Initial owner report - 500 Km done.

The Bajaj Pulsar 220 is a very very refined machine. With well designed gear ratios, it easily picks up even in top gear (5th). It just wants to go faster, but I did not exceed 70 (recommended was 60-65) before 1st servicing. I guess the limit should have been on RPM (4000?) than on speed.

The control-handling is a bit different because its definitely heavy. I did speed trials on the Taljai-Bhutbangala (Pune) hill roads. Handling is initially a bit tough on sharp turns at high speeds. I almost went off track, only once out of 6 runs (@60Kmph, 4th gear), on a narrow 90 degree sharp left turn. But got scared of falling off the hills after that and stopped :) . The bikes weight comes in play here, and it gave me a feel of loosing control due to that. I have good enough experience of falling of on a variety of bikes :P

Initial issues (cribs) noticed..

-The mirrors are for aesthetic purpose only. Although I'm 5-10, I can see only 30% of the rear in riding position, compared to 90% of the P150/180. But, the mirrors can be folded back from the base, giving it a very sexy aerodynamic look. Also, the mirrors themselves vibrate a lot, as they are mounted on a fiber front faring, which helps transmit the vibrations to the ends (tuning fork theory).

-The pillion sitting position is not very comfortable (according to wife, and compared with my old Caliber and P150), perhaps some getting used to is needed.

-The split seat is a good feature for the rider. But if you have your GF behind you, forget body surface contact (unless you brake hard on the front disks ;). That's because the normal rider position is leaning ahead, and the pillion is straight up. So guys will hate this, and girls who ask for lift's will love this.

-The oil cooled engine heats up very soon (even after 2-3Km) (obviously, its 220 cc's) and you can feel the heat even through thick jeans while waiting at signals. While riding, its a non issue. I think the oil cooler is only useful in such waiting situations. Otherwise the standard air cooling while riding must be sufficient. BTW, the oil cooler is just an 'oil only' cooler, to maintain viscosity of the oil, marginally stabilizing performance of the engine even after long hours of riding. It does not seem to have an active role in engine cooling. Judging by its size and design, I would say a meager 5-10% of engine temperature reduction over normal. I'm planning to install a active air cooling DC brush less fan system as a mod to the oil cooler radiator block. Design ideas are welcome..

-The front faring is not so efficient in creating a low air pressure envelope at high speeds (@70Kmph) for the rider. The air hits just below the helmet and above the chest in the neck area. This forces the air under the helmet and into the eyes, causing difficulty in vision at high speeds. Don't know if water will also rush in, in the same way under heavy rain-wind-speed combinations. That would be bad! Solution: Eye protection gear.. enclosed type.

-Rear disk brakes jammed up one fine day, after 250Km. Suddenly after driving for 8Km, they just froze up. Calling the PRO's, they sent a mechanic duo under 15 min, who removed the rear disk assembly on the road. They drove the bike and me back to the garage. 10 min after calling Bajaj main office, they decided to replace the whole assembly. A new one was put (design looks different, even materials look different). The rear disks although don't feel different. Now I have a fear of a re-occurrence in mind while doing a long trip. Problem - If Bajaj knew about the issue, they should have pro actively called 220 customers and replaced rather than wait for incidents.

-On day 2, the front wheel started making funny noises .. something like qui-qui-qui. Got scared and ran to PRO. They removed the wheel, and greased the wheel, speedo sensor assembly and center rod (axle ?). The noise reoccurred after 10 days. They put grease like crazy, and the noise is gone for ever. No recurrence yet.

-You can't see the front wheel at all, so its visually difficult, but easy to get used to.

-Digital fuel indicator is funny. I topped up the tank, the indicator shows two marks till full. Later, while the tank was say 30-40% used, the digital fuel indicator started fluctuating like crazy for a few min scaring me. I guess fuzzy-logic went fuzzy then? or a badly designed threshold. No issues after that incident.

-The side stand is in a really silly position. You just cant do a smooth cowboy like side-stand-&-walk-away like on a caliber or P150. I had to search for it visually every time, and the space to boot-in the stand is so very narrow. Also no side stand down indicator on this baby.

-The bike 'boots' up. So there is a waiting time of a few seconds for the Fuel-Injection pump to get started. It makes a nice sound reminding me of the 1.2"/1.44" floppy disk drives making a sound at PC boot up.

-The silencer cylinder has a nice shiny polish. The manual recommends that it should not come in contact with oil/grease to avoid permanent marks. Also the silencer tube is turning chromatic gold in color near the engine side due to heating. Manual says this is OK. PRO guys say this is good, as the bike looks nice with the gold shades... and it does.

-The bike it toooo fast for city driving; you are at 60Kmph under 6-7 secs casually. Good? No! BAD... the wife (pillion) is scared soon, and that affects incentives/benefits at home ;) So new rule for me - keep under 3000 rpm when with wife and riding in the city. Also the females (pillion) will tend to be jealous of the bike due to extra attention showered on the bike, by owner as well as 'public'.

-The rear split grab rail is just a big show off. It is very unpractical and difficult to hold on to, while pulling the heavy (140Kg gross) bike on the main stand. Also the pillion rider cant hold it as effectively.

Initial '+' points noticed..

-Lights are tooo good. The low beam (projection) has a very sharp cut off, comparable to any C class sedan one...! The high beam is a bit high (off target by 1/2 feet vertically, over a 15 feet horizontal ahead), and perhaps needs adjustment. I also wish both the lamps could be turned on for highway riding, may be a patch/loop can do it. The front parking (fox eye) lamps are white-light 5W each.

-Main lights turn on for a few sec even when the bike is not running. Good feature, although it will drain battery.

-Indicators auto cancel after a successful turn, or time out.

-PRO bike mechanics are technically competent, who understand what they do. They passed my 'tests' on all occasions. I guess they have been trained to reply in Hindi, although most seem to be Marathi speaking natives, and do occasionally speak in English too.

-Thankfully the rear disk brake has a lesser bite than the front, but enough to give a crisp disk feel whenever needed.

-The firing sound is a WOW at low and cruise RPM's. No need of shouting to speak with pillion. At high RPM's the sound of the wind keeps the firing sound muffled. The vibrations are also less giving the bike a smooth and refined feel.

-The user manual is pretty good, emphasizing biking safety everywhere. Technically well documented too, with only 1 or 2 non-factual errors.

-Finding neutral is a no-brainer, and the gear shifting is smooth 'n nice.

-The bike is a looker, and every one (even Skoda and Audi walas :) stare.. Common questions .. Is it modified? Whats the price? Mileage? Does it go fast? (Duh !?!)

-Virtually no engine knocking even in higher gears and low RPM's, thanks to good ECU maps.

-Engine equipped with an 8 bit microprocessor ECU core, so chance of hacking/flashing the ECP maps using over-the-shelf kits and understanding of ECU MAP's. (May void warranty). Good discussion on P220 and ECU here.

-Sensors galore. There are just too many sensors to list them all here. An unheard one is 'engine kill on bike fall'.

-Its a lot of electronics underneath. Lots of wires every, going into sturdy black enclosures. The 'missing' carburetor (so no choke too) gives the underneath a strange but futuristic look. Disadvantage - road side mechanics can be useless or worst.. my end up damaging something.

-The bike which is electric start only (no kick), even starts in any gear with a clutch pull. Not sure if electric start will work reliably on chilling cold Pune winter mornings (also Leh). PRO says it will, on second or third crank. But it also dhakka/push starts easily (ya I tried to be sure), of course fuel pump must be on and bike must have booted up. So a dead battery, and you go nowhere!

-Descent mileage of 35Kmph and 36Kmph on 1st and 2nd runs, before 1st servicing. But then I use BPCL Speed (Octane 93). Then manual even recommends Petrol with an Octane rating of 87 and above. FYI.. Higher Octane only means lesser knocking, and a cleaner fuel system, highly recommended for fuel injections systems as they have pumps involved.

-Fuel injection, means better efficiency of burning fuel, hence a lean engine. So less loss wasted fuel, better emission control, so a less polluted planet :) .

-Broader tubeless tires give the bike an overall good grip on the road. The rear tyre has a soft rubber feel, and wears off easily after skidding or hard rear braking. The broader tyre also allows a steeper lean angle. Although I did not exceed my current caliber/pulsar 150 angles.

-Front forks are pretty strong. The design is reinforced with circular ring-cylinder designs. It is looks way stronger then the P200's fork. So in spite of looking at the scary pics of broken 200 forks, these ones only inspire confidence.

Thats it for now. More reporting after 2nd servicing. Please do leave any comments/ questions/ advise.