22nd August 2009, 19:53
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| Senior - BHPian  | Purple Haze - My 2004 Pulsar 180 DTSi I'm guilty. I'm really really guilty. The oldest member in my stable, the one that has been with me through 3 states, 25K kms and countless storms, deserved a thread the day I joined this forum. Yet so far I've not even put up a single pic of her. But all that is about to change. Over the following pages, I'll pour my heart out for her, because I've never really loved any automobile as much as I've loved her. At some stages you may feel I've gone into unnecessary trivia, or too much detail. Bear with me if you've experienced similar euphoria. I'm sorry that there arent too many pics. Just goes to show I was busier riding her than photographing her  .Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present Purple Haze - AKA 2004 Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi! Part 1: The Build up to the Purchase It was the winter of 2001. PW was a regular 20 year old kid college going kid, decent driver and quite hooked on to cars. Bikes never tempted him so much. He'd taken a couple of rides on his friends' bikes (Bajaj Boxers, Hero Hondas etc) but felt they were too underpowered and cycle like. He had also ridden a bullet once. Loved the thump and the macho look it gave him - a 6 foot plus kid on a macho bike et all. But he was horrified because once the initial impression got over, the bullet felt like agricultural machinery to operate. In short, he had never been bitten by the biking bug. Then one fine December morning, the December 2001 issue of Overdrive magazine arrived at his doorstep. For the first time, OD had dedicated the entire front cover to bike, with a close up shot of the 180 engine (and the Pulsar lettering) taking up the whole cover. He opened the mag and read the entire Pulsar story with interest. What a review! Adil Jal Darukhanwala and his team had gone ga ga over the bike, singing praises of the manic power delivery (especially from the 180 engine), lovely handling and good package. It was the greatest thing to happen to the Indian biking scene, they said. The article managed to buy PW's attention. Something must be special about the bike! PW also had an avid biker uncle. All of 55 years old, he was one of those "forever young and carefree types", the type of man who grows old only in mind, not in body. Jokingly, PW and his dad called him "Archie Andrews" with reference to his youth. This man was one of the first people to book a Pulsar 180 in Kolkata. When his bike arrived, Mr. Andrews promptly came to show it off to PW. "Here you go champ, take a look at my new ride." "Wow, uncle, the bike looks nice. So muscular, so big. Can I (in the most pleading tone one could muster) take a ride?" said PW. "Of course, son, go right ahead." What followed next changed PW's idea of bikes forever. The black bike snarled its way to the redline, powered its way through corners, and the first time he braked, it almost threw him off. Everything - the power, the chassis and the brakes - were more impressive than any bike PW had experienced before. And the fact that a novice like him had managed to ride the bike for an hour and not caused an accident - was certainly attributed more to the capabilities of the bike than to his capabilities as a rider  .By the time he returned, PW was truly hooked. Next step was to convince dad to buy him a Pulsar 180. Easier said than done. PW's parents were from those families where no one has ever owned a bike. All they've heard of is distant relatives owning bikes, most of whom suffered a fatal accident. The first time he proposed the idea, his mom shrieked, his dad put on the most obstinate look. "Are you mad? Haven't you heard of Raj uncle? Arre my bua's sister in laws younger son baba! He owned a red Yezdi. He was riding home one night, hit a divider, flew over and landed against an oncoming vehicle. Young guy, such a nice guy, passed away at the age of 35 only. All for that wretched bike!" screamed his mom. "There's no way that I'm going to buy my only son a death warrant" thundered his dad. "You're good enough using public transport. If you ever need wheels, just use the home Maruti". But PW was determined. He kept pestering his parents, explaining theories to them about how a bike was only as dangerous as the person riding it, how buying a bike would reduce his monthly transport costs, how his parents never had to worry about him coming home late - and similar crap. They kept up the stern opposition, ably supported by other relatives when they were informed about what was brewing in the household. Various ways out were suggested ("How much does a P180 cost? 65K? we can get a second hand car for that amount" or "ok, how about a 100 cc bike? Less powerful and less dangerous"). But PW had his mind set. It was to be the P180 or nothing else. The only man who continuously supported him was the aforementioned Archie uncle. When PW's dad said he wasnt a good enough rider to ride a powerful bike, uncle personally certified PW's riding skills ("The chap's an awesome rider") and even lent his own bike for PW to ferry his dad. When they said biking wasn't safe enough, he cited his own example "Look at me man. I'm 55, I've had 26 bikes in life (he really has) and double as many accidents. Its ok. Men survive." (Thank you uncle, I'll never be able to repay what you've done for me.) Finally, after 3 years (YES, you read right, THREE YEARS!) PW's dad consented. One afternoon in April 2004, father and son went to the nearby Bajaj showroom. P180 was in its second avatar now, the faired P180 DTSi. Though his initial choice was black, PW finally settled for a Purple bike, both because it looked so good and was unusual (Incidentally, from the next model gen Bajaj stopped offering purple on the Pulsar). 2 days later, on 24th April 2004, Purple Haze rolled into PW's garage. The saga starts here. |
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22nd August 2009, 20:07
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt
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22nd August 2009, 23:25
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23rd August 2009, 00:08
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24th August 2009, 20:57
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| Senior - BHPian | The Ownership Experience Quote:
About the "best", I would certainly like to think so. Other P180 owners might take objection  . Quote:
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Anyway, without further ado: Part 2 - Initial year (and some) at Kolkata After getting the bike, PW realized how much of an amateur rider he still was. The first time he got out that evening, he had to take a u-turn by putting his right foot down and using it as a fulcrum! The only solution, he realized, was to ride, and ride, and ride! So he rode and rode and rode. Rode it to his office, rode it around the city, rode it to his hangout joints with friends. Car driving dropped to a zero in those initial months. PW was fully in love with biking. As he kept riding, he discovered that the bike he initially mistook for a snarling monster was indeed a powerful ally. Master the power, harness the handling and the bike would save you out of almost anything. PW still vividly remembers an incident where he was returning home late one night. A sweeping turn came up (the place on EM Byepass where one turns from Tangra towards Salt Lake, keeping ITC Sonar Bangla on the left). PW kept the bike on full throttle and sweeeeeeeeeeeped around the turn at 80-90 kmph, briefly taking his left hand off to adjust the left mirror! The bike held its line and completed the turn. Shortly after he straightened, the magnitude of what he had done hit PW. Here was a one month old rider, doing one handed turns like a motoGP champ! That night will always be etched in his memory. Till then PW was managing with a cheap Chinese helmet the dealer had thrown in for free at the time of purchase. Fortunately, within 2 months of buying the bike, an accident happened that tought PW never to be overconfident, as well as the benefits of a helmet. One afternoon, while making one such sweeping turn in Salt Lake (with a good friend riding pillion), an errant Cycle Rickshaw cut across his path. PW lost balance and got thrown to the left, while the bike slid out and away from under him. When he got up, his shirt had torn away from his left arm, left elbow was bleeding, and his helmet had a deep gash on the left side. His friend was bleeding from the elbow and a mild cut on his head. The 2 boys lifted the bike (which had suffered a broken mirror and footpeg). Imagine their delight when it started with the first press of the starter! They went home, cleaned up and took the bike for repairs. The mirror came for 150, and the footpeg for 400 odd. Incidentally, the gash on PW's helmet was 4-5 cms long and almost 2 cms deep, exposing the inner material. When PW saw the gash, he realized what would have happened if he had not worn the helmet. The next day, he dumped the old lid and went and bought a Studds Ninja. He's never ridden without a helmet EVER, even if it was a short ride to the neighbourhood store. So the year went on. By September 2004, PW was a careful rider who still rode decently fast. At this time (just the way he would discover Tbhp 5 yrs later) he discovered an online forum called Xbhp while browsing the net. His interest was hooked. PW signed up for Xbhp and attended a few meets. It was a group of youngsters (PW, at 23, was one of the older members), remarkably knowledgeable and disciplined. He remembers the group always rode in pairs, and rash overtaking/speeding were looked down upon sternly. They sometimes assembled in small groups at the bylanes of Rajarhat expressway. PW also fondly remembers a member called Jay (where are you, buddy?) who one day separately taught him to do wheelies! Anyway, the bike held up remarkably well in the first year. Except for that first accident's repairs, PW never had to incur any costs other than engine oil and regular servicing. There were 2 routes which PW frequented. One was a weekly trip to Chandernagore, a suburb 48 kms outside Kolkata through the crowded GT road. Done atleast 20 times without a single mishap. The other was an early morning trip to MBA tuitions, thrice a week to Park Street. The distance of 14 kms used to be traversed in 15 mins flat, every day !And so it came to be, that by the end of the first year of ownership, Purple Haze had 7500 kms on the odo. PW had secured admission into Goa Institute of Management. Goa beckoned both rider and steed. Part 3 - Golden Goa June 2005, PW moved into the hostel building at GIM. Barely a month later, his dad chose Gati couriers to send across the bike. What a mistake! Initially Gati had promised door to door delivery. When the bike reached Goa, they called him and said they couldnt arrange delivery to GIM and he would have to come personally and collect the bike. So PW hitched a ride from Ribandar to New Hospital building. When they took off the packing, PW's heart sank. Both front indicators were broken. One mirror was broken. The bike had definitely been parked on the side stand with something heavy on it, as the metal of the side stand mount itself had bent permanently. When he confronted them, Gati people unashamedly admitted their mistake. They said "You get the repairs done sir, and bring the bill to us". PW stormed out of the office, never to trust Gati again. After getting repairs done, PW's first priority was to find a good mechanic. There were a batch of street mechanics on 18th June road, but all of them seemed wannabe spanner twirlers rather than experts. He searched and searched. Finally he asked a Goan batchmate, where he took his Honda Activa for repairs. "There's a guy at the "Scooter Care Centre" (name of the shop) dude, senior chap. Works only on scooters though. PW went off in search of this person. Stood at a distance and watched the guy take apart a Bajaj Chetak engine, work on it intently for almost an hour, and then put it back together with the concentration of a monk. When the scooter fired on the first kick and idled like new, PW knew he had his man! It took a bit of convincing from PW's side, but ultimately he agreed. For the next 2 years, this senior mechanic at SCC (who'se name unfortunately eludes PW now) was to work only on 2 bikes - PW's Purple Haze and a close friend's RX135. And boy, did Purple Haze blossom in Goa. Needless to say, the state is a bikers' paradise. PW very soon formed a group of 5 friends - 3 guys and 2 girls. The guys all had bikes - One guy from Bangalore with a P180 (old model), one guy from Delhi (RX 135 5 speed with a modified exhaust that liberated extra power) and PW with PH. There couldnt have been a single inch of Goa that the 5 friends didnt explore. Talk about planning 80 km trips to Pallolem at the drop of a hat, exploring quaint villages and unheard of beaches in South Goa, going for industry visits to Verna industrial estate, touring North Goa, the group did it all. What was most memorable for PW was the fact that not once, in 2 years, did Purple Haze ever give up on him. The other 2 bikes in the group were prone to occassional breakdowns (especially the RX135), and on every occassion Purple haze played Salvage vehicle. Much of this reliability was attributed to the precision work done by the SCC mech. Some part was also due to PW's own meticulous attention to detail. Every weekend the bike would be cleaned, every fortnight polished, chain tolerances checked and oiled. Every month the bike would make one mandatory visit to the mech, just in case. Bhpian Altohoncho, PW's batchmate at GIM, may offer his own views on the subject. Another remarkable thing about Purple haze was that it never fell pray to long stagnation periods. PW would go home for inordinately long periods in term breaks, and upon his return, every time Purple Haze would start up in one kick. People say its got to do with good maintainence. PW feels it also has to do with a spiritual connection. There was one routine PW and his RX owning friend took a lot of pleasure in. There's a 2 km long causeway beside the river Mandovi, which connects old Goa to Panjim. This road is absolutely straight and pretty devoid of traffic post 2 at night. Every night when the 2 buddies were coming back to the hostel from some or the other escapade, they would look at each other, wink through their helmets, then whack the throttle open and speed up side by side. The roar of the 2 bikes - the RX's banshee scream drowning out the Pulsars muted growl - the sensation of speed as the road markers went blurring past, the feel of the horizon looming up on you - was heaven. By the end of the first km, both bikes would have been rolling at their top speeds. Every time, and the 2 friends can swear by it, the RX touched a speedo indicated 130 kmph and Purple haze a speedo indicated 135. Immediately upon the end of the straight, the road would bank sharply to the left. The 2 friends would decelerate, take the turn in synchronisation and come back to normal life. This happened many times. I can picture hundreds of you descending upon the 2 friends, calling them speeding idiots, irresponsible and what not. Yes, they were irresponsible in those 5 mintues, didnt care about the rest of the world in those 5 minutes. But like a certain Mr Burt Munro many years ago, they too lived more in those 5 mins than they ever would ever live in a lifetime  !Anyway, all good things must come to an end. By mid 2007, PW had been placed, and it was time to leave Goa. Bikes dont shed tears. If they did, Purple Haze would have definitely cried when she was boarded on a train from Margao for the long ride home. She had 18000 kms on the odo, and (trust me) still nothing had changed except for repairs necessitated in regular servicing. The remaining parts tomorrow. Watch this space. Edit: Just wanted to add. The pic in the first post is Purple Haze in Mid 2007, taken near a Church atop a hillock en route to Old Goa. This was shortly before we left Goa. Last edited by predatorwheelz : 24th August 2009 at 20:59. | ||||
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24th August 2009, 22:30
| #6 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Durgapur/Calcutta/Pune
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25th August 2009, 17:58
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| BHPian  | Awesome writeup. Shows the passion & love you have for the bike. Wishing many more miles...................... |
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25th August 2009, 18:14
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| BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne
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25th August 2009, 18:14
| #9 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA
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| Ah you remind me of my 180 V1, it was amongst the first 10 bikes sold in Pune Does your 180 have toe only shifter or heel & Toe? And yes this was the fastest P180 & also the one with least or almost nill issues, in short the Best P180 ever |
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25th August 2009, 18:23
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| Senior - BHPian  | I'm sorry I think I am missing something. There was a 180 prior to the one on display here. It came when the Pulsar was frist launched in 150 and 180cc models. It did not have the headlight dome. I think that was the version 1 180cc Pulsar. Sorry if I am missing something here. Next, I own a 2004 Pulsar too. And my friend took my bike today for a spin and he was floored by the acceleration. The moment here started to let go of the clutch he knew he was in for something monsterous. Yes the initial 180s came with only the toe shifters. The heel part was missing. I have the same assembly and today's mechnics still ask as to why I cut the heel part Lastly, @predatoronwheels, good writeup and you and I know what we've got under our behinds when we start our bikes nahi? |
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25th August 2009, 18:27
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt
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25th August 2009, 18:30
| #12 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA
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| Pervez here is how they are called Classic - Original Pulsar with round Headlamp DTSi V1 - The first DTSi model V2 or UG1 - Pulsars with 17inch alloys & Gas Shocks V3 or UG2 - Pulsars with Phantom fairing & digi Speedo & new electricals V4 or UG3 - The current Pulsars UG stands for Upgrade & that's Official BAL classification for Service centers. I hope this clears |
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25th August 2009, 19:42
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| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
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25th August 2009, 20:08
| #14 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: B'lore,Coorg
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26th August 2009, 11:01
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| BHPian  | Quote:
Hey preds, that causeway is 2.7 Kms to be precise. I still remember those causeway drags equivalents when the sharp left appraoches like your fate and these speed-demons take the left @ 80-90 with the footrest of Rx sparking on the road many a times. Quote:
Last edited by Technocrat : 26th August 2009 at 12:27. Reason: Mention of Alcohol is not allowed on Team-bhp, please read our board rule clearly, thanks | ||
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