ISSUES WITH PULSAR

I own a Pulsar 150 DTS-i (spoke wheel) which is about four and a half years old. I travel around 25km everyday . I have a few questions for you guys :

1. For the past three months, I have been getting a mileage of about 40kmpl(50kmpl earlier) and the power isn't anything to rave about either. I had changed the clutch plates although it had no sign of fatigue, but there has been no difference. What could be the problem?
2. I wanted to change my tyres to the ones on the new P150 but was told by mechanic that it would cause problems with my bike. Could you guys enlighten me on what could go wrong or what would be the impact (good or bad) of changing my bike's tyres to the P150's or any other one?
3. What would I have to do if i wanted to change my air filter with the one the Gladiator SS and would there be any impact.

It seems that with time your engine has becoms weak due to wear and tear of the piston and rings. This may have resulted in loss of compression. Get these checked . Also have the value clearances adjusted to the recommended levels. Check for air filter clagging. The spoke wheel DTS-i bikes came with 18inch wheels, whereas the later ones , with mag wheels ran on 17inch alloys . the 17inch mag wheels are not direct bolt on for your bike. This modification will require some changes. Moreover, the overall gearing will go down, hampering the fuel economy and lowering of the top speed.
We don't think the air filter on the Gladiator SS will fit into the filter chamber of the Pulsar. Moreover, the Gladiator's filter is optimised for a 125cc engine. Try going in for other aftermarket filters. The Pulsar 180 should deliver around 40-42 kmpl in the city traffic conditions. AT that price, you could have a look at the TVS Apache RTR or the newly launched Yamaha FZ16 .

Punch for UNICORN

I have a Honda Unicorn (oct 2004) and I really want to upgrade the performance of the bike. I've already tried but it didn't work for me . Can you suggest some modifications for increasing the power and pickup of my bike ? will upgrading the tyres of my bike to another( specifically R15) make any change .

The Unicorn's engine is not tuned for flat out performance. You can fit a specifically made aftermarket free flow exhaust for added punch. It is also advised to use bigger jets if you want to run your bike on a free-flow exhaust and an aftermarket filter . If u still want more, polishing the ports for better breathing and shaving the cylinder head to raise the compression ratio will help. These two mods should only be done by a professional mechanic. But remember, it will have adverse effects on thee fuel economy and engine life. Shifting to the R15's tyres requires changing the wheels. Also, the R15 runs on the 17inch tyres as opposed to 18inch for the Unicorn. Shifting to 17inch wheels will lower the overall gearing in turn affecting the fuel economy and top speed of your Bike .