Bajaj Pulsar 200NS: The boy who grew up

My love affair with the Bajaj Pulsar began when I was sixteen, and a friend handed me the keys to his Pulsar. What set it apart was its "fun factor". The original pulsar produced 15 BHP of power. It isn't a lot now, but it was quite the revolution back then. The classic round headlamp and the bulky tank gave it a muscular look, and it opened the biking scene up in India.

The pulsars are slightly unstable, and that's what makes them so much fun to ride. All your focus needs to be on the bike. If you misbehave with it, it will promptly throw you off. All old pulsars have a raw, untamed feel to them and I think that they're the best bikes to learn on. A Pulsar's unstable nature will force a beginner to focus and hence master the art of anticipation, handling and control.

I happened to test ride the new Pulsar 200NS and I shall explain what it felt like. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive test, and neither will it dwell on specifications too much. All I want people to know is what the 200NS feels like.

Bajaj has put in a lot of thought into this bike. You realize that when you mount yourself onto the bike and it feels like you've just put your underwear on. You do get the feeling that the design folks at Bajaj made sure that the bike fits you well. I'm 6' 2" and I felt very comfortable on the bike. It was a very snug fit. That's a good sign because if you fit a bike well, you are a part of it. The ergonomics of the Pulsar 200NS are excellent, they've done a very good job. I didn't drive it long enough to check for backaches and other issues, but I reckon this bike should be comfortable.

The next thing that catches your eye is a mid-ship exhaust. You can spot the exhaust in the image below. If you can't, you should check the first image. The mid-ship exhaust gives the 200NS something the older Pulsars lacked: excellent balance. Bajaj has also given this bike a monoshock. A monoshock isn't a luxury on this bike, it's a necessity.

The older pulsars do tend to twitch a bit and give you little scares every now and then, but this one is eager to please you while going round a corner. As a result of the monoshock, good weight distribution and an improved chassis, the 200NS handles well. It has improved balance and can be chucked into corners without the worry of finding your face in a pile of dust if you happen to overdo it.

They've given it a new engine, which produces 23 BHP of power at 9500 rpm and 18.3 Nm of torque at 8000 rpm. What this translates to is no worries at the bottom end, when you're riding around in the city. The gear ratios seemed to be well spaced, and  you wouldn't need to worry about constant upshifts and downshifts while riding around in traffic.

With the new engine, I was worried that it would end up being too smooth and that it would lose its sweet exhaust tone. This isn't the case, the 200NS makes a good noise. You'll know that it is a pulsar once you rev it up and let it rip. I wasn't able to max the throttle in the fifth gear, but the way it accelerated through the first four was enough to tell me that it's been well designed. The gear shifts are slick, the clutch feels light and that's good news. It promotes aggressive shifts and adds to its eager personality.

The 200NS comes equipped with front and rear disc brakes. They've given it ByBre brakes, from Brembo. Braking Performance is also dependent on its chassis and suspension, but these brakes do tend to give it the preciseness that Pulsar's braking system always needed. A very necessary change, and I am very happy with the new brakes that the 200NS comes with.

Summary:

The older pulsars were unforgiving, challenging and scared you a bit. All these qualities make the old generation of pulsars a very exciting, lovable bike. With the new Pulsar 200NS, Bajaj has polished the diamond. It's not quite there yet, but it's a huge improvement over the old design and engineering.

The 200NS is easier to ride, handles better, takes off faster and has precise braking. It loves corners as much as a cat loves chasing a ball of wool. With a top whack of 136 kmph and a 0-100 kmph sprint in just under 10 seconds, this bike is a bundle of joy.

I expected the bike to be more precise when it comes to gearshifts, handling and braking. This made me assume that the 200NS would be reduced to a lifeless being. I'm happy to report that this isn't the case. The Pulsar 200NS has retained its wild streak. It's the talented teenager who graduated from college. He's not quite there yet, but he isn't an unpolished diamond anymore.