This ownership experience is all about my Bajaj Pulsar 200NS, which Bajaj auto has been bragging about as the ‘Best Pulsar Yet’ with enormous support from Auto Journalists/Experts who are leaving no stone unturned in singing praises for this bike in the choicest flowery language possible.
Many reviewers went as far as to say that the smoothness of the 200NS can definitely be compared to a Honda or a Yamaha product. Bajaj claims this to be the “Best Pulsar Till Date”, sadly I don’t quite agree with this. Still went ahead and took the plunge into buying the Pulsar 200NS.
Looks and Styling
The Pulsar 200NS looks like no Pulsar has ever looked before, attention to detail and intense concentration of the designers has made the bike what it is today. The offered colour options are also pretty thoughtful and gels well with the overall persona of the bike. However the seating position isn’t cramped and even a tall rider finds it comfortable to putter around town in this bike. Cockpit instrumentation is very practical as well though I sorely missed the absence of a Gear Indicator.
Technology Honestly I find it difficult to come to terms with the entire hype surrounding the performance and technology of the 200NS. Bajaj's Triple Spark technology didn’t feel convincing at all. Addition of more spark plugs was to enable efficient combustion of the Air-Fuel mixture in order to boost fuel efficiency and performance.
I completed the bike’s running-in procedure as per the Owner’s Manual but despite that, engine refinement was dismal. The issues I faced on my Pulsar 200NS were as follows:-
Excessive vibrations on the petrol tank, both rider and pillion seat and handlebars starting from 5500 rpm and extending all the way upto 10,500 rpm. On a trip to Baroda for a friend’s marriage, I had a very hard time riding with all the vibrations filtering through me at constant 90-100 kmph speeds. Just to remind the readers that I have lived with Bullets for 3 good years and hence high speed vibrations weren’t new to me, just that the ones on the 200NS proved unbearable.
Coolant overflow was a common issue which the SVC failed to rectify
At expressway speeds above 100 kmph, instability was felt especially at the front wheel, my suspicion the tyres weren’t upto the mark
The bike’s straight line stability goes for a toss on open highways in the presence of even mild to average magnitude of cross-winds
The bike’s performance takes a hit again on open highways due to headwinds. I suppose a technologically advanced bike like the 200NS should be able to endure atleast headwinds if not crosswinds.
One positive aspect of the bike that I wish to highlight is the presence of very efficient brakes. Those Bybre disc brakes do their job extremely well at all times.
Handling is an area where the 200NS has improved by leaps and bounds as compared to older Pulsar models. The bike is very easy to chuck into corners as well as to weave in and out through traffic. Even high speed cornering on highways feels easy, mid corner bumps or undulations are flattened out by the suspension. The stock Eurogrip tyres were decent in terms of grip around corners even in wet conditions.
Suspension The front suspension of the bike is a conventional hydraulic fork type. The rear is a Nitrox charged Mono-shock. The suspension setup is too stiff and ends up bruising the rider and pillion’s buttocks. The stiffness of the front forks is good in practice as that adds to stability under hard braking by reducing fork dive. But the rear mono-shock disappoints by NOT PROVIDING the slightest of comfort on the minutest road undulations. I tried setting the suspension to a softer setting (at position 1 & 2) but honestly it improved the comfort quotient by only a notch (say 10-15%).
Seats Designing the seats is where Bajaj seems to have gone all wrong. I felt both rider and pillion seat insufficiently padded, again as against the opinion of auto experts. The rider seat lacks sufficient width for a 36 inches waist size like mine, the edges of the seat exerts pressure on the pelvic girdle causing long rides to turn painful. A customized Seat Cover with a thin layer of soft foam in it should be the solution for anyone looking to tour on this bike.
Fuel Economy This is the department where the Pulsar 200NS doesn’t disappoint, it returned me a steady 40 kmpl in Bombay city and 42 kmpl on highways.
The Verdict
The Pulsar 200NS is not worth a buy unless Bajaj sorts out its un-refinement and vibration issues. It looks to me as if Bajaj were in a tearing hurry to launch the 200NS in an attempt to counter the CBR and R15 V2 onslaught. I sincerely advise prospective buyers of the Pulsar 200NS to go for the KTM Duke 200 if they can afford to spare Rs. 1.5-odd lakh. I was fed up of approaching Bajaj SVC time and again to sort out the issues on my 200NS but alas, they failed to resolve the problems. I started hunting for a buyer post 10k kms and eventually sold it.
