Bike India Team

Bullet Veed!

June 23, 2010 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

No, that’s not a new Royal Enfield model for the overseas market but the result of a passionate biker’s dream of making a V-twin

For Aniket Vardhan, it was his love and passion for Harley-Davidsons (and their awesome V sound) together with a dream to visit the legendary bike maker’s homeland that lured this Delhi-born bike nut to the States. But before he left India, he had enough time to toy around with his own bike, a Bullet and try to gather whatever information he could on V-twins. In 2002, he went to the States finally to pursue a Masters in Industrial Design. The idea of picking up an old Bullet engine, while on a trip back home in 2003 helped him kick off the whole V-twin dream project – the final result of which you see on these pages. Yes, that an actual working V-twin motor made by using, well, two 350cc Royal Enfield engines!

After months of patience, hard work as well as a few minor setbacks, Aniket was about to give up when he thought of getting back to the basics. For instance, he kept the engine stock – same old tappets, stock piston, oil pump, etc. Tweaking the oil filter slightly, having external copper oil pipes and keeping the same single downtube frame were some of the things that were essential for Aniket. He also had to learn machining and thus sought the help of Mr. Boggs who was kind enough to let him use his workshop. After a year of machining, one fine day, unbelievably, the lump of metal, err, the V-twin fired up on the very first try! Mild Bullet cams have been retained and the compression ratio is a low 7:1. Power modifications are in the pipeline but even without them, the bike pulls cleanly from as low as 30km/h with the stock four-speed gearbox which Aniket intends to replace with a new five-speed one. The second piston also helps cut the vibes to an extent which means that this bike makes fewer vibs than Aniket’s Triumph Bonny!

On the mechanical front, the two cylinders share the same crank and transmission. The oil pumps are stock but the flow rate has gone up by four times. Aniket is looking at raising the compression ratio, fitting lumpier cams, some porting job and of course bigger carburetors. All these changes should make the new engine churn out around 50 horses!

The Musket, as he lovingly calls his bike, is a rare outcome of a biker’s dream and passion of doing something. Words can’t describe what this bike sounds like. So log onto www.bikeindia.in and listen to the lovely beat of the two cylinders on the move.

Vee4 is back

June 23, 2010 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Roland whacks the throttle on the latest generartion of V4 litre class power available for the street. Behold the Aprilia RSV4!
Photography: Milagro

The first session had been horrible, but this was fantastic fun. The rain was coming down quite hard now, and the slippery Misano track had already seen three crashes this morning. But as the RSV4 tipped smoothly into the turns, drove through with a guttural V4 growl, and then catapulted towards the next bend with a stirring howl, the speed and poise of Aprilia’s new challenger was thrilling despite the conditions.

This was the upmarket Factory version of the Italian firm’s new super-sports flagship, and the name was well deserved. The production RSV4 was managing — with its looks, its agility, its suspension control and sheer power — to give a flavour of the works V4 on which Max Biaggi has shaken up the established players in the first weeks of the World Superbike season.

It shouldn’t really have been a surprise to anyone that Aprilia would be so competitive so quickly on the track, or that the 183PS production RSV4 would be mighty good to ride. After all, the Noale firm is part of the Piaggio Group that is Europe’s biggest bike firm. More than three years and 25 million euros have been invested in this project, after starting with a blank sheet of paper.

“Our goal was clear,” Piaggio’s director of motorcycle engineering Romano Albesiano had said last night. “We wanted to build the fastest motorcycle on the racetrack, for use on track and road. There were no limitations; no constraints. We were free to choose the engine layout and the chassis. We wanted to make the most compact super-sports bike ever built, and we did it in a unique way: by combining the work of two teams, the engineers of the R&D department and the race department.”

Aprilia’s history also pointed to the RSV4 making an immediate impact. Back in 1998 the original RSV Mille V-twin, the firm’s first ever superbike, was a fine roadster although it never turned World Superbike race wins into a championship victory. This new bike’s links to the V-twin include its trio of headlights and aluminium beam frame layout. But this all-new V4 is very different; lower and more compact, as well as more stylish.

The dozen RSV4s poking from Misano pit garages had cut through the early morning gloom. Miguel Galluzzi, creator of Ducati’s Monster and now head of Piaggio’s design team, has given the V4 a unique and aggressive look. The sharp lines of the cut-down fairing and sculpted tailpiece are reflected in the upswept black silencer. The aluminium frame spars are smooth and polished. Classy, typical Factory-spec touches include Öhlins suspension, Brembo radial Monoblocs and forged Marchesini wheels.

There’s nothing particularly unusual about the view from the rider’s seat, which is quite low and slim (although luxurious compared to the razor-blade that a pillion gets to sit on). Clip-on bars bolt to 43mm forks whose gold-and-blue tops jut through the cast top yoke. A low screen gives a view of the digital display. But there was definitely something special about the way the motor came to life with a raw, raspy V4 sound through the four-into-one exhaust, revving urgently as I blipped the throttle.

Being tall I was glad to find that despite the bike’s compact dimensions it didn’t feel cramped. But I wasn’t glad about the weather. Aprilia had gambled by holding the launch in north-eastern Italy, and had been rewarded by rain. The standard Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres had been replaced by softer still racing wets, but I still didn’t enjoy relearning the slippery circuit, especially after one guy had crashed on the opening lap.

Miguel Galluzzi,
Director of Piaggio Group Style Centre
“I joined Aprilia in September 2006 and in my first week we started talking about this bike. The engine was already on the test bench. To start such an important project with a clean sheet of paper was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“But this was also a very difficult project because the RSV4 is very small, which gives extra problems for a designer. Size was the priority: the bike is nimble, the form is the function. Next priority was to make it distinctive — to create the face and the tail. When you see it coming it’s an Aprilia; when it’s going away it’s an Aprilia.

“It was a conscious decision to keep the bodywork to a minimum, to let people see the engine and the frame. We thought there would be a lot of heat coming to the rider but when we tested the bike we found the hot air goes away. We spent quite a lot of time in the wind tunnel, but not too much because you can get confused by it.

“The hardest part was the exhaust. Designing something that looks good with the necessary volume is a big problem. We tried maybe 150 different solutions: with one silencer, two, high, low, all over the place. When we got the look we started working on the sound — getting that metallic note when the valve opens up…

“This is a good time at Aprilia. Everyone here has the passion for motorcycling. We have a budget, and the right way of working. This engine will lead to other exciting bikes. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The bike was not to blame for that. To suit the conditions Aprilia’s technicians had suggested setting the three-way injection map to the S for Sports position, the middle of the three. This is easily done, using the starter button while the motor is running. The T for Track setting gives max power in all gears; S smooths delivery and cuts max output in the lower three ratios; and R for Road flattens the torque curve and limits output to 142PS at all times.

With the Sport setting selected the V4 was fabulously flexible and sweet-revving. The close-ratio box’s first gear is tall, so I was splashing round the tighter bends with the revs dropping below 5000rpm. Yet the Aprilia picked up sweetly as I cautiously opened the ride-by-wire throttle. The engine note was initially gravelly; a touch of vibration briefly came through the footrests… then the sound rose in pitch and the motor smoothed as the bike stormed down the straight, kicking harder at about 8000rpm and hurtling towards the next turn.

On the wet track I was happy to leave the engine in S mode for almost all my three sessions. A brief test of the Road setting was enough to suggest that its gentler delivery might be useful occasionally. There was certainly not enough grip to allow any advantage from the Track setting’s full power in the lower gears, so I left that for another day.

Even in the dry there would have been no room at Misano to get close to the Aprilia’s near-300km/h top speed, but the bike was into fifth in the generally sweet-shifting box, and still pulling hard (no time to glance down at the digital speedo) on the main straight. That’s despite it having to cut through the wind and rain with my unaerodynamic body increasing the bike’s tiny frontal area despite my efforts to hide behind the low screen. The RSV4 certainly felt seriously fast; just how fast it is remains to be seen.

Full analysis of its handling ability will also have to wait, because the track didn’t dry out. It’s ironic that the RSV4 has the most comprehensively adjustable chassis ever seen on a production streetbike — giving the option to change steering geometry, ride height, swing-arm pivot point and even engine position — but the weather meant that I didn’t adjust even its suspension.

Instead I was happy that the front and rear Öhlins units were reasonably soft and very well damped, and gave good feedback in conjunction with the super-soft Pirellis. Misano’s relatively recent change to run anti-clockwise has resulted in a couple of tricky, decreasing-radius right-hand turns that put emphasis on front-end grip. So it was just as well that the RSV4 steered with a light and neutral feel that made direction changes easy.

I hadn’t expected to enjoy splashing round in the wet, even so. But during my second session the bike felt so precise, controllable and sweet-handling that I was having a great time despite the rain. I was cornering faster, leaving my braking later — glad that the Brembo Monoblocs gave plenty of feel, as well as stopping power — and winding on the gas earlier and harder out of the turns.

Then I had a biggish rear-end slide exiting the same second-gear left-hander that had seen a Greek rider high-side in the previous session. Clearly even this most rider-friendly and poised of bikes could easily exceed its limits. By mid-afternoon seven riders had crashed. Our final session was cancelled amid fears that Aprilia would run out of bikes for the following day.

So the RSVR Factory’s debut ended inconclusively, and the V4 still has work to do to show that it can be as competitive a production bike as its works-racer variant has shown it can be in World Superbikes. Perhaps Aprilia will give the Factory traction control, to compete with Ducati’s similarly priced 1198S, after introducing the cheaper RSV4-R model (with Showa springs, cast wheels and probably a simpler, non-adjustable frame) that is expected in about six months’ time.

Despite the weather and the crashes, though, the Factory had done enough to suggest that Aprilia’s second major assault on the open-class superbike market will be even more successful than the first. The competition is hotter than ever this year. But the RSV4 was mighty good in the rain, and will surely be better still in the dry. The superbike world has a very serious new challenger.


CHASSIS The chassis is comprehensively adjustable and allows the rider to change steering geometry, ride height, swingarm pivot point and engine position	ELECTRONICS The tachometer red lines a notch higher than 14K revs while the large display provides a wealth of information with features like a lap timer, speedo etc. The throttle is mated to a fly-by-wire technology for monstrous performance	ENGINE The 999.6cc 65° V-four cylinder engine uses a ride-by-wire multimap technology which takes engine management to practically infinite possibilities for further development. A sophisticated electronic injection system with two injectors and adjustable height ducts aid futher performance gain

RSV4 Tech
This bike represents the start of an important new family for Aprilia, who threw huge resources into developing an engine that will eventually power naked and sports-touring models, as well as a base-model R version of the RSV4. The firm’s aim to create the “missing link between track and road” led them to use engineers from both R&D and race teams, and to run sophisticated computer programmes to analyse potential lap times of numerous engine layouts — including V-twin, triple and transverse four — before opting for a dohc V4.

An eight-valve V4 with cylinders at 65 degrees was eventually chosen as the best compromise between engine power — for which a larger angle allows more space for intakes — size and vibration level. “We chose the configuration with optimum performance and mass distribution,” said Piaggio’s bike engineering chief Romano Albesiano. “We wanted to keep the same weight distribution as the RSV V-twin, but make it smaller. The V4 is narrower and produces less vibration than an in-line four, so the higher development and manufacturing costs were worthwhile.”

The 999cc engine’s dimensions of 78 x 52.3mm match those of Yamaha’s latest R1, the most oversquare of Japan’s inline fours. Camshaft drive is by lateral chain to the intake cam, then gear to the exhaust cam, allowing very compact cylinder heads. Titanium is used for the valves; magnesium for the engine covers. A single balancer shaft minimises vibration. The transmission incorporates a six-speed cassette gearbox and wet, mechanical slipper clutch.

Breathing is highly sophisticated, featuring variable length intake ducts and ride-by-wire throttle control. The Weber-Marelli injection system incorporates two injectors per cylinder: one located downstream of the throttle valve for optimum low-rev response; the other in the airbox to boost fuel atomisation for maximum high-rev power. Peak output is a claimed 183PS at 12,500rpm. Pressing the starter button toggles between the maximum output T (Track) mode; S (Sport) which smooths output and limits torque in the first three gears; and R (Road) which gives a 142PS limit in all gears.

Aprilia’s road and race heritage demanded a polished, twin-spar aluminium frame. The RSV4’s is welded from cast and pressed sections, weighs 10.1kg, and is fine-tuned for optimum stiffness, giving 39 per cent more torsional rigidity than the RSV V-twin’s equivalent, but less rigidity elsewhere. The matching aluminium swing-arm weighs 5.1kg and is stiffer than its predecessor in every respect. Most of the 17 litres of fuel lives under the seat, for improved weight distribution.

The RSV4’s key chassis feature is a level of adjustability unprecedented in a production bike. Removable steering head inserts can alter the headstock position and alter rake and trail from the standard settings of 24.5 degrees and 105mm. Rear end height can be adjusted via the swing-arm pivot as well as shock length. Even the engine has alternative mounting points.

This adjustability is largely for the benefit of Aprilia’s Superbike race team, and springs from the race department’s close collaboration in the RSV4’s design. “Some targets such as power, weight and handling were clear to both the R&D department and the racing engineers, but the potential for chassis adjustment was a demand of the racing department,” says veteran RSV engineer Mariano Fioravanzo. “The adjustable frame was more complicated and expensive, and we discussed it a lot. But in the end the racing department got what they wanted.”

The Factory model’s cycle parts match the frame’s quality. The 43mm usd forks, piggy-back shock and steering damper are all by Öhlins. Forged wheels are a kilogramme lighter than those of the Factory V-twin, let alone cast alternatives. Brembo’s radial Monobloc calipers bite purpose-designed 320mm discs. Carbon-fibre mudguards and sidepanels contribute to a claimed weight of 179kg without oil or battery.

Downtown Sprinters

June 23, 2010 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

We find out which is the best alternative to make light work of your daily commute
Story: Mihir Gadre
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

An ideal commuter vehicle is the one that will get you to work and more importantly, back from work fresh as a daisy and that too in a couple of minutes, tops. So that makes a helicopter the most ideal commuter. But most of us are either not rich enough to buy one or not important enough for the government to give us one. Sadly, we have to look at other alternatives that can tackle the ever growing congestion, somehow avoid the smashing (as in actually smashing into other vehicles) public transport system and the grossly expensive taxis/rickshaws. Now it’s a proven fact that apart from things that can fly, two-wheelers are the fastest and the most convenient mode of transport for city commutes. But it’s not that simple. You see, there are around a hundred different two-wheelers available in the market belonging to two distinct categories, namely automatic scooters and manual motorcycles. In a bid to find out the most commutable commuter, we pit the most commuter focused machines from the two categories against each another.

We chose the Zeus and the Access for this shootout because both of them are made by the same manufacturer, i.e. Suzuki. Their pricing too is similar, with the Access retailing at Rs 48,295 while the Zeus, slightly expensive at Rs 51,698 (both prices, OTR-Pune). Both the Suzukis are conservatively styled, extremely well built, have nice comfy perches for the pillion and are slightly more utilitarian compared to their competitors. We even insisted on a drum brake equipped Zeus so that the equipment levels on the two remained similar. Both their engines have a similar cubic capacity and are nicely refined motors with lack of any vibrations even at the top of their rev range. The Zeus’ engine develops its peak torque at just 3500rpm which makes it absolutely effortless to pilot around town. Yours truly was even able to roll off from standstill easily in fifth gear! However, the bike does run out of breath in the upper reaches of the rev band. The Access’ mill feels even more refined than the Zeus’. It has great shove off the line and unlike the Zeus doesn’t lose its gusto even as the revs climb, in spite of the fact that on paper, the scooter is down on power as well as torque compared to the bike.


The pillion gets a wide, comfy seat and doesn’t have to bear the hassle of carrying the shopping bags, thanks to the scoot’s huge underseat storage	The Zeus gets one of the slickest five-speed ‘boxes in the market with the engine in the middle freeing up space for bigger tyres and suspension

That brings us to the first major difference between these two, i.e. the transmission. The Access’ variomatic transmission is able to harness the engine’s power much better than the Zeus’ manual ‘box, however slick and precise the latter may be. The Access is quick off the line and able to poke its nose into the smallest of gaps in traffic. The Zeus’s gearbox employs very tall ratios, especially for the higher cogs, which means that you end up doing most of the commuting in the third and fourth cogs and hardly ever get a chance to shift up to fifth in the city. This hurts the Zeus in the fuel efficiency stakes. A hyper miler, who likes to chug along everywhere at 40km/h in fifth with hardly ever letting the rev needle cross the 4000rpm mark, might be able to extract 65kmpl from the Zeus. But if you ride smoothly and just fast enough to not let the daily commute get boring (like I do), the Zeus’ efficiency does drop sharply to just 50-52kmpl. However, if you try the same hyper miling technique on the Access, going easy on the throttle right from standstill, you will be spending most of your time below the economy band which is usually above 30km/h and the fuel efficiency will actually drop. The variomatic transmissions are better suited to real world riding where you wring the throttle until you reach the speed you want to travel at and then ease it off a little to maintain your speed, i. e. travel like normal people. I used the Access as my long termer for over a month and it returned a fantastic 46.4kmpl, no kidding.

The second big difference between the two is their respective body shape. The Access, being a scooter, gets a big front apron that will protect you from the sprays during the rainy season, a nice flat floorboard that can hold a variety of things like an LPG cylinder that your mom needs immediately, a 15kg pile of newspapers that needs to be taken to the recycler’s or your dog who needs to be taken to the vet. Now try doing that on the Zeus. The scoot even gets a hook to, er, hook your shopping bags. The lockable under-seat storage of the Access is big enough to fit a small helmet or sun coats, scarves and what not in case of the fairer sex. In fact, the scooter is nothing but an iteration of two wheeled transportation that was made just for these specific reasons. The Access appeals to the whole family and everyone can ride it including you, your wife, your mom or even the 16-year-old teenager in the house who is allowed by the weird laws of our land, to ride a 125cc scooter that is easily capable of 90km/h but not a less powerful 100cc motorcycle.

But along with these advantages, the scooter’s shape also has its set of disadvantages. Due to smaller wheels and forks, a scooter like the Access can never be able to match the dynamics of the Zeus. The bike gets bigger wheels, longer suspension and better weight distribution. So even though the bike loses ground to the scooter in the practicality department, it is able to claw its way back into contention in the others.

The Access is a big improvement over the previous generation scooters as it gets telescopic front forks and 3.0 section tyres at both the ends. In terms of ride quality, it is a definite improvement over the Activa, against which it was benchmarked. The Zeus, on the other hand, has completely average road manners. It has an upright stance, with a short wheelbase and is softly sprung which makes it extremely easy to maneuver around town. It soaks up all the bumps but is not good at corner carving compared to most of its rivals like the Yamaha Gladiator. Even with all those commuter oriented traits of the Zeus, the scooter doesn’t even come close to the bike in terms of dynamics. The Access has a tendency to lock up its tyres vey easily under braking and safety in the rains is a big concern for the scooter compared to the bike. All this also makes the Zeus a better bet for weekend getaways.


There is ample space for shopping bags on the flat floor board and the underseat storage compartment	The scoot is a perfect companion for weekly trips to the market

Verdict
The Zeus is perhaps the easiest bike for negotiating heavy traffic conditions and one of the most effortless commuters in the country. But get aboard the Access and even the Zeus seems like a hassle to ride. A lot of research and development has taken place in automatic transmissions. They no longer impose a heavy penalty in the fuel efficiency stakes. In fact, there isn’t much of a difference in real world fuel efficiency of the two vehicles. The difference of 5kmpl, in this case, translates to a difference of just over a thousand bucks over 10,000km which means that the scooter will actually be cheaper till the 30,000km mark owing to the price difference of around Rs 3000. No wonder then that the gearless scooter segment which had dwindled down to almost extinction has resurrected itself and continues to grow in spite of the recession. The Access has become very popular. It has a waiting period of three to four weeks in spite of Suzuki churning out 9000 units every month. The Zeus, in contrast, hasn’t been able to garner any popularity – evident from its paltry 3 percent market share in the 125cc segment. The verdict is clear, within the city, the scooter wins against the motorcycle.

Sequel-conundrum

June 23, 2010 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

Is the Stunner version 2.0 an improvement over the older version as it happens with electronic gadgets or does it disappoint like movie sequels?
Words: Mihir Gadre
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

Usually, when Honda launches a new product it leaves the audience gasping for breath. The Stunner FI launch was no different. This time though it was not because Honda had unleashed yet another phenomenal product but because of the bike’s price tag of Rs 72,834 (on-road, Pune). To put this into perspective, let me give you an overview of its competition. Yamaha’s streetfighter par excellence, the FZ16 as well as TVS’ flagship, the Apache RTR EFi cost exactly the same as the Honda. Those looking for affordable performance have options like the Pulsar 180 or the Apache RTR, both of which retail for about rupees five grand less.

Honda’s own 150cc offering, the Unicorn, is rupees nine grand cheaper whereas the Hero Honda Achiever, which sports the same 150cc engine from the Unicorn, costs around Rs 12,000 less. Honda’s other 125cc bike, the Stunner (without the FI), is Rs 15,000 cheaper while the Shine is a whopping rupees 19 grand less. Does the FI tech justify the Stunner FI’s ultra premium price tag or is Honda asking for too much for a couple of alphabets added to the Stunner’s name tag? Well, let’s find out…

Style and ergonomics
The Stunner is a very handsome bike. The body work follows a uniform design language from its sharp, beak-like front to its upswept tail. The ergos are slightly sporty with rear set footpegs but are reasonably comfortable at the same time thanks to the high seat and handlebars. The quarter fairing too has been executed with much more finesse than the abrupt jobs pasted on to some other bikes in the country. I opine that the Stunner is one of the best looking bikes in the country. The FI version gets a new two-tone paint scheme with colours borrowed from the Fireblade which look, well, stunning.

The new shade of deep metallic red especially complements the bike much better than the solid blood red shade of the old bike. Build quality too is top notch perhaps the best you will find in the market. The FI gets red coloured rear springs, a silver heat shield and a golden coloured engine which differentiate it from the carburetor fed variant. However, we have a bone to pick with Honda for ditching the wing graphics on the tank and fairing that we absolutely loved. Nevertheless, on the styling front at least, the new bike fares much better than the competition.

Performance and FE
The Stunner is now the fifth bike on the market to feature fuel injection and the second, after the Glamour FI, to get Honda’s Legendary PGM-FI short for Programmed Fuel Injection. The FI engine feels much more refined than the carbureted version while the gearbox is a typical butter smooth Honda unit. The throttle response has improved and is especially evident while blipping on downshifts. The engine now produces 11.76PS of peak power – half a PS more than the old Stunner – and 11.2Nm of torque at a slightly lower 6250rpm.

The console gets the pgm-fi logo below the fuel gauge and a malfunction indication lamp next to the neutral indicator

The bike gets an open chain guard and red rear springs which differentiate it from the carb version. honda have employed a smaller rear sprocket in order to make the overall gearing taller

The stunner fi gets a silver finish heat shield instead of the chrome unit seen on the older bike

The FI manages much higher speeds in every gear compared to the carbureted Stunner which used to be totally out of breath at the 80km/h mark. However, the difference is not so much due to FI technology as Honda would like you to believe but because of the revised gearing. Honda technicians have given the bike a taller gearing by going one tooth down on the rear sprocket. BIKE India had suggested a similar gearing change to Honda way back in June 2006. We had even carried out the sprocket modification on the Shine and had done a comparo with the stock Shine in our magazine. However, it took Honda three long years to implement the changes. Honda must have hoped that nobody would find out about the revised gearing and assume that the difference in performance was all because of the PGM-FI.

The bike clocked a 0-60km/h time of 6.32sec and a top speed of 108.2km/h. Its performance is good for a 125cc but it is not good enough for the bikes it is trying to compete with. More than outright performance, it’s the new bike’s deficiency in midrange torque that takes it out of the performance game. However, Stunner FI does make up for it by returning fantastic fuel efficiency figures. The bike managed to stretch a litre to 64km on city roads and 72km on the highway. That gives it an overall fuel efficiency of 66kmpl which is 5kmpl more than the carbureted version in addition to being on par with other 125s.

Ride and handling

There are no changes on the chassis-suspension front. The bike is stiffly sprung to complement its sporty pretensions. This gives it a slightly harsh ride especially when riding solo. The ride gets much more compliant with a pillion on board. However, the stiff set-up also has its own advantages. It gives the bike good handling characteristics. The Stunner FI has a good grip and plenty of feedback through the tyres. The short wheelbase makes it a doodle to swerve in and out of the traffic. So in terms of dynamics, it does manage to outclass most of its competition. Many Stunner owners complain about the problem of vibes creeping up through the footpegs and handlebars at the top end of its rev range. Thankfully, as the FI variant runs lower revs due to its taller gearing in addition to the bike’s new bar ends, this problem has been alleviated to a great extent.

Verdict
What the Stunner FI sets out to achieve is to give the customer the performance of a 150 and the fuel efficiency of a 125 and it has almost achieved this goal. At the same time, it feels much more of a premium product compared to its competitors and has that all important big bike feel. It would have been a great product for people looking for a premium bike with great fuel efficiency to boot had it been priced a bit more realistically. A maximum premium of Rs 5,000 over the carbureted Stunner would have been justifiable. But a price tag of Rs 73,000 is just too optimistic on Honda’s part.

To reiterate a bit, the bike is certainly head and shoulders above the rest in its segment but is so darn expensive that prospective buyers are forced to consider other alternatives. The fact that Honda itself offers a fantastic bike like the Unicorn at a reasonable price makes the case for the Stunner F1 a bit weaker. The Unicorn is a well established benchmark in its segment with its legendary reliability, refinement, performance and dynamics. It also has a monoshock rear suspension and a tachometer which is absent on the Stunner FI.
If you compare the Stunner FI with the Unicorn, it is 7kmpl more fuel efficient than the Unicorn but then there’s a difference of Rs 9,000 in their price tag. So if you do the math it will take you at least 75,000km of riding to recover the price difference in your fuel bills. As such, the big question is whether the Stunner FI will be flying out of showrooms like all the other Hondas.

The-emperor-strikes-back

June 23, 2010 by Bike India Team Leave a Comment

More power. More fun. More bang for your buck. The P220 returns with a vengeance
Words Bunny Punia
Photography Sanjay Raikar

While exiting the last left oval before the straight started, I ducked down as much as my large frame allowed. Gunning the bike, I upshifted to fourth and could see the digital speedometer climb towards the 120km/h mark rapidly. At close to 130km/h, I shifted to fifth and by the time I was forced to brake hard for a left curve, the speedometer had registered 135km/h! For a rider weighing in at a quintal, these speeds are phenomenal on a short straight. Can the new Bajaj Pulsar 220 easily clinch back the crown for being the fastest Indian bike?

When launched two years ago, the P220 redefined the rules of performance biking in India. It also marked the debut of technologies and features never before seen on any domestic motorcycle. As an overall package, true to Bajaj’s traits, the 220 was also a fantastic value for money proposition. However, once Yamaha entered the Indian performance biking segment, they stole the crown from the Pulsar 220. Later, with TVS confirming the launch of the 180cc RTR, Bajaj had to act fast to reclaim its lost glory.

Starting on the outside, the firm’s design boffins have followed an all-black treatment seen on the bike’s new smaller capacity siblings too. The engine, the alloy wheels, the suspension and the chassis – everything is painted the colour of midnight. In our opinion this treatment goes a long way in adding more muscle and poise to the bike. The inclusion of a braided brake hose not only looks good, but also improves the feel under hard braking as there is next to no flexing of the steel hose. There is a slight change in the sticker work as well but we are left wondering what the big ‘F’ logo behind the front indicator means? The tyres remain the same, however, Bajaj officials claim they are now made of softer compound in order to aid grip around corners.

A major alteration, however, is between the bike’s wheels. The engine does away with the fuel injection system and in its place comes the biggest carburetor seen on any current Indian production bike – a UCAL UCD 32 Venturi unit. This is a major departure but Bajaj claims that the overall benefits in terms of getting more power and better fuel economy at a lesser cost compared to the FI unit made them incorporate this change. Other modifications like graphite coating of the piston’s skirt for reducing the friction between the block and the piston, a modified intake port, high lift cams, a larger resonator and a bigger catalytic converter aid in generating more power which is up by a PS to 21. These figures give the Pulsar 220 the best power-to-weight ratio in India. Bajaj also claims to have made the final gearing longer for a better top end.

Right then, with our test equipment strapped on, it wasn’t long before we realized that the carbureted Pulsar 220 managed better timings than its predecessor. Most importantly, the new bike bettered its previous iteration’s top speed by a fair margin. Naught to sixty comes up in 4.7 seconds and the ’09 220 flies past the 100km/h mark in just 13.1 seconds. With Aspi on board and a relatively short straight, that didn’t do full justice to the bike’s top end, our test equipment still showed a true 132.5km/h with the bike’s digital speedometer registering 142km/h! Needless to say, these numbers make the new Bajaj Pulsar 220 the quickest and the fastest production bike in the country today. Performance aside, the company also claims an improvement in the bike’s fuel efficiency by approximately five percent over the FI model, however, we couldn’t test the fuel economy due to a lack of time.


Even the grab rail and clip-ons match the all-black treatment of this colour option	Just like the chiselled logo on the tank, the numericals of the tacho too get same effect with a grey background	The latest 220 employs the biggest carb on an Indian bike. K&N lovers rejoice! The engine also gets temperature based ignition mapping and an auto choke function

Time and again, we have highlighted the 220’s weakness around the track. Although there hasn’t been a significant change in the bike’s chassis and suspension setup, some retuning, especially at the front has been done. We rode the bike for an hour around Bajaj’s test track at Chakan and could feel the softer compound tyres doing their duties well. However, the main stand played spoilsport and was done away with for the photo shoot. The tendency of the earlier 220’s front suspension to dive while braking hard has been somewhat reduced in the new version. However, we would like to reserve our judgment about the bike’s handling prowess compared to its main rivals until we pit it against the competition soon.

Saving the best for last, the biggest improvement, rather the reason I would recommend this machine to bike fanatics, is its discounted price. We knew the 220’s sticker price would be reduced, considering the bike is now minus an expensive FI unit, but what we heard is simply outrageous. The 2009 Pulsar 220 will retail for approximately ten big ones less than the current bike which, simply put, makes it a shattering value for money deal! This price makes the 220 almost rupees thirty grand cheaper than its main rival – more than enough reason for bikers to head to a Bajaj showroom and book one right away. The 220 was once the benchmark for performance bikes in India and unlike other manufacturers, Bajaj didn’t want to sit and relax on their laurels. Instead, they have decided to raise the bar higher and challenge themselves by delivering a product that is not only better looking and faster but economical to run as well as to own. So, does that mean the competition has been smoked already? Let’s wait and watch!