Bajaj Pulsar 200NS - first impression

The new Pulsar 200NS (Naked Sport) takes the Pulsar brand of motorcycles to a new plane. It isn't revolutionary like the first generation bike but it certainly is a motorcycle that has evolved, considerably. Let me leave the cosmetic bits aside for a few minutes and get down to the more significant improvements. Theres a new engine, transmission and chassis. All significantly different from the previous generation motorcycle. By there are a few deep holes that need to be filled.

The Pulsar's 200cc liquid cooled engine is according to Bajaj all-new, but we know that this is the same unit as the KTM Duke 200, at least the block and the transmission. On being questioned Rajiv Bajaj insisted that there has been no technology and component sharing between the two but we beg to differ. Apart from the engine head everything below is the same as the KTM, including the block, bottom end and transmission. Even the oversquare bore stroke ratio is the same as that on the KTM.

What's different is that the Pulsar NS power output at 23.5PS is slightly lower than what the Duke 200 makes. The max power also comes in at 9500rpm, whereas the Duke does it at 10000rpm. Torque too is slightly lower in the Pulsar 200NS, 18.3Nm at 8000rpm compared to the KTM's 19Nm at the same 8000rpm. The hole appears when you realise that the Pulsar makes these power and torque ratings with a three spark plug configuration when the KTM uses just one.

The Pulsar NS engine has a 4-valve valvetrain, the KTM uses the same, but it's a DOHC unlike the Pulsars SOHC. Why? The Duke is fuel injected the Pulsar is not. Now we know the reason behind that is purely dominated by pricing, the fuel injection system is a much more expensive addition.

Where the transmission is concerned, the covers look different but peel it aside and the innards should be the same. Except for the ratios, but that can also be achieved by fiddling around with the final or primary drive ratio.

What I do expect is that the Pulsar will be on par if not very very close to the Duke in terms of outright performance. Because of the power and torque ratings I also expect it will have sharper and stronger drivability and in gear acceleration than the Duke. Bajaj claims that the Pulsar will do a 100kmph in 9.8 seconds which is pretty damn quick.

Yet the big story is the fuel efficiency which Bajaj claims will be around 58kmpl overall when the bike is ridden at speeds under 60kmph. Raise the speeds by a significant bit and you will still get figures above 50kmpl though anything above a 100kmph drops it to under 30kmpl. Yet that's good efficiency.
 

The most significant change is the chassis, a perimeter frame made of pressed steel along with a gas charged monoshock at the rear and a box section swingarm, a wheelbase that is now longer than that on the P220 and petal disc brakes at both ends. The handlebar rake and trail also looks like it has increased. All in all I do expect this bike to be an absolute revelation at the racetrack or on the roads. It may not be very flickable but the new chassis will definitely give it a new character. How good or bad compared to before will depend on when we get to ride the bike, which is soon, very soon.

The Pulsar is exciting on paper that much I will give it. In the real world what will that translate to is still a mystery because and this is a big one, the Pulsar is roughly 20kilos heavier than the Duke. So in outright power to weight the Duke should leave the Pulsar wheezing in its dust. At a 145 kilos kerb, the Pulsar is a big and heavy motorcycle compared to its intended competition (R15, CBR 250R and even the Duke200). The fat it carries could be the one weak card in an otherwise strong suit.

On every other front despite Bajaj not being forthright about sharing the engine and transmission ( we honestly don't think it's a bad thing) the Pulsar 200NS is going to be a scorcher at the box office. Especially given that Rajiv Bajaj did mention that it would be priced under a lakh of rupees when it hits the market early April 2012. I'd like to read that as a on-road price not ex-showroom.

Turn to the next page for a detailed table comparing the 200 Duke and Pulsar 200NS.

New Bajaj Pulsar 200NS Gallery

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS

I shouldn’t say it was a long wait for the Next Generation Pulsar to be launched. Rather I should mention we all have waited on and on and on and looks like God has finally answered all our long – standing prayers. Mr. Bajaj had given life to his words. He had mentioned sometime back that the next generation of Pulsars will be based on a whole new platform and will be the first bike to incorporate a few technologies. That is what exactly Bajaj Auto has done for the Pulsar.

The launch of the 2012 Pulsar took place in Mumbai for a change and the venue was ITC Grand Central this time. There weren’t much of fanfare created in the hotel premises by placing posters or bill – boards here and there. The launch was scheduled at 2 PM and the rooms of the ball room opened right then.

There was an unexpected surprise waiting for us as all the Pulsar models right from its inception in the year 2001 was kept on display. The first Classy looking Pulsar with round headlamp made me stare at her for quite sometime as this is my favourite Pulsars ever. Next to that in the queue was the DTS-i variant and you know the history of Pulsars very well. The Pulsar 135 and the ‘Speed Lines’ variant of the 220 were formed the closing of this long line. There was a small board kept beside every bike displaying their year of launch and their special features, of course.

There was a video played which featured all the commercials of Pulsar till date from the very first commercial which emphasized its tagline ‘Definitely Male’. I really had a nice time watching all these TVCs. I t instilled a sense of Nostalgia within me. Then as an end note of this video was played the 10th anniversary video of Pulsar which we’d posted a long time back in BikeAdvice.

With this ended the hypes that surrounded the bike to be launched. The launch ceremony then begun with an inaugural speech of Mr. K Srinivas, President, Two Wheelers, Bajaj Auto. He said, “Pulsar as a brand is moving front and forward.” He said that he wanted to explain the question ‘What makes Pulsar a legendary bike?’

Here are the points he mentioned:

• “When you see one, you recognize one.” Think about the sentence he said and then you’ll understand that every ‘PulsarManiac’ in the country would happily rejoice. He said that the characteristics of Pulsar which includes the fuel tank, the LED lamps, wolf eyes and the speedo are all unique only to Pulsars.
• “Pulsar satisfies the burning desire and not the need.” In the year 2001 when first Pulsar was launched for the Indian market, the entire market was dominated entirely by commuter bikes and Bajaj daringly ventured into the Sport – Bike segment.
• Thrill of riding is now affordable because of Pulsars. Ina market when ‘Fill it, Shut it and Forget it’ was what drove the minds of Indians, it needs a lot of guts to come up with a bike like Pulsar. (I didn’t tell this. He told!)
• Today, around 1 Mn Pulsars are sold worldwide in around 25 countries which includes Philippines and Columbia to name a few.
• Pulsar has become a part of culture and then he added that Pulsar is viral as well.

Then came to stage Mr. Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto to talk a few words about the Pulsar brand of bikes. He marked the beginning of his speech by telling, “When we first made the Pulsar, we didn’t make it for any of the reasons. We simply made it because that was US. ”

In order to explain his quote further he used Dr. Porsche’s famous words ‘I couldn’t find the car I want. Si, I decided to make it.’ Similarly he said the country didn’t have the kinda bike that he’d imagined and so they decided to make their own one by coming up with the Pulsar. He thwen added, “We’re more excited to see the bike and in fact you all would have only half the excitement as us.”

Then started the interesting part of his speech. He referred Pulsar as ‘A Three Layered Animal’. The following are the 3 layers mentioned by him.

• Pulsar As A Product – He referred to the best in class functionalities that Pulsar boasts of when one talk about Pulsar as a product from the stable of Bajaj.
• Pulsar As A Brand – He claimed that Pulsar is nothing less than the most profitable bike on Planet Earth. Bajaj currently works on an operating profit margin of 20 per cent for Pulsars and them he generalized it for all the Bajaj products. He said, “If a Brand is not profitable and cannot produce better business results and lacks pricing power, then it cannot be claimed as a Brand at all.”
• Pulsar As A Strategy – 40 years before the launch of Pulsar, the entire strategy of Bajaj goes in one word – Chetak. People visualized Chetak as a value for money, family vehicle, low cost, durable and a reliable product. He was indeed right. India cannot forget Chetak so easily.

He said the company’s ascent is to make a better and better Pulsar every passing day. He added, “Earlier, Chetak was Bajaj’s centre of gravity and now Pulsar is Bajaj’s centre of gravity. “

He had some interesting points about the Discover brand too. He claims, “Discover is nothing but the commuterized version of Pulsar.” “Even KTM comes from the learnings of Pulsar though both are entirely different products.” Here is the statement which will make every PulsarManiac roam around with his collars up atleast for the next couple of days. He said, “If Pulsar goes wrong, the entire strategy of Bajaj goes wrong. If Pulsar gets it right, so does Bajaj.”

Though the first Pulsar was launched only in the year 2001, the background work for it begun as early as 1998.

Then the dais was taken over by Mr. Abraham Joseph, Chief Technology Officer, Bajaj Auto. He handles brilliantly the features and the engineering aspects f the Pulsar 200 NS. He compared all the aspects with the P220 so as to get a better clarity. He said, P220 is the benchmark for performance bikes till now.

The moment finally came when a guy in racing attire brought the Pulsar 200 NS to the stage from backdrop. That’s when we really gotta take a first glimpse of the 2012 Pulsar 200NS. The first look was just great and was more stunning to know that this time it was a naked bike. I’ve posted all the details of this bike in a separate post titled ‘Insights of Pulsar 200NS’.

So, this is what exactly happened in the venue of the bike’s launch which was indeed much awaited. The bike will most probably be hitting the showrooms in the month of April. The price as I’d mentioned in other posts is less than a lakh and we don’t know the exact price till now. We’ll update it soon in the blog as soon as we get to know about it.