Bajaj Pulsar 200NS .. a Revolution!

Evolution of a Revolution......Pulsar 200NS.

It was almost 11 years ago, when Bajaj Auto launched the first Pulsar, which changed the face of the Indian motorcycle industry. Pulsar has been a symbol of the Indian spirit, determination and ingenuity. The dominance of the 1st gen Pulsars over the last decade is stuff of business school case studies  In the past decade, there have been many versions and facelifts of the Pulsar which kept the bike going strongly to a sales of 50 lakh units. The Bajaj Pulsar has become one of the most recognizable brands in India, with enthusiasts swearing by their bikes. Finally the most anticipated Pulsar Of all times, Yes, the Pulsar 200 NS, which is the second generation of the Pulsar, is on the Indian roads.

Bajaj, by means of its 47 per cent ownership of KTM, has handpicked the best of resources from either party to create what are, no doubt, two of the most fun bikes you can buy in the country today. Although the engine blocks might look similar, the KTM 200 Duke and the Pulsar 200NS is as different as "Chalk and Cheese". The Duke is. A lot of the hardware, so to speak, on the Duke’s interface exudes finish levels that are familiar territory to some of the world’s finest motorcycles. The KTM is torquier and more powerful, but uses that advantage early in the powerband. The Pulsar is the opposite. The KTM is rough and a bit vibey, while the Pulsar is refined without being numb. You may not necessarily like both, but you will like either. Smart move, Bajaj Auto.

The Pulsar 200NS is an evolution of a revolution that happened ten years ago with the Pulsar Classic. A well matched gearbox and relatively high power to weight ratio, this one now is a Pulsar that’s most unlike a Pulsar in every sense of the word.

Styling:-
When Yamaha launched the FZ (16) in 2008, it made every other naked sports motorcycle in India look a generation older including the Pulsars. Minor styling upgrades did help the Pulsar retain its handsome proportions which still appealed to a large section of bikers.

The Designers at Bajaj Auto had a real challenge at hand to out match the FZ Street fighter styling and also to carry the lines/proportions of the Pulsar which had ruled the Indian streets for a decade.

The Pulsar 200NS also has that international naked bike theme. Tight muscular proportions, a mean and agressive stance and painful attention to details because especially from the rear, the Pulsar 200NS appears like a beefed up Pulsar 135LS.

Bajaj Pulsar 200ns concept styling iteration and Schematic illustrations.

Neat design elements like the beautiful 10-spoke alloy wheel design, a unique two tone front mudguard a single sided rear tyre hugger which goes good with the overall design.

Detail design study on Mono shocks, Rearset and foot peg’s, resulting in a very ergonomically comfortable footrest.

Head Lights and Tail Lights Concept Workout, which undoubtedly gives the pulser character. The tail lights similar to 135LS, with distent LED lineup which can’t be mistaken for anything elase but a Pulsar. The rear number plate holder has been carried over from the Pulsar 135LS. Even the Chain Cover has been designed with Character.

When other manufacturers are trying to make the pilot lamps appear as "eyes", the Pulsar 200NS goes ahead and makes its twin pilot lamps as a cool "goatee".

Handel Bar Switch Pack and Side Indicators Lamps Designed to give refreshing looks. The speedometer display is beautiful unit with an analog tachometer bang in the middle, flanked by symmetrical displays for the speedo, odometer, tripmeter and a digital clock on the right and the tell-tale lights on the left.

The Pulsar 200NS has got the street presence with fresh appearance and stands out in the crowd with curious and admiring glances coming in from awestruck onlookers. The tank is the another biggest change here. The orginal shape has been replaced with a stronger lined and muscular looking tank that extends right down to the radiator shroud. 

Ergonomics:-

The riding stance of the Pulsar 200NS perfectly compliments its aggressive street bike styling. The Pulsar 200NS has the tallest seat among Indian bikes. At 805 mm the seat height the wider seat of the Pulsar 200NS makes it difficult for guys with shorter legs to put both feet comfortably on the ground without tip-toeing. 

But this tall seating gives the rider a commanding riding position which coupled with the easy to reach handlebars makes the rider comfortable. The upright riding posture means that one can make very long trips on the Pulsar 200NS with ease.

The seat of the Pulsar 200NS deserves special mention. Both the rider and pillion seats are generous in size making room for the biggest of bums plus the seat form is very comfortable both for short distance riding and also for long hours on the saddle. The high seating makes the Pulsar 200NS a bit intimidating to the average rider with height lesser then 5’7”. 

Frame and Ride Quality:-

 The Pulsar 200NS takes the naked streetfigter theme to the next level. Nothing on the bike is there which is unnecessary or ornamental. The Pressed Steel Perimeter Frame gives the Pulsar the distant looks and the ride quality. Under Belly Exhaust is the new Tech. offered by the of Pulsar 200ns.

The Pulsar is a realistic motorcycle. The gas-charged rear Nitrox monoshock and the front telescopic fork have been tuned to handle smartly but remain supple enough to absorb Indian roads. A relatively softer seat helps matters immensely. The Bike is no pushover though. The leap forward in the chassis over the older Pulsars is significant. The steel twin spar frame and the steel swingarm work really well and despite the feeling of bulk from the overall form of the motorcycle, it’s effortless to corner.

At 1363mm, this Pulsar has the longest wheelbase amongst its siblings since the past 10 years. Mix that with a highly rigid perimeter frame, a torquey and powerful engine and good mass centralization and what you get is a bike that happens to be as stable as it is flickable. In fact the 200NS is taller, longer and wider than any previous Pulsar and yet the weight has been kept tight at 145kg. With power being upped to 23.5 PS, torque at a little above 18 Nm @8000 rpm while the engine redlines at 10,500, the six speed gearbox is expectedly carrying taller ratios and makes the 200NS pretty long-legged.

Engine Performance:-

The engine, which shares its bottom end with the KTM Duke 200’s, has the shortest stroke of all Pulsar models and the largest bore. It is quite rev happy and vibration free. The exoticness lies in the astoundingly detailed engineering design of its one single component, the engine head. It’s a 200cc engine head and has 4 valves, 3 spark-plugs and an array of passages for the coolant movement and oil feed through it. Maintaining dimensional and structural integrity of such a piece in a very thermally punishing environment is no mean engineering feat by itself. Look close and you’ll see two spark-plugs on either side of the engine with the third added a little distance on top of the left hand side plug. This third (middle) plug is the master while the remaining two are slaves. 

The maximum speed the bike did in each gear is as follows:

1st : 52  kph 

2nd:70 kph

3rd:92 kph

4th:117kph

5th : 138 kph

6th : ~151 kph

Crank it up and if first impressions are anything to go by you will be impressed. Engine noise at idling is pretty low compared to other Pulsars and that is, apart from the close inter-component tolerances, also majorly due to the liquid cooling jacket surrounding the engine. The engine responds with a nice soft crank and goes into a smooth idle. The revs rise up nice and sharp in neutral. Slot it into first and get going and you are greeted by smooth confident gear shifts and a rev friendly engine. Not the typical short stroke engine characteristics though as there is enough and more power low down to get going easily. 

The gear clicks into place. Pulling off, the clutch feel is progressive and the engine delivers enough juice to make a brisk enough start without revving high or slipping the clutch. The 6-speed box has ratios well-suited to the engine and allows a smooth and progressive increase in speed. Some good work has apparently gone into the gear box and it shows in the smooth shifts, zero missed shifts and no false neutrals. Its actually surprising with the rather evenly spread torque over the rev range which made riding at all speeds quite comfortable, and post 7K RPM there is an obvious surge ahead as you close in on that peak power RPM. The RPM cut off is at 10.8K to which you will reach easily in all gears except the 6th. The motorcycle pulls away cleanly in 5th and 6th gear from speeds as low as 35 kmph.

The triple spark-plug and 4-valve engine has resulted in major gains in terms of combustion efficiency and it shines through in the throttle response. The carburetion is spot-on and none of us could detect a flat spot. There is this vibration that kicks in post 3K RPM and sticks on till you cross about 7K RPM. Once on the highway, comfortable cruising speeds are in the range of 110-115 kmph at about 7K to 8K RPM and beyond that there is a heavy wind blast making cruising at higher speeds uncomfortable. We reached a speedometer indicated top whack of 151 kmph with a 0-100 time of ~ 9.6 seconds. Expect a speedometer correction of about 8% and still those numbers are pretty good. With sedate everyday riding we got a mileage in the range of 38 kmpl and after a hard ripping session it dropped to 32 kmpl.

The engine casings get a golden finish which along with the body color and matt black body panels is a treat to behold.

Brakes:-

The brakes were a surprise. The 280mm front and 230mm rear petal discs give a good sharp bite, are nicely gradable, provide fine feedback and are not prone to fading even after sustained track use. Add to this a rigid chassis and firm suspension and you can brake on the limit without jitters – outside or inside. Fork dive is nicely controlled and confidence inspiring. Deliberate locking of the rear wheel from 50 odd kph did not result in any wayward stepping out of the rear. 

Fuel Efficiency:-

The 200NS engine has been designed for upping the ante especially in thermal and volumetric efficieny stakes. And it shine there. With a claimed 58 kmpl under the Indian Driving Cycle and the figure dropping by about 30% or so at around 100 kph says a lot about fuel efficiency especially on a naked bike. 

The Pulsar 200NS has been priced at around Rs. 85,000 (Ex-showroom Delhi) which means an on road price of less than Rs. 1,00,000 in any part of the country.