a fascination towards each other, you can't miss it unless you are unlucky enough to be locked in a 6x6x8 cell in French Guiana since your birth and you cannot make out Paris Hilton from Indira gandhi. Not that I am complaining about it. After all we have generations in India living to a dream of going to US of A and making it big. Its modernness is so polished and so recent. Actually every modern city is bound to be polished, but there is something about Dubai which makes you wonder and scratch your head in amazement and awe. For a land that became a country as late as 1971, their achievements are mega. There are still a few rough patches although like: You see, on one hand there is world's tallest building (Burj Dubai,yeah) and on the opposite side, camels grazing in the desert, no kidding! But that issue is fast being looked after. Soon there will be no such contradicitions to be seen, and they are almost there. For the starters, there are virtually no poor people. No shabby houses. No broken roads. No garbage. No dirt. No smelly by lanes. No crowd, In fact there are almost no people on the roads.The public transport vehicles are nice and clean, so are the bus and metro stops. If you are coming from India, be warned, you are going to miss a lot of things. Another thing you notice is quantity and quality of cars, that too big huge cars. Small cars and two wheelers are next to non-existent. If you see a bike, consider it one of those rare days so it might rain. If you see two bikes in a day, you most probably roamed out of Dubai to some other emirate, may be Ajman. If you see a bi-cycle, you came far, far-off like say,India. For a person like me who is crazy for all things that move on wheels (yeah you read it right, girls on skates included) I was in heaven. Listing the cars that I saw would be too tiring to write and read. For the connoisseurs, I would mention a few very rare and remarkable cars that I saw roaming in Dubai:
(*note: the serial numbers are not as per their significance, it will be insulting for the cars who got a number other than #1)

1. Ford GT, An American legend. Its awesomeness is not to be calculated. Ford's flag bearer based on the legendary Ferrari killer GT40 and probably the best Ford ever made. After Model T that is.

2. Lotus 7 or Caterham 7. Lotus 7 is too old, I guess it was Caterham 7 only. He zoomed past in a moment. A bare bones machine for purists. You should be executed if you don't like it.

3. Ferrari Enzo ( In fact almost all other models of Ferrari). You agree to it or not, but Enzo is the car. It is also Italian, making it extra ordinarily desirable. Not only that, it is also outrageously staggeringly violent and disastrously fast. One push on pedal and you are in other continent.With only 400 ever made, I would like to get run over by it and die, if I am to die someday.

4. KTM X-Bow...yeah! KTM also makes this totally insane 4 wheeled machine and someone has got it in Dubai already. I could not click it but it looks like below, I was in total awe to pull out camera. Don't go by the looks and its biking blood line. It can push your eye balls to the back of your head when you accelerate. With no visible protection and engine screaming mad at 5 inches from your ears, try to stand without trembling your legs in front of it.

5. BMW 8 series, a 850 CSI. Humongous V12 engined BMW coupe/tourer, so far ahead of its time that when people reached to that time,it was already old.

6. Lamborghini Gallardo spider in totally awesome matte grey finish. The baby lambo is capable of mauling you into a senseless blob of flesh with its sound, looks, power and what not. Give respect, don't expect any. Its rush and frenzy can only be bettered by other lambo and Enzo.

7. Maserati Quattroporte(below) and GT, OK these are not rare in a convinient manner, but still exotic as hell. You just cannot go wrong. Marvelously Italian. Criminally beautiful. Sexy as Sophia Lauren.

8. Chevrolet Corvette ZR1,C06 etc etc : Another American legend. ZR1 they say is the best corvette yet and in fact best American car ever made. Comparing it with Ford GT will be delicious, but I will still hand over the cup to GT due to its rarity and image.

9. Rolls Royce Phantom in golden...only in Dubai you can have something like this. Its a monstrous car of monstrous price.But in Dubai its just a piece of heavy English metal. It's a ticket to the show where you can display your phat money. It may be colossal but it is not beautiful. The only car which I hate to put on this list.

I was hoping even before I flew to Dubai, that I would get to see a Bugatti Veyron but it evaded me some how. The other cars however made it up more than enough. Whenever we walked on road, my head would turn here and there as the cars passed. I remember look on my friend's faces when I showed them some car. Every other second I would point to some car and make them see. Made them go crazy by the end of tour. My apologies Senthil and Solomon!

A Dodge Charger(above) and Chevrolet Camaro 4th generation(top). Celebrate America! would you please? Thank you. (By the way, see that handy work of obscuring the number plate on Camaro?done by yours truly)

In India, cars are very easy pointers of one's worth and well being-ness.If you have a car, you automatically become eligible for exclusivity. In Dubai, that hardly makes a difference: EVERYONE has car(s). That makes classification a bit difficult. Following is an approximate guide on the reactions you may get according to how you arrive :

a. on a bike : "pizza delivery boy! you are late by 10Min's"

b. small car, say Swift : you should not exist in Dubai, or rather you do not exist already.

c. a entry mid segment car like Hyundai Verna or Honda City : your forefathers were construction labours in Sharja. You are a labour supervisor in Dubai.

d. premium mid size car like Octavia or Civic : Pre-School teacher of secondary language English, beacuse obviously you do not speak arabic. A Second generation, middle class, boring expat.

e. Premium car like Accord or Camry : "You taxi driver!!!". So you point that your car does not have those red-green lights on top nor is the car off-white. You get an unimpressed reply " So you stole your taxi itself?".

f. A custom modded Lancer or Imprezza : We like your car, not you. Don't try any weird shit on our roads, boy racer, go to Japan and drift.

g. Luxury sedan like any BMW 5 or Audi 6 or Mercedes E : So what? I told you they don't like European cars. You neo-rich expats...

h. Luxury sedan like Cadillac CTS : "Yo Americano!! welcome to Dubai"

i. Any large SUV like Hummer, Escalade : "You guzzle so much of gas! We so like you" also that makes you American by default, so double bonanza.

j. Super luxury sedan like 7 series or S class : OK...Your forefathers were illegal gold exporters during 80's and 90's. You still deal gold with Indians. Apparently legal.

k. A full blown sports car like Ferrari 430F: A kid of real estate dealer. Give me your papa's contact.

l. Super duper luxury, Rolls Royce phantom or ghost : Ah ha, and a raised eye brow. You might get a welcome drink. Coke. Not water.

m. A helicopter : ummmm, papa of Ferrari 430 driving kid. "Let's talk real estate and dollars".

n. A private jet liner: Now this is something. You get a drink. Water this time.

o. A totally sweet 550 feet yacht : you ARE a Shaikh. So you don't step out at all. The hotel comes and builds a lobby right till your private port with red carpet, woven with solid gold thread. Women straight from arabian nights standing on sides, welcoming you.

and as Emiratis say,Shukran!
P.S. some other cars seen in Dubai below, just like that!

A sweet Audi R8. Inside the tunnel that goes from under the main stem of Palm Jumeirah till Atlantis.

Dubai's favourite car.Arrive in one of these, and earn respect. Because obviously the more gas you guzzle, more you are liked. I could not click a yellow stretched hummer!

One of numerous limos in Abu-Dhabi. It was the first time I saw a SUV stretched to make a Limo...that too a dilapidated Ford Excursion. But so what? It is a truck ok? and it is American.

The Dubai story -1

Alright, Rise and shine sir, I take a u-turn and come back to this little blog as I said earlier, I changed my mind. A warning: The next few posts have nothing to do with my bike (which is currently running nicely, amen). I just happened to hit on a jackpot and got lucky. I will cut the prologue of how I got lucky, you see I don't like to see my readers getting jealous. But the story goes like this - I was made to play games,then booze, then play some more game, then go around karting track in a Go-Kart and then land in Dubai one fine morning from Hyderabad. I am so lucky that my Emirates flight was sponsored, so was my hotel stay and food...
Anyways, I land there with my stomach full with nice lunch and beer. The first thing I saw from the door is a Ford Focus and I became happy. The smile glued on my face from that moment remained till I boarded (sponsored!)flight back to India after the tour. We go inside and I was astonished at the marvellously huge and beautiful airport. Everyone was needed to go through eye-scan before they stamped our Visas as valid. I still don't know what was the reason behind it. There were some 5 queues of people 1 especially for women. Each queue was ending at a counter with retina scan machine and an Arab operating it. Amazingly for women also a man was there with huge face and pouty lips and moon surface skin, looking terrible. The person for my queue was quite safe looking, thank you! Me along with my friends were standing when I noticed that it was almost India with 80 out of 100 people around me speaking Hindi. Finally we reach at the end and my friend Senthil goes for the scan.. He sits on the chair facing the Arab and closes one eye, positions other eye towards the machine. The Arab is not satisfied, he takes a look at visa and gestures with his hand to open the eye widely. Mr.Senthil 'opens' as much as possible but not enough. The person is frusrated and seeing an Indian slips to HINDI! He says "Aankh kholo!" in weird accent. Now, Mr.Senthil here comes from Chennai and knows as much Hindi as Paris Hilton knows about what is being smart. He sits there dumbly, without emotions. The Arab takes a pityfull look at him and barks "Aankh kholo, Badaa badaa!!" and opened his own eyes wide. As if finally on some clue Senthil shows some movement of eye, but just. Not enough. I certainly did not want the first casuality to occur within minutes of landing and looked on dreadly. The Arab must have gone crazy by now, he curled his lips downward, clenched his fist and opened it slowly, just like a flower. Senthil finally got it and I guess he opened his eye really REALLY wide as he got the stamp on visa. I was next. I don't exactly remember but I must have kept my eyes in a ohh-what-a-surprise-mode, because the Arab immediately stamped the document.
First hurdle cleared, with all of our limbs in tact!
P.S. - All the talks such as very freely given capital punishment, your limbs being cut for offences etc etc are crap. Me however, till today, have taken very good care of my body. So losing a limb trying to stretch UAE law, was out of contention and results would have been disastrous. Coding as they say is tough. With only one hand left, it will be impossible I guess.
And I suggest if you ever go to Dubai, you also do the same: do not try to verify. As we all know, that you never know.
To start, here is a picture of the awesome Dubai airport entrance. The colors keep changing every 2 seconds.


shukran!