Bajaj Pulsar 220 dts-I

Bajaj Pulsar 220 dts-I – Can we call it fastest Indian ?

We had a meet on Diwali to test ride the new 09 220 dts-i. We also had an earlier version of the same bike from bajaj to do a comparo. Here what we feel about the bike.

Bike-bajaj pulsar 220 dts-i (2009)
Key features-21 ps , air cooled , secondary oil cooled.
2 valve, carburetted, dual discs.

It was after a long time that I really got my hands on a pulsar, this time on the fastest pulsar till date? Headed out to NICE road, all geared up. I start the bike and I’m welcomed with the “typical” pulsar sound. I take it easy initially to get familiar with the bike. The seating position is pretty comfortable for even a tall person. The split handle bars are comfortable, I was wearing knee guards and dint have a problem with it touching the tank. I slot it into first gear and off I go. The torque is very evident from the word go , and can be felt in any gear at almost any RPM .It pulls effortlessly from as low as 2000rpm even on a little higher gear , this helps you save that extra shift down .0-60kmph comes up in about 4-5 seconds roughly , and it reaches a ton in about 12-13 seconds. All of these speeds are Speedo indicated and necessarily not very accurate.


The Fi version feels more aggressive and fun to ride in the lower range and till about 80 . The response is more linear. Post 80kmph and the 220 dts-I makes its presence felt . What got me surprised was the 220 dts-I doing a ton at a little over 6200rpm .The dts-I has a teeth drop on the lower sprocket .The Fi has a 37 teeth rear , while the carb version sports a 36 rear sprocket. That’s like a boon if your into touring , keep it at a ton all day long and it wont complain , and has got reserve power if given the stick . I managed to do about 135 kmph speedo read sitting upright , crouched and you gain about 10-12 “bajaj”kmph .

The speedo on the DTS-I seemed very optimistic , most of the FI owners also felt that there was some error . I too did feel it on a straight where the fi dint move over 108 kmph , and the dtsi showed about 116kmph .Anyways that shouldn’t be a bother.

The most improved part on the bike is the Transmission, took a little time for me to digest that its really made by BAJAJ themselves. It’s a whole lot improved over any of the previous bikes from the bajaj stable , it even felt better than the DTS-FI . Really good job done there by Bajaj. I dint encounter a false neutral even once even under harsh riding conditions , did a few drag runs and even then the gearbox and clutch was brilliant. No missing-shifts , no jerks .The vibrations are evident on the foot pegs post 100kmph .The fairing vibrations are minimal on this one. Didn’t have rattling noises yet.

To complement the lovely acceleration and crazy torque , to slow the “fastest Indian “ ,it’s got dual discs that works really well compared to the older FI. The braking distance is less and gives you the confidence to push that extra little bit. The front disc now comes with a steel braided brake hose unlike the conventional brake hose. Though the disc size remains the same on both the bikes , the stopping ability is better on the DTS-i. The newer softer tyre compound could also be the reason for the added advantage.

The headlights on the 220 were one of the best on any Indian bike, they remain the same It sports a projector low beam and an ellipsoidal high beam, many of the owners had the same complaints that the focusing needs adjustment on the high beam .The headlight is DC and its powered by a 12v 9AH Maintenance free battery. There is no kick starter on this bike, Just make sure to have your battery in top condition. You wouldn’t want to push the Fastest Indian .

Over to the carburettor, The bike is fed through a 32 mm ucal CV that helps the fastest Indian produce that extra ps over the FI .The addition of the carb has helped bajaj reduce the overall cost by a whopping 10k INR .I personally dint like the auto choke feature , the idling seemed to be on a slightly higher side .few owners complained of cold start problems. Tuning should solve the problem I suppose.

The best value add of the carb is the mileage that it returns , The bike returns an astonishing 45+kmpl on the highway to a litre of fuel ,as claimed by many people. Under normal city riding conditions it returns about 35-40kmpl , which seems good for the power offered.

The handling is something that is nothing to ride home about ,on a straight line , the bike is a rocket , eats up any of the other Indian bikes , when you throw it into a corner and you see its all over the place , the tires are better than FI , but it’s the chassis and the suspension that do not help you even a little bit .The front 37 mm forks take a nose dive on every possible occasion , the rear suspension is no better , its too soft for my liking , the set up is ok for a person who rides in the city with office to home riding .If you need to ride it on other terrains, needs to be adjusted as per need.

The mirrors are really bad for usage, This definitely needs a change. Few owners change it to RTR’s mirrors and say the view is much better.
The 220 dts-i has the power , torque to take you to any terrain , or the highway if you have the tourer bug in you .

My verdict—
If you have 82k with you and want a Value for money package, look no further. Head to a nearest Pro biking showroom and book one for yourself. The extra money can be spent on good riding gear. The refinement level has improved a lot compared, but not to the Honda level .If you don’t mind a little compromise/adjustment then I don’t see any reason not to buy the “fastest Indian”.

The bike actually makes good power , the problem is that the weight of the parts used are too much , Shave off about 10-15kgs and see how the bike performs . hope they do something like that in the near future .


Santa