This is simply amazing...

Found this amazing story browsing Xbhp today....

The Musket

Hats off to Mr. Aniket Vardhan

Detailed account from the man himself

Continue Reading...

Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania

Well this should be fun to watch....

The Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania

At last an Indian Television Show arround bikes. I'm hoping the show to be way different than the unthinkable crap - MTV Roadies!!

Continue Reading...

TVS Apache RTR 180

There's nothing officially said about the TVS Apache RTR 180 on the TVS Motors India web site, but today I found this video on YouTube.....

The TVC seems to be a direct lift from the famous Yamaha Dreams!!

Continue Reading...

A visit at the KRP

Kaulson Racing Products.....

Well that's the name of a quality solution which most of the bike enthusiasts look for. I mean I'm not saying about about those mindless cosmetic mods... not at all.

I'm talking about some very very serious bike upgradations, like, fitting Steering Damper, ABS, export quality and very thoroughly tested clutch and brake livers, Michilen Soft compoud tyres with section going as high as 230, K&N Free Flow Air Filters, NGK Iridium Spark Plugs .... man.... they have some really serious stock over there....

The best part is.... while they are primarily working for providing spares, repairs and services for Super Bikes (including providing used Super Bikes), they have stocks which can be fitted on Indian bikes too.... majorly for the 150cc and above segment.....

Though I had very seriously planned for some upgradations to my Pulsar 200 over this weekend, but couldn't do so due to some unforseen circumstances, but the good part is, I really got to know a group of people who really think at the next level and provide quality services.

So, all friends in Delhi and NCR... if you are looking for some very serious upgrades to your love machines.... try KRP once. Continue Reading...

Bajaj is really Transforming

First it's their website.... and now this TVC!!

Doesn't make much sense from a bike's perspective, but definitely is fun to watch!!

Continue Reading...

Revamped Bajaj

Off late Bajaj has been facing a lot of heat both from the market and from the online community to keep up the pace with it's competitors and in regards to it's Pulsar Flagship products.

Today when I logged on to the Bajaj Website, it was a pleasant surprise!! It's Pulsar all over the site. The site is more attacking on it's competitors, graphic presentation and content wise, and also is much more fun!!

Not only the entire presentation of the website has been updated, but the background score is also quite jazzy if you have your "heavy duty" speakers full blown ;)

So, going by the current boiling pot of Pulsar upgrades, I quickly checked the website out in search of some information.....

Though there was no new information for the Pulsar 200 DTS-i and Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi, the Pulsar 150 DTS-i and Pulsar 180 DTS-i site were showing "Under Construction", which really fuels the fire of some expected changes.

For the Pulsar 220 and Pulsar 200 there is not documented changes updated in the Web Site (including the Pulsar 220 front faired Pulsar 200).

Very soon, I would be going for some modifications on my Pulsar 200!! Let's see who fares better, Bajaj Auto, or me ;) (pun intended!!)

Continue Reading...

Bajaj back in green

Going by the March 09 sales figures for BAL, the company is back in green, making at solid 15% growth in the two wheelers' sales figures as against March 08.

Per Bajaj, currently the company is gliding high on the sales and success of it's newly launched Bajaj XCD 135, which saw a sales of 21,883 units in March 09, which in turn has helped the company tremendously to recover from it's negative sales figures which plagued the company for the last couple of months in 09.

Well, I would say good for the company!! But really I haven't seen as many XCD 135s on road as of yet. If I try to remember hard, I would say..... I have seen only two over here in Gurgaon. :) Continue Reading...

A colorfull 2009 Yamaha MT-01 SP Limited Edition

It seems that not only Yamaha India, but Yamaha Global is also getting more inclined towards implementing color jobs on their existing bikes and releasing them as their new variants (guess somebody is spreading some sort of a virus)....

Yamaha decided to give it's customer a more intense experience of the "Kodo" and so, here comes the 2009 Yamaha MT-01 SP Limited Edition

The basic engine specs remains the same at 1670cc V-Twin producing a max of 90hp @ 4,750 rpm and a max torque of 150Nm at 3,750 revs.

But what has been altered is that the Limited Edition gets a 43mm USD Öhlins forks and adjustable Öhlins rear shocks. The bike which was already riding on 17" wheels now sports 120/70 front and 190/50 rear Pirelli Diablo Rosso rubber.

The color combination of White, Red, Black and Gold would have definitely look great on a R1, but in a MT-01, I'm not liking it that much!! But again, this is my personal view and liking changes from person to person.

Continue Reading...

Bajaj XCD-135 - Ridden

Yesterday I got opportunity to have a test ride of the new Bajaj XCD -135. I've already mentioned in my previous post about the bike I was pretty disappointed with the looks and features of the bike, specially when I compare the bike with what I saw at the 2008, Auto Expo. But today I can say that even though I was disappointed in the beginning, but today I've no grudges about the bike.

So let's begin with the overall features and specs of the bike.

The bike is fitted with 134.60 cc DTS-SI engine producing a max Power Output of 10.2 PS @ 7500 rpm and a max torque of 11.58 Nm @ 5000 rpm. The test bike I rode was Kick Start with Drum variant having a kerb weight of 113 kg.

The styling fit and finish of the bike is quite nice. In fact the styling of the bike, specially the Digital Speedo assembly, the electronics assembly on the handle bar is better than the Pulsar siblings.

Apart from the styling, the bike has also implemented the Auto Choke and Ride Control Switches

The Head Lamp assembly, with it's twin pilot lamps also looks refreshing along with it's "horny" visor ;)

One thing which I very specifically noticed was the placement of the front number plate. It was bolted on the front mud guard. Guess Bajaj over did itself with the design and patents, as it failed to implement it's already patented low front number plate clamp implementation, which the company implemented on the Bajaj XCD 125.

So, going around the bike for a while, now it was time for the test ride.

The kick as expected was quite smooth and required almost no effort to crank the machine to life. The engine note, for me was something new!! To me it sounded like the cute purr of a small kitten. The engine note was so low, that in traffic you would have a hard time listening to the engine note. The 5 speed gearing is all front and the gear box was smooth as a butter. Guess finally Bajaj has cracked the puzzle to implement a butter smooth Gear Box.

One thing that awesome about the bike, it the amount of pull it generates in a given gear, and the amount of torque the bike has. The Power:Weigth ratio and the Torque:Weight ratio works like magic for this bike. To test the torque of the bike, I halted the bike at 5th gear to a stop and tried to pull the bike from a stop. I was expecting a howling engine note and jittery engine seize... but to my utter surprise..... the bike pulled itself from there, with me (around 80 kg) riding it. Though it did put some effort but it did pull itself. That's how well managed the torques are in this bike.

Being light, the bike is very readily flick able, and maneuvering is quite effortless.... be it at speeds of 20kmph or 80 kmph. Even though the spec chart says the max speed of the bike is 90kmph, but I felt the bike has all the capability built in that small power house beneath the saddle to touch 110kmph.

So, after a quick ride, here's what I felt are the positives and negatives of the bike.

Positives

1) First and foremost, the Pull and Torque generated by the small 134.60 cc DTS-SI engine. It's simply magical.

2) The aggressive styling of the bike.

3) The ride comfort.... it's a perfect commuter seating with loads of spice thrown in.

4) The very positive gear box assembly.

5) The engine note..... I simply loved it.

Negatives

1) The Tank fairing is completely false and have no other purpose apart from being adding to the over all styling of the bike.

2) I personally didn't liked the design of the turn indicators. To me they look stupid and illogical. The design and implementation of the turn indicators on the revamped Bajaj Discover 135 make more sense as they make use of the Tank Fairings.

3) The LED Tail lamp design should have been kept the same as on the XCD shown at the Auto Expo.

Overall I found the new Bajaj XCD 135, very appealing and a great value for money for the Indian Commuter.

Continue Reading...