TVS Apache RTR 180 vs Bajaj Pulsar 180 2009 – Clash of the Titans!

TVS Apache RTR 180 vs Bajaj Pulsar 180 2009 – Clash of the Titans!

It was all a matter of commuting from one place to another a few years ago. And then we saw the emergence of two of the most promising companies from India, TVS lead by Venu Srinivasan and Bajaj lead by Rahul Bajaj which changed the whole scenario and the mindset of an average Indian. They changed the very outlook of daily commuting to fun riding. Now what matters more to the enthusiasts is not just the travel from one place to another, but ‘How’ does it takes place. Both the companies have one thing in common; one product brand got them going. Pulsar did it for Bajaj, Apache did it for TVS. And without doubt both the bikes remain trendsetters and the very best in their respective worlds.

The best part about these companies is, unlike some better known bigger Japanese manufacturers, they believe in giving value to the customer for a single penny spent by them. After strengthening its sales in the 150cc segment with the ohh-so-fast Apache 160 RTR, TVS has launched a direct assault to Bajaj’s long term horse Pulsar 180, in the form of Apache RTR 180. The difference between these two bikes is the fact that Apache 180 is an upgraded version of Apache 160 whereas the Pulsar 180 seems to borrow much of its tidbits from the bigger sibling, the Pulsar 200 DTSi. We compare both of these spearheads, heads-on for our readers to enable them take an informed decision if they are caught in a fix between these two ‘quite similar yet differently character-ed’ machines.

Flash back three four years ago and all we saw was Bajaj ruling the performance roost single handedly with the help of their Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 180 siblings. Enter the Apache and its various iterations and have Bajaj mulling over what to do next? Though, Apache has not been to beat Bajaj in terms of sheer sales, but the least they have done is keep Bajaj at their toes. They have just not let Bajaj relax and sit pretty with the performance king title. Despite a few legal hiccups between these two companies, they have managed to keep their cool and play sportively. Read on for a comprehensive comparo between these two machines.

Engine: Apache now comes loaded with a 177.4cc 4 stroke air cooled single cylinder SOHC 2 valve mill which is a bored out version of the 160cc mill with a longer stroke. The engine remains an oversquare unit, similar to the 160. The bore and stroke of the new bike is 62.5 mm and 57.8 mm. The new bike is now capable of producing a peak power of 17.3 PS of power output, up by 1.9PS and the power comes at the same 8500 RPM of the 160. Peak torque of the bike is now up by 2.4 units to a handsome 15.5 NM and is produced at 500 rpm over the RTR 160 at 6500 rpm. The engine breathes through the big Mikuni BS-29 carburetor.

Coming to the latest Pulsar 180 2009 edition, a lot has changed in it from its earlier version. The bike has the same 178.6cc 4 stroke air cooled single cylinder SOHC 2 Valve mill which produces an enhanced output of 17.02 PS at 8500 rpm. Bore and stroke remains 63.5 mm and 56.4 mm respectively. Maximum torque is reduced by 1 NM to 14.22 NM from 15.2 NM of the earlier version and only Rahul Bajaj knows the reason for this! The reduction is very much feel-able in this bike. The moment you ride this bike, it feels a bit less torquey than its previous iteration. The bike breathes through the UCD 29 carburetor.

But it a worth mentioning point here, that TVS has still not been able to do away with the vibrations issue completely in this bike. The vibrations, though lowered, make the difference between the two engines evident. Pulsar seems a Honda in front of the Apache, it’s so refined. But credit must be given to TVS because of the fact that they have done a good job in reducing the harsh engine vibrations of the earlier Apaches. Moreover, the clutch of Apache feels more progressive in front of the heavy feel induced by Pulsar. In fact, clutches would be one of the factors Bajaj has not been able to improve. Since there launch, Pulsars have sported very bad clutch assemblies which fail to deliver even under slightest of loads. We see not a worth mentioning difference with this bike as well.

Chasis & Suspension: The Apache 180 has a Double Cradle synchrostiff chasis which aids to the overall dynamics of the bike. Front suspensions of the bike are the telescopic forks with a 105 mm stroke and the rear are the Mono tube Inverted Gas filled shocks with spring aid which TVS calls as MIG. The suspension set up has been reworked on this bike to compensate for the increased wheelbase and to aid in the overall drive-ability and stability. The best part about these is that they do not bottom out at any time and feel confident under high speeding.

On the other hand, Pulsar 180s chasis is a Double Downtube frame borrowed from the bigger sibling Pulsar 200. The front suspension is now meaty 37 mm inner diameter telescopic forks which has a 130 mm stroke straight from the Pulsar 220 and the rear remains triple rated spring, 5 way adjustable Hydraulic, Gas filled Nitrox shock absorbers with 101 mm travel. The overall look of the front suspension gives the bike a masculine look and also does the job pretty well.

The overall dimensions of Apache are 2085 mm x 730 mm x 1100 mm whereas Pulsars remain 2035 mm x 760 mm x1115 mm (L *B * H).

Handling: This is area where Apache seems to score comfortably over the Pulsar. Even the earlier iterations of Apaches have always been nimble, to the point and flick at corners. With this bike TVS has just taken the game ahead. The wheelbase is now increased by a good 40 mm to 1326 mm which makes it even more confidence inducing, more stable, especially during cornering than the previous Apaches. Even if we talk about the straight line ability, it has improved substantially over the previous iteration and makes it a lovely high speed handling machine. The precision and conviction with which this bike tackles the steepest of turns makes the rider lust for more. Add to this the higher ground clearance of 180 mm makes sure you have ample amount of space under the body for the earthen potholes to pass by easily. In fact, ride it and it crosses smaller potholes with ease.

Its not that Pulsars are way behind; actually, between these two machines it’s very less to distinguish the better one so small points like these look big. The case with Pulsars is that, they have improved drastically on this front but sadly, they still remain at the last in this league. But all accolades to Bajaj for making this bike one of the best handling Pulsars around (probably only after the new Pulsar 220 DTSi). The wheelbase has been increased by a healthy 25 mm to 1345 mm (from 1320 mm) which aids to the straight line ability of this bike to a great extent. Bajaj has also done away with the rectangular swingarm of the earlier Pulsar and this bike now comes loaded with an Oval section swingarm straight from the Pulsar 200 /220. As a result, the bike is easily one of the best cornering Pulsar 180 till date. Although, a point worth mentioning is that with the inclusion of all these features the bike feels a bit stiff and less nimble comparing it with the earlier iteration during city riding. Add to this, the bike also has a little longer turning radius. The ground clearance of this bike is 165 mm which makes it a tad more vulnerable to the ever so deadly Indian potholes. But all said and done, it’s a commendable effort from Bajaj, which makes this bike stand in the league of the best handling machines in India.

Under extreme braking Pulsar stands tall and feel more planted majorly because of the quality of tyres. Apache sports TVS Srichakra tyres which have now been fattened to 110 from 100 (in Apache 160) but fail to maintain grip on road especially in panicky situations. One more point to be noted is the change of rear tyre size from 18 inch of the earlier generation Apaches, this bike has a 17 inch rear tyre. We felt that, had Apache sported MRP nylogrip zappers of the Pulsar, it would have been quite a different story then. On the other hand, Pulsar 180 gets more meaty 120 rear section MRF nylogrip zappers which earlier did duty on the bigger Pulsars and as always, are so precise that we failed to pin-point any flaw in them. Front tyres of both the bikes are 90/90 * 17 inch in size and the good part about both the bikes is that both of them sport tubeless tyres which prevent us from the hassles of the traditional tubed tyres.

TVS Apache RTR 180 vs Bajaj Pulsar 180 – Part 2

Performance: Now comes the most exciting part of the comparo, because of the fact that both the bikes are targeted towards performance, primarily. First we talk about the Pulsar. Pulsar 180 was the bike which redefined ‘performance’ in 2001. Come 2009, the story hasn’t changed very much but sure has seen more competition. Pulsar 180 is very fast BUT put a Pulsar 180 on a weighing machine and you will come to know the reason of the bike losing out a bit to the competition. The bike now weighs a hefty 147 Kgs up from 142 kgs and these 5 Kilograms sure take its toll on the overall performance of the bike. Add to this, the fatter 120 section rear tyres which further aggravate the condition. Moreover, if we get a chance, we would love to ask Rahul Bajaj the reason of the bike shedding 1 Nm of that all important torque which further hampers the bikes performance. On the contrary, let me also tell you, despite all these factors acting against this bike’s performance, the bike manages to return one of the fastest performance times both from 0 – 60 and 0 – 100. The 0 to 60 dash comes in sub 4.5 seconds along with the 14 seconds it takes to touch 100 from standstill, which goes along with the 123 Kmph true top speed. After these figures, we were quite jubilant and surprised at the same time because we did not expect this Bajaj to do this much, this fast! Accolades to Bajaj engineering team!

Coming to the TVS stable: Being a full 10 kilogram lesser than the Pulsar (at 137 kgs), greater torque and relatively slimmer tyres, we tried to demystify the obvious and we got what was evident. The bike is a sheer performer and we must admit that TVS has beaten the Pulsar 180 in performance (although just), finally! The bike is an out and out scorcher. Does a zero to sixty sprint in less than 4.5 seconds with the zero to hundred dash coming in less than 14 seconds. Along with it, the bike goes all the way to a true 124 Kmph and revs all the way to 12000 rpm (with the absence of rev-limiter). Fast and furious might be the right word to describe this pint sized powerhouse as it just blasts away to glory when in full swing, full throttle.

Mileage & Braking: Not much to compare on the mileage front considering the segment of crowd these bikes are catering to, but then this is India and how can we underestimate this all-important factor. Both the bikes are extremely efficient engines fulfilling our insatiating appetite for power and very respectable mileage figures, at the same time. Apache RTR 180 would return a city mileage of something in the range of 39-44 kmpl with the highway mileage hovering all the way to 43-48 kmpl. Pulsar is more hesitant in drinking fuel. It returns a mileage of 41-46 kmpl on city driving with the highway figures close to 46-51 kmpl.

Apache comes loaded with discs both at the front and rear: 270 mm petal discs doing the duty at the front and 200 mm petals doing it at the rear. All this means lovely braking and the bike sure stops when and as ordered to. Had the tyres been Zappers, we probably would have seen an even better and precise braking.

260 mm discs do their job pretty well on the Pulsars front along with 130mm drum trying simultaneously to stop that 147 kilogram fiery beast. Not in the league of Apache, but they are good and work well under heavy braking aided by the MRF tyre set as well.

Instrumentation & Other Stuff: Both the bikes come loaded with the typical stuff they are known for – Digital fuel gauge, Digital Speedo meter which goes with an analogue tachometer and trip meters with the Pulsar coming in an all DC set-up to ensure you get regular and constant beam of light (or horn) at all rpms. It also sports a split seat and a clip-on which has been borrowed directly from the bigger Pulsar 220. The tank can guzzle down 15 liters of petrol at one time with the bike warning you when you have 3 liters of it left as reserve. The chain is also an O-ring which now comes naked to add to that oomph factor but needs more servicing than the regular covered ones majorly because of the Indian muddy conditions. The kick lever has been thrown away and the bike only has an electric start now. It also does away with the traditional toe-heal gear shifter and now comes with a toe-only shifter which has been moved back to enhance the sitting posture.

The console is blue back lit in Apache which makes it a charm to look at especially during the nights and sure looks better than the orange colored Pulsars console. Apache comes loaded with a clip-on and a 16 liter fuel tank and despite a very sporty seating position the bike still retains the kick lever (which is finding a dismissal from every bike these days, despite no fault of its) along with the electric starter. Both the bikes come loaded with a 12 volt 9 Ah maintenance free battery and 35 Watt front headlights. Apache has a distinct looking bull horn type split grab rails which sure are better than Bajajs as they also does the job of letting the pillion ‘grab’ them! Pulsar comes in 4 colors viz Red, Black, Blue and silver. Apache is also available in 4 colors with the always underestimated white color finally making way into the Indian bikes along with the sparkling yellow, matt gray and the ‘Black’.

BikeAdvice Verdict: With not much to differentiate between these two very evenly poised bikes, we were caught in a dilemma as to which bike to crown a winner here. Let us put it this way, in cities like Pune where the difference in prices of both these bikes is close to Rs. 3500 – 4000, we would recommend you the Pulsar 180 for its almost brilliant ‘everything’. This is the bike which does everything in the right quantity and probably would be the best value for money in its price range. It looks huge and superb, handles well, performs with aplomb and doesn’t just guzzle down fuel at its will.

And in places, where the price difference between these two bikes is very much negligible, we would advice you the bigger, evolved version of the tried and loved Apache RTR 160, the Apache RTR 180. We felt TVS made this bike with a lot of heart and it shows in almost every bit of the bike. Just that the vibrations are a letdown still, but can be neglected considering its innumerable pros. In the end, we would just put it this way. You end up buying any of these machines, one thing is for sure, and you would end up ‘enjoying’. So, what are you waiting for, hit the showrooms and book your favorite one.

TVS Apache RTR 180: 8.5 /10 ; Bajaj Pulsar 180 2009: 8 /10

- Tushar