The motorcycle has been christened ‘The Phantom’ by fans all over the internet – pure anthropomorphism. The new head lamp is flanked by very obvious narrow-eye pilot lamps. And the pilots are separated from the big one by matte-ish black plastic, which gives it the effect of Walker’s mask. The headlamp is in a fairing that is mounted lower than the older one, making the bike look lower and sleeker. Tank aside, all the panels are brand new. The SV1000-ish tail piece looks very sleek and has twin vertical LED tail lamps. The new side panel has a new vent and more angular lines. Both are shared with the DTS-Fi, which is likely to go on sale in early December.
At the greasy end, the bike wears a slick new clutch with a very progressive, light action and it offers positive and light gear shifts, thanks to a revamped shifting mechanism. Incidentally, these two changes have also been added to the current Pulsar 150 (as in it looks the same as the ‘normal’ Pulsar). To return to the 180, the gearing is unchanged, but the engine has new cam timings, a new airbox and re-tuned exhausTEC to pump up the midrange without affecting the torque and power peaks. This makes the bike feel light and effortless on the move. Riding at the track, fast progress was easy and it felt like I was doing much less work than on the last 180 I rode there. The motor also sounds quieter and more refined than the previous one, and incorporates an oil-level window and yes, is still in gorgeous matte black.
Apart from the panels and the name, the 180 also gets DTS-Fi goodies. This includes the LCD speedo/analog tacho dash. You get an accurate, easy to read digital speedo, overrev/low fuel light, bright idiot lights, two trips and a digital fuel gauge. It also gets clear, self-cancelling indicators. Plus there are contact-less backlit switches and in a Pulsar first, an engine kill switch as well. All this goodness comes wrapped in the old price tag, which means the new 180 is going to be excellent value for your money.
From the saddle, the Pulsar feels low and you feel like you’re sitting really tall. It feels odd until you get used to it. Then you can get on with blasting away with the new midrange. Like all the 180s, this one is fast, but since power comes in early and stays till the overrev light begins to flash, gear changes aren’t always needed to make quick overtakes. All you do is roll the ultra-light , still very crisp (the DTS-Fi feels even crisper) throttle on and shoot forward.
I found the new 180 to be less work, especially when hustling along, than the previous generations, as in I did not have to worry too much about which gear I was in and stuff like that. Corners, that should have been strictly second gear, could be taken in third, or even fourth without too much difference in overall progress. In traffic, you’re likely to run a gear higher and end up saving a bit of fuel in the process. Handling remains stable and thrilling, and the brakes are excellent as usual.
The new Pulsar 180 DTSi is on sale (yes, they just slipped it into showrooms), and as we’ve said, comes feature packed for the old price (roughly Rs 64,500 on-road Mumbai). The orange one is listed as a (no cost) limited edition, and the other colours continue.
Bajaj is likely to launch the 223cc fuel-injected Pulsar DTS-Fi at the end of November, but won’t say anything about when the updated Pulsar 150 can be expected.
