Happy Birthday!!

Yup, its been a year since I rode her out of Jatti Motors and into my life. She was looking gorgeous in her all-black paint. After riding her, everything else felt sub-standard. (That was until I rode a Karizma, but that's another story.)

I had been power-starved since college days, when I had a Hero Puch. Riding NP's RX135 used to give me such a kick. But he wasn't too thrilled about my on-the-limit riding ;-), so rides on his bike were rare. The Splendor that I rode for a year after the Hero Puch was a welcome relief. Still, 7.5 bhp was peanuts. I craved for more.

Two weeks before I got my first month's salary, I went down to VST Auto to enquire about the Pulsar. That time, there were four choices for the performance conscious buyer:
- Hero Honda Karizma
- Hero Honda CBZ
- Yamaha RXZ
- Bajaj Pulsar 180

The Karizma, was powerful, smooth, refined, had mag wheels and all that. But, no make that BUT, it cost a bomb! There was no way my parents would accept my spending close to a lakh on a bike; dad would pester me to go in for a second-hand car instead. So that ruled out the Karizma.

The CBZ has good styling, and good ride position. But, it was an old bike. And it had mileage problems.

The Yamaha RXZ. *sigh* why did I not buy that one! Well, two-stoke bike production was to be stopped. Polluting. Good only for quick acceleration. Not for long periods of triple digit speed riding.

That left the Pulsar 180. It had a nice aggressive styling, and riding postition. At 15 bhp, it pumped out double the power of my current bike. And a mileage of 40 kmpl was pretty decent. And that's how I found myself in VST Auto.

The visit was kinda disappointing, cos I was told that I do not qualify for a loan, as I was required to furnish pay slips for the last six months. I thought I could get the loan in dad's name and pay dad the money. Dad agreed.

And so, it was with anticipation and joy in my heart that I walked into Jatti Motors on the 3rd of August last year (dont ask me how I remember that date, I myself dont know). Asked for a test ride of the Pulsar, 180. They said, we dont have the stock, but you can take a test ride on the 150. I agreed. The test ride wasn't much fun. There was a very nervous sales guy sitting behind me, and I had to ride through some insane traffic. Anyway, the test ride was only a formality. I was going to buy the Pulsar anyway. I took a quotation from them and left.

After that I would call them up every week, and they would give me different answers each time. "No stock Sir", or "They've stopped production of the Pulsar 180." Little did I realize that those weasels were trying to sell off their stock of Pulsar 150s. It was a good thing that I walked out of there saying I'd rather buy a second-hand Pulsar 180 than a Pulsar 150.

Come September and there was news that Bajaj was coming up with a new version of the Pulsar, the DTS-i. I was very excited, especially because the new Pulsar was more powerful and offered more bang for the buck. Started calling up Jatti Motors again, asking them when the new bikes are expected. Never got a positive response from them. One day while returning from office, at a signal, I noticed the bike in front of me was a new one, one that I hadn't seen before. Moved closer for a better look and noticed the distinctive lines of the bike and the "150 DTS-i" decals on the rear panel. She was a beauty!!

More calls to Jatti, but always there was some problem or the other; either the 180cc bike wasnt available, or the color of my choice (black) wasnt available. Finally, after a loooooooooooong wait, I got my bike on the 4th of December, 2003. I personally rode the bike to the RTO for the registration, because I didnt want any of the showroom fellows to rip my bike. Fell in love with her the moment I thumbed the starter. And I'm still in love with her.

Some stats:
Total distance covered: 15.7k kms
Best Mileage: 58kmpl
Worst Mileage: 30kmpl
Mods made: New paint job, FKR Ranger2 120/80 * 18 rear tyre, Sigma fitted. Currently, Venkat is working on a twin-headlamp for her, also re-wiring the circuits to DC.
Longest trip: Bangalore - Mangalore - Kannur. 1325kms
Longest solo ride: Bangalore - Shravanabelagola - Halebeed - Belur. 480kms
Punctures: Two. Incidentally, this is my first bike on which I'm facing punctures.
Accidents / Falls:
1) On my way to Munnar, riding at walking pace, cyclist cuts across onto my path, brake hard to avoid hitting him, was on sand, skid and fall
2) Someone droped a Thunderbird on her in the parking lot at office, ugly dent in the tank.
3) While taking her off the stand, I accidently let her hit a switchbox in front of the bike. Crack in the fairing. Patch it up with cellotape.
4) Rear-ended a Tata Safari, multiple scratches on the front mudguard
5) Some drunk drops his scooter on the headlamp. Broken headlamp. Still riding around with it.

Long post. Hoping for many more years of fun and happiness with Blurr.