The best
bit of the old Fiero was the polished engine, and the same
goes for the F2. It is extremely refined, and delivers its
power smoothly. Mid-range power delivery is particularly
good. It has a useful 1.15kgm of torque, too: it pulls silkily
in any gear. Like the others, it has a single-cylinder,
air-cooled engine, inclined slightly forward from the vertical.
The 147.5cc engine is dimensionally identical to its predecessor,
and has the only under-square barrel here. The big news
here is the presence of throttle-actuated, dual-mapped ignition,
which switches between economy and power modes. Unfortunately,
this delightful, 12bhp engine is hampered by a donkey gearbox.
Four speeds are far too few for this segment; fifth would
have made this a far finer experience. A big disappointment
was the presence of external lubrication lines. The F2’s
clutch claws back some ground though: it is smooth, linear
and very positive.
The
Pulsar 150 has the smallest engine here, at 143.9cc, and
it shows. The 11.82bhp and 1.1kgm it pumps out are perhaps
too little, keeping its nose consistently behind the others.
Its acceleration figures don’t show a particularly
large deficit, and its 0-60kph time was 6.21seconds, on
par with the F2’s 6.25s, but its power wasn’t
as apparent as, say, the CBZ’s. The shift quality
was poor: it was fairly smooth, but false neutrals are frequent,
and the gearshift needs
constant attention.
The CBZ’s size advantage is clear: neither the TVS
nor the Bajaj can match the 156.6cc, 12.62bhp engine along
the straights; 0-60kph comes in 5.31s, nearly a second less
than the others. Power is healthy throughout the rev band,
and is delivered in a pleasing, linear manner. The bike
has a lovely, sporty gearbox; using its one-down/four-up
shift is a lot more fun than the all-down ’boxes of
the other two. The gearing makes the bike incredibly flexible:
in top gear, it can go from 30kph right up to its top speed,
113kph. Still, H-H hasn’t got the plot quite right:
the exhaust note was strangely muted and unhealthy, and
the engine vibrated disturbingly between 5000-5500rpm. The
CBZ has a slide-type carburettor, unlike the more modern
CV-type carbs on the other bikes: this may cause the bike’s Performance to vary according
to conditions. The spongy clutch was another low point;
a more rigid cable holder where the cable meets the actuating
lever would have helped.
August 2003
The
Pulsar 150 has the smallest engine here, at 143.9cc, and
it shows. The 11.82bhp and 1.1kgm it pumps out are perhaps
too little, keeping its nose consistently behind the others.
Its acceleration figures don’t show a particularly
large deficit, and its 0-60kph time was 6.21seconds, on
par with the F2’s 6.25s, but its power wasn’t
as apparent as, say, the CBZ’s. The shift quality
was poor: it was fairly smooth, but false neutrals are frequent,
and the gearshift needs 
