Frankly speaking, I've been never been a fan of the braking capabilities of any Pulsar for that matter. Even the braking on the newest breeds of Pulsars are not up to the mark. So, for quite sometime, I've been into discussions with very highly recommended in Delhi, and today finally decided to go for the bare minimum job to get the braking somewhat sorted out.
So, what was the problem in braking after all??
1) The feedback was the upper most concern. Right from day one, it never inspired confidence in me. Even in the best of conditions, when ever I applied the brakes, somewhere at the back of the mind, sub consciously I was a little scared.
2) Frequent wheel locks and the wheel getting banked on the right side. Wheel locks is something that you expect to do from disc brakes, but the way it was happening, was what was getting me uncomfortable.
So, what got changed -
1) Bajaj Pulsars get KBG disc oil chamber factory fitted. They are cheap, but are certainly not the best performers. So, switched to Nissin, one of the leaders in braking technology from Japan. So, out goes KBG disc oil chamber and brake lever and in comes Nissin.
So, this sorted out that prime need of braking feedback. Now with a single touch of the finger I can feel the exact amount of pressure that's being applied and the exact amount of braking being applied. I can feel the nose going down slowly as I'm increasing the pressure of the lever. This was completely missing earlier. Hitherto, there was completely no nose going down till a certain amount of braking. Instead the nose used to go down all of a sudden and that time I was really squeezing the lever quite hard.
2) Second effort was made to rectify the crispness of the braking, where I want and when I want. This was achieved by having steel braided brake hose go in. General stock brake hoses are rubber hoses, which tend expand when the hydraulic pressure increases, resulting in loss of braking power. But with the inclusion of steel braided hose, the braking has become spot on. Now the bike is braking with a mission!!
All in all I'm very happy with the manner in which the mods have turned out so far. But to be fully acquainted with the newly achieved braking power, I would like to take some time and know more!! :)
Waiting to hear more about your mod experience
ReplyDeleteWell... today I got to test the how the mods are working!! A lady infront of me driving an Alto slammed the brakes all of sudden as a stupid cycle rider came infront of her!! I was having a cab right behind me. I lacthed on the brakes while trying to tilt the bike to ride to avoid getting hit by the cab from behind. The brake allowed me to do that very comfortably. For the last 3-4 foot I just jabbed the brake and whola.... the front locked... dragged a bit (coz the tred is kinda worn out) and then came the stoppie!! In no moment the bike showed signs of getting unbalanced. With the previous settings, I would have definitely been in blood in that time!! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear that the mods are doing the job.. but take a look at the tyres too.
ReplyDeleteUsually the compound on our Indian tyres become hard after about 3 years, even if the tread pattern seems to be ok.
Hard rubber doesn't provide the same amount of grip, check if the tyres needs to be replaced as well.
Totally agreed with you bro!! The tires need to be changed big time and that has always been my top priority for quite sometime now. Talked with KRP and thinking of going for Michilen Pilots
ReplyDeleteA fresh set of tyres will make a world of difference in the way the bike rides, corners and brakes
ReplyDelete