It took a dozen rounds to capture this one shot of Aspi endoing his rear end.This sort of madcap behaviour we totally advise you not to indulge in is far easier to achieve on the Pulsar thanks to better brakes, a grippier front rubber plus optimum weight distribution.

What can I say about the Pulsar that you don't already know? Muscular tank, pronounced visual weight bias towards the front, negligible air gaps et al has been oft repeated in this magazine and scores of others. And I guess none of you can seem to get enough of those muscle bike looks judging by the ever increasing rush into showrooms to get one of them Pulsars. In fact the only visual difference between the flag ship 180 and the 150 we have on test here is (apart from the badge) the narrower rear tyre that detracts from the muscularity of the hind quarters and the slightly taller handlebars.

Styling though is highly individualistic and this is where the debate on the Ambition ensues. I for one love the yellow hue of our long-term Ambition though quite a few of my acquaintances wouldn't be caught dead on it. Then again you can opt for a more conservative colour which will make all concerned agree that the Ambition is quite a handsome motorcycle in its own right but loses most if not all of its individuality. The tank is a scaled-down replica of a Honda CB400 while the tail unit blends superbly with the tank, the dummy air-scoops adding a touch of design flair. Where the Ambition falls behind the Pulsar is at the front, the headlamp somehow not gelling well with the overall lines (some wags did infer that Hero Honda had indeed copied the Bajaj Pulsar's big diameter front headlamp theme). Probably a faired-in headlamp would have aced the overall design. The only jarring element in the overall scheme that invites cribbing is the painted lower half of the instrument binnacle (regal crest in marketing-jumbo).

The Pulsar did get her hiney up and about but the Ambition is not one to fall behind in the showdown.Getting max air is relatively simpler on the Ambition with its strong low end torgue literally rushing to lift the front end into stratosphere.

Equipment levels are good on both the bikes, with the Pulsar taking away final honours here thanks to her tachometer as well as the side-stand warning lamp. The Ambition makes do with an almighty-huge fuel gauge in the pod that should have housed the tacho. The 240mm front disc brake is standard on the Pulsar, optional on the Ambition while an electric starter is optional on both bikes.

Throughout the test period both the bikes did not raise any quality or reliability issues. I'm tempted to rate both bikes very highly on this front but for the fact that the key of the Ambition got stuck in the keyhole thanks to residual burr (cured by WD40) and a gearbox that was full of neutrals necessitating some quick fire adjustments that settled the issue once and for all. Not something we expect from Hero Honda but their prompt dealer attention more than made up for this.