Pulsar 220 DTSi – 17 Known Problems and It’s Resolutions

Since 23 july 2009, thousands of enthusiastic bikers have shifted to performance biking. How? Because that was the day when Bajaj launched India’s most powerful made in/for India motorcycle and priced it a shattering tag making it the cheapest 21 horses in India!

 

Since it has become more widespread and has found many homes, I thought of clubbing the more rampant issues together along with their probable resolutions to. So, this one is dedicated to all the guys who own a Pulsar 220 DTSi, are probably planning to buy one or for those who are stuck with one or more of the following issues. I have tried to include whatever problems I could come across; small and big. Care has been taken to keep the language as simple as possible.

Issue No 1:. My Bike’s fairing rattles

Now this issue deserves the numero uno spot because of the ease it is found. Many people have started living with it. The bad part is that this was one of the highest reported issues on the DTS-Fi variant as well; however Bajaj was unable to fix that.

Solution:
1: Open the fairing and check whether all the rubberized joints and mountings have rubber rings present on them. If not, put one on all.
2: Put double sided tapes on all the places where the fairing touches any other part of the bike’s body.
3. Tighten the oil cooler plastic covers which have ‘oil cooled’ written over them. This is generally neglected and is one big culprit in creating that sound.

Issue No 2: My bike doesn’t start on mornings.

This is the cold starting problems generally associated with bikes. Pulsar 220 comes with an auto-choke which gets activated when the temperature sensor sends signals of activation when the engine is cold (generally happens in cold mornings when the bike’s engine has become cold due to overnight non-use), so this should not be as frequent on this bike.

Solution:
1.In case your bike suffers from this issue, get its temperature sensor checked for malfunction. Also check for the auto choke’s functioning and verify if it is working fine.

Issue No. 3: My bike wobbles at high speeds

Solution:
a) Get your bike’s alignment checked.
b) Also check that your Rims should not be bent and your tires should have adequate treads and pressure.
c) Cone set might also be one culprit, get it checked.

Issue No 4: My bike leaks oil from the block or cylinder head

This has been reported by many owners who have used higher quality synthetic oils like Motul 300V.

Solution: Frankly speaking, you have to live with it as it has been an unresolved issue from Bajaj. Nonetheless, you can report it to them and install a better gaskit along with a sealant to prevent the leakage. This, however, is not recommended as it would unnecessarily require your cylinder’s opening up and chances are ripe that the issue might still not get rectified.

Issue No 5: My bike leaks oil from the gearbox.

I can see oil drops on the frame and on the ground just below the gearbox.

This leakage is not actually from the gearbox but from the Neutral Switch and is caused by an inappropriate sized small round rubber sealing. This issue was more predominant on the first batches of 220s and has been rectified.

Solution:

a) In case your bike suffers from this leakage, all you need to do is take the stock small rubber ring out from the neutral ring and install a fatter appropriate sized one (available with Bajaj now). In case you are visiting the authorized service center, do not settle for sealants, tapes, coverings which generally are the solutions which they provide.
b) If in case, your neutral switch is running dry and you still see oil drops, there is one more opening for the oil after removing the crankcase.
However, counter check before opening up your machine that it is the engine oil which you see. More often than not it would be the chain lube or chain spray that gets spilled onto it.

Issue No 6: My main stand touches the ground on every bump

Again, this should have been taken care by Bajaj but sadly the height of the main stand makes it a little dangerous especially for those who are corner cravers.

a) Not an approved or authorized solution but you can go to a roadside mechanic and seek his help in this matter. A little raise is possible from the stock hanging position.
b) For people who love cornering, it is highly recommended that you remove the main stand when you go for a stunting session as it is one major issue for many accidents.

Issue No 7: Whenever I start my bike I hear a bad ‘khrr khrr’ sound as if some electricals are misbehaving

Solution: Check if it is coming from the starter motor. If yes, get the starter motor changed.

Issue No 8: Nothing happens if I push the starter button multiple times.

This is a safety feature your bike comes equipped with. After 3 back to back cranks, it disengages to save your starter motor and battery for some time. It is advised you give proper time before each re-crank.

Issue No 9: I cannot see anything through those rear view mirrors

Well, the Rear View Mirrors installed on the new Pulsar 220 DTSi are slightly bigger than the ones on the DTSFi. However, they are as worthless as well.

Workaround:
1) You can install RVMs from Apache RTR  which have a bigger rod and wider viewspan of the back
2) You can also unscrew the stock ones tighten them to a slightly higher tread which would give you an extra tread or two of height (viewing space). But remember, they would go loose sooner than at the stock position. You will have to tighten them frequently.
3) You can also weld mirrors from other bikes which have a bigger and wider span like Pulsar 135 or Fazer on the stock rod of 220s.

Issue No. 10: Rear brake doesn’t have good stopping power

Whenever you report this issue to Bajajs people, their patented answer would be “The rear brakes are intentionally kept with lower stopping power to prevent rear tire locking”. This is not absolutely wrong but unfortunately not completely true as well. 220s rear braking is not as good as some other bikes laden with rear disc brakes provide.
Workaround: Change your disc setup to the latest Bybre’s. Remember to change the complete kit and not only the calipers which Bajaj people will advertise!

Issue No 11: Rear brakes produce screeching sound….

Many owners have registered this complaint and sometimes the sound becomes irritating. This was because of a little fault with the stock rear KBX calipers.
Solution: Change your disc setup to Bybre’s and remember to change the complete setup with calipers, disc pads, oil box, pipe and disc.

Issue No 12: My steering feels heavy and unnatural

Solution: It might be an issue with the cone-set. Get it verified and changed in case it has become the culprit.

Issue No 13: Sometimes, my bike’s engine goes off while I am riding and comes to life upon restarting after a little while. In between it doesn’t start. Also, this becomes more frequent while riding upwards (or in any particular motion)

This is one issue which the service center guys fail to detect properly.

Solution: If you are facing a similar issue and are exhausted of all other service center provided means, just get your carburetor float needle free. Better if you overhaul your carburetor.

Issue No 14: My bike returns a fuel efficiency of only 28kmpl under sane driving

A healthy pulsar 220 must return fuel efficiency in the range of 32-38kmpl at least.
Solution: Check if you are running rich on the air-fuel ratio (AFR). Set your AFR to the optimum position. This could be done by altering the AFR screw on the carburetor. Best is to keep it at its stock position.

Issue No 15: I hear a continuous tik tik sound from the engine and my performance is also not at par with other Pulsars

Solution: Take your bike to the service center and ask him to tighten your bike’s tappets.

Issue No 16: My bike doesn’t go over 120kmph

A healthy 220 should reach over 140kmph on the speedo easily.

Solution: In case it doesn’t than get your bike tuned properly. Do not set it for performance or mileage. Keep an optimum balance between the two.

Issue No 17: My engine is very harsh and it is hard to change gears

Solution: Switch to good quality semi synthetic or synthetic oils which would reduce vibrations from your bike and would improve the overall characteristics of the bike including the gear change feel.

Finally, just take proper care of your bike, service it regularly at authorized service stations, use good quality engine oil and rest assured it would keep you flying to places. This article is dedicated to Pulsar 220 and we are planning for such articles on other bikes as well. Do not forget to leave comments in case you liked, disliked or benefitted from this article so that it would propel us to better our future endeavors.

Changes in Pulsar 220 DTSi S

Bikini Fairing: The front bulbous semi fairing gives way to a smaller sibling’s reminiscent bikini fairing. It’s a similar fairing which has been doing rounds on almost all the versions of Pulsar, right from the 150 to the 180 to the discontinued 200. The smaller headlamp would enhance the beastly looks the bike boasts off. We were more interested in a round headlamp as well similar to the ‘classic’ era!

No Projectors: With the removal of the semi fairing, the bike also sheds off the projectors it sported on the F version. While the 220 F and the 220 DTS-Fi were the best and the most applauded bikes when it came to lightning dark roads and highways because of the projectors they came fitted with, this bike would need to do without all of that. It’s imperative that the small headlamp did not have enough space to accommodate the projectors. We would have loved to see Bajaj accommodating projectors in that small set up to show us their engineering prowess. Even a single beam would have been a worthy applaud. But, it was not done all because of a reason, COST!

Altered Rear View Mirrors: We repeat, the standard mirrors on the 220 Fi and F were/are as useless as talking sense to Rakhi Sawant! With the faring giving way to a smaller headlamp, the mirrors are mounted on the handle and, hence, we expect a better view from the RVMs now.

Revamped Stickers: All the Pulsars have gone a slight revision in the sticker which read the model of the bike and this 220 also has a ‘220’ embossed sticker with nothing else written apart from it on the side fenders. You ask our view? It doesn’t look good!

Tank Extensions: Pulsar 220 S also sports tank extensions with “Oil Cooled” written on them exactly like the old Pulsar 200 DTSi.

WHAT REMAINS:

Almost everything remains the same apart from the above mentioned changes. This means that the bike would sport exactly the same engine, same power, same 32mm carburetor, and same ergonomics along with the sheer fun and the adrenalin rush the bike has become known for.

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE NEW MODEL:

• Slight better performance: The bike has reduced around 3 kilograms of weight because of the exclusion of the projector setup and an inclusion of the smaller bikini fairing in place of the semi fairing of the F version, we expect this bike to be slightly better at performance (very marginally, though) compared to the existing faired version of the bike.
• Slight better handling: Again with the exclusion of the big bulbous fairing, the handling in city traffics is expected to be slightly better and maneuvering through congested traffic would be a little easier as compared to the faired version. However, on highways and longer wider roads, the F version would be an ideal bike to cut through the strong winds.
• Slight better fuel efficiency: Reduced weight would mean that the engine would need to pull lesser load at the same capacity which would in turn infer slightly lesser effort which would lead to lesser stress and a slightly better fuel efficiency.

Pricing: And here comes the decider which would put all the other companies to scratch their heads and compel them to rework on their strategies. As reported earlier, the bike would cost around 3 grands lesser than the existing 220 F version. The current Pulsar 220 DTSi F retails for less than 79k (OTR, Pune) and this naked version of the bike would retail at a little less than 76k (OTR, Pune). In Delhi the bike would sell at a price tag close to Rs 72,500 OTR. Can it get any more VFM than this!

 

Competition: Through this masterstroke Bajaj has targeted a huge myriad of bike options in the country today which would include Apache RTR  180 from TVS, Yamaha FZ 16, FZ S, Fazer and YZF R15 from Yamaha and Karizma  R and the recently launched Karizma ZMR from Hero Honda. After launching the 4 valve Pulsar 135 LS recently along with this one, Bajaj has cleared their intentions of challenging the bigger players of the game. We just hope Bajaj works this hard on their after sales service and quality of parts as well!