Nov 15, 2007

Mod God - Souping up the Pulsar 200!

Hi,
Its always great fun reading your road tests online. I loved yourreport on the Pulsar 200 and it helped me making a decision on buying one. So finally I have a Pulsar 200 which is just a week old. I want to fit a K & N air filter after reading the benifits it has to offeras well as the sweet sound it makes ;-) I won't be jetting the carb, and I wanted to know whether this would still affect the fuel consumption (positively/negatively) and the warranty of the bike. A few people have advised me to fit the filter after the warranty period is over, but I don't really agree with them, as the filter does not really have to do much with the same. But, I've read somewhere that its not advisable to fit the filter without jetting the carb as the carb won't work efficiently if it does not get the necessary fuel supply as compared to the extra air which would be pumped. This i think would affect the engine performance adversely too. If I go ahead and do the jetting, by how much kms will the fuel consumption ideally rise? Please tell me what should be done, will take your advice. Secondly I would like to know about the Iridium spark plugs by NGK, and how will they affect the performance of the bike, both with respect to the fuel consumption and performance. I have tried my best here in Pune to get information about them for my Pulsar 200, but my efforts have been useless so far. The last question, is it possible for fitting the rear disc brake arrangement of the Pulsar 220 to the200? Kindly advice. Thank you very much :-)
- Bhushan Patil


Hello Bhushan,
1) The current air filter on the P200 is perfect. A K&N air filter is no doubt a great unit but we would not want you to tamper with the breathing settings of the engine. You may have an issue with the warranty also as this qualifies as a modification done to the engine parts! Also, there will not be any significant changes with the filter alone.

2) Why would you want to rejet the carb? Never tamper with a carb till it is absolutely necessary or if there is an issue. Modifications to a well researched engineering product can have adverse effects on it's life, emissions and other crucial factors with a very small amount of rise in performance. Best avoided!

3) The disc brake unit can be fitted on the P200 rear. But it will need quite a lot of work on the swingarm, the wheels and hub, the rear brake fluid reservoir location and hoses. Again, we are not sure how it is worth the expenditure!

Bhushan, the P200 is a great bike the way it is. Please ride it well, look after it and after some time, you can upgrade to a larger capacity bike which has all the performance you need. People even modify their Busas and R1s for more performance. But that, beats the whole point!
- The Monoshock Team

9 comments:

Max said...

and while am at it :-)

I would NOT recommend modifying any bike (just buy a bigger one in the first place if you want power!), let alone a Bajaj (I owned a P180... so on and so forth), because of various reasons ranging from increased maintenace, lack of skilled labour, and running costs etc.

But, if you're really keen on it, you need to look for KN model RC 1060, and re-jetting WILL be necessary IF you put the filter, because only increasing the air flow will run a leaner mixture (you really don't want that happening, trust me, not for 2 kmpl extra mileage). In order to derive optimum performance (with filter) you could either go in for the right jets, or the right carb (any of the Keihin models for the 400s for eg.)

I would also add here that a free flow filter with better jets will not give you out of this world acceleration, you would also need a free flow exhaust to go with it (benefits of all 3 together too long to mention here).

So you see where its all leading to?

KN RC or R 1060 (one is pre oiled, one is not, both are decent) = Rs. 1600-1800

Carb / Jets / re-tuning = Rs. 2000 (done by an experienced hand, with cost of materials included)

Exhaust = Rs. 1500-8000

And if this is not enough, also do keep in mind that using a free flow filter in Indian conditions means that much more grime, dirt and dust pumped into your carb (and eventually your engine), which means even more frequent visits to the mechanic to clean, rejet and retune, so on and so forth. = anywhere between 500-5000 Rs.

Honestly, forget warranty, this has got nothing to do with that, yes it will null and void your warranty, but you will only look towards warranty if something goes wrong, this would happen if you do NOT maintain your bike well after the mods. (In which case don't go in for these in the first place!)

NGK? Sparks cleaner and all that and more (check the NGK site or google for a complete list of benefits), but why? The difference is just about marginally better than a stock plug!

The above should help you choose what you actually want to do. Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but if you aren't aware of what the implications of an action could be, then stay away from it.

For the record - I had a P180 (when it was first launched 5 years back), I cared 2 hoots about warranty because for me it was a stunt/race machine, with filters, carb, exhaust, sprockets, half a seat, hardly any stock parts left etc etc etc, yeah it touched a 150 kmph on the speedo (10% error exclusive), but I also spent my entire weekends at the mechanic fixing it up. If I would have not done a thing to it and saved the money, today that R1 which will be launched would be within grasp. get the picture? Think, choose wisely.

If after all this you still want to go ahead with it, send me a mail (askmaximus@gmail.com) I'll try to help you out getting the parts, or check http://askmaximus.blogspot.com for bike modifications.

Cheers,

Max

ps - Team Monoshock - yeah I know, very long comment! Just thought it would serve well for any such future queries as well! (and believe me you're gonna get a lot! I get tonnes!) Especially now that bigger bikes are being launched. :-)

Max said...

Just saw the rear disc bit! Bhushan, I can assure you the rear brakes on the P200 are perfectly capable of handling anything, I mean anything, you can throw at it.

A sub 20 bhp bike with a top whack near 130 kmph does not need rear discs, if you feel you need one, I would recommend honing the riding skills wee bit more!

as suggested, it involves a lot of work (skilled work, if I may add). A wrongly fitted rear disc = disaster recipe by the way. Even if done at the Bajaj showroom itself (I have a long history with their service quality, take my worrd for it).

Its an excellent bike the way it is, enjoy it will ya!

Cheers,

Max

(askmaximus@gmail.com)
( http://askmaximus.blogspot.com )

Jayabharath Reddy said...

Hi Monoshock team. This site is a great education source for me. I always relish your posts here.
I own a pulsar 200. I bought it 2 months ago. I have problems with rear brakes, I am not confident to use it at all. It appears that I may slip if I use rear brakes, this could be because I use rear brakes a lot(than disc). Please tell me what are the correct ways to good braking on Pulsar 200. This would be very helpful to me. I am planning to replace 200 head lamp with that of 220. Can you please comment on this change. How much it costs, pros, cons etc. Thank you, hope I get an answer from you guys, as I said this site rocks.

Anonymous said...

Nice review on modifications, thanks, I have learned a lot. I just bought P200. the back brake is not good.I have to rely on the front brake 60%. Is there any solution for good breaking power in rear wheel.

also I want to put a chain cover to my P200 because in chennai and in rainy season lot of mud gets inside the rear side and I believe some mud also get into the chain. to avoid this I want to put a transparent chain cover made of plastic and yet get a sport look. Is there anything of this sort available in market. please reply me

Unknown said...

hey.. m a proud owner of a pulsar 200.. its about 2 yrs old and gives amazing performance still. since it is out of its warranty period, i wanted to know some performance enhancing modifications which i can do keeping engine life in mind. please advice

Anonymous said...

I own a black p200 & Can i change the headlamp & the handle bar of my bike. to the pulsar 220.

Anonymous said...

Sorry bro, monoshock team,i have to comment on the Heading to this Post...its says "Mod God - SOUPING UP!!..the pulsar 200!!" ...all i get from here is NOT TO SOUP UP THE PULSAR 200...and even if u do....u gettin everyone Scared !!
I own a p200 for 2 years now, from he 6th month onwards i got the KNn+Jets+iridiums+HID's+sprockets ....1 by 1....its been a while now n ..No probs at all... i do get it serviced on time and it runs on semi synthetic MOTUL...well maintainance is first priority and while my ryde has to visit the service center i get the airfilter back to Stock.
well on the other hand my bikes performance is mind blowing. its surely crossed the 20bhp mark for me. i dont usually take it to the extremes all the time though...but when ever i do... it surely makes me happy !!

Anonymous said...

hi i have get the p200 about 1&half year ago in this bike i got that the rear braking of it's very poor and handling also it have to be get the rear disc brake have you know any one can make the disc brake to rear wheel in puna.
plzzzz tell me.
i have reached to 130 in its at's amazing and have gone constant at 119 frm satara to pune(shirwal)

Pankaj Sethi said...

Hi friends, I am having Pulsar200cc.
Many of my friends have advice to go for KnN filter, but i really don't know how it works and what all it will do. I love riding my bike on it top, My as of know best top speed on pulsar was 142Km/hr speed. but guys this is apart.

Need to know more about Jetting , air filter,re-tunning, Carb,Exhaust. If i want to go for what all things should i go for, and what it will cost me in Mumbai. and the product of which company should i go for?

Please mail me details on pankajjsethi@hotmail.com

Thanks
Pankaj Sethi