My Pulsar-200cc experiences & 1st impressions at Kolkata

Hi everybody,

Here’s a summary of my experiences with the new Pulsar-200, at the Kolkata Bajaj Probiking showroom, minutes after the 1st lot of these newly evolved pulsars came in. I can only give you a very brief summary, as I did not get the chance to test the performance of this bike as much as I would have liked to. That’s because they didn’t allow a proper test ride out on the open roads yesterday, and told me that they’d be in a position to allow that, in a couple of days. However, these probiking guys are a bunch of thorough professionals who believe in the fact that the customer comes first….and so they didn’t totally disappoint, and allowed us to have a preview of the bikes performance by riding it in their showrooms parking lot, which was a stretch of not more than 50-60 metres. Here’s what I thought…

Appearance:

This is easily the best looking Pulsar till date, and that too, by a huge margin. Can’t comment entirely on the fact whether it looks better then the 220, because I haven’t seen the 220 in flesh yet…and unless you see it in flesh, you can never tell. But going by the pictures, this sure does look better than the 220.

The paint job is the best I’ve ever seen on a Pulsar, and excepting the Silver, all colours look stunning….so much so, that I was having a hell of a hard time making up my mind as to which colour I should go for, if at all I decide on buying this machine.

What do you guys think? Which colour looks the best, in your opinion?

The bike has a highly aggressive stance, looks significantly larger than the 180’s, and yes, it looks more powerful as well. The 180 UG3 sharp rear panel did not entirely complement the tank, but with the cowls in place in this 200, it cant have looked better, and perfectly in proportion.

The rear tyres have added largely to the appearance, and for all those of you out there who have a tendency to want to replace stock tyres of Indian bikes with wider tyres, in order to enhance the look of your bike….well, here’s one Indian bike which has tyres which shall keep you satisfied, as far as looks are concerned.

The exhaust looks nice, though not great. But considering the overall stunning appearance of the bike, it’s not a major issue to bother about.

The “Pulsar” written on the tank and the “200” on the rear panel look great and refreshing. The tank-pad(guard), though not the quality and finish of more expensive and imported ones, isn’t looking bad at all, and fits well into the scheme of things. The all black treatment on the engine and the alloys and the shocks, sure have added to make it look all the more amazing.

Performance, Handling & Seating:

Being very honest, I am not in a position to be commenting on that, though I did try my hands on a black P-200, and then on a blue P-200. The reason for my inability to be commenting on this with full justification is that, I got to ride the bikes on a 50 metre stretch, and with a bike of such specs, 50 metres surely isn’t enough. I have ridden a pulsar classic 180 for 3 years plus…I then went on to ride a karizma (the one I have now) .I can easily compare the 180 and the karizma, and the major thing which I like in the karizma which wins me over, is its sure footedness and amazing handling. And of course the super refined engine, even after cruising at high speeds, for hours on end. And when I realized that I wanted to test the P-200, one of the major things which I was looking out for was handling. All bikes in the range of 200cc and above are going to feel powerful anyway, so that’s something I knew would be there in the P-200. But as far as handling is concerned…..there was no way I could make that out in that 50 metre stretch. And so I am looking forward to a proper full-fledged test ride in the next couple of days, and I’ll be back updating this review, once I ride the P-200 out on the roads, and at higher speeds, where I can bend and brake the machine a lot harder….and then compare my personal experience with the feel I get on the karizma.

Now let me tell you how I felt during those 50 metre runs. Well, at first, the bike has an wonderful seating position. The low (but not very low) handles feel amazingly comfortable, the footpegs are positioned slightly towards the rear, though not too muc, all making for a really cool riding posture, without compromising on comfort. Though the big bike feel is missing, and I guess that’s because of two reasons…..firstly, because I ride a karizma, and so the absence of that half-fairing makes thing seem smaller (which I’m sure the P-220 will make up for)…..and secondly, because the fairing is exactly the same as in the UG3 pulsar, and so all pulsar riders are going to feel the same when they look ahead. However, the difference is the riding position, and of course the height of the bike, which is slightly more than the P-180 & P-150. The bike is larger in dimensions than its younger siblings, with a wheelbase of 1350, which is a tiny 5mm’s less than the karizma….but in my opinion, when you are sitting in the bike and riding it, it doesn’t necessarily feel all that much larger.

Put in the key, and the first thing you see is that initial self-check thingy, where the RPM-meter does that sweep like superbikes, and exactly as it does in the UG3 180 and 150. But I must say that it looks like more of a mimicry, and sure does look kind of cheap, though I can’t pinpoint why. But that’s where the similarities end…..read on…..

Bring the engine to life with the electric starter, and the crisp tone of the bike was very refreshing…..unlike the pulsar classics, but again nothing like the new breed of pulsar 150’s or 180’s. Some say that it could’ve had some more grunt in it, but personally I’d say it was just fine. C’mon, what more would you want on a 200cc? Anything more would sound like an exaggeration. Mind you, as you all must know by now, this machine has no kickstart, and I really cant tell why bajaj went ahead with only an electric start in a carb version. Either they are extremely confident of their engineers, and are certain that the bike will start EVERYTIME…or else they simply don’t care!!! I have no idea about the UG’s of the 150 and 180’s…but as far as my classic 180 goes…..in my 3 years of experience, not for once did I have a starting problem using the electric starter, even in the coldest kolkata winters. So if this starter is in the same league, I guess we need’nt worry. As for battery failures….well….don’t ask me…ask bajaj!!!

Gear shifts are via an only-toe shifter, which is probably the most amazing evolution in this machine. I say “probably” because usually most bikes in spanking new condition have very slick gear shifts…its only when you ride them hard, and long, over a considerable period of time, do the gear shift tenacity show their true colours. But again, I want to stress that, as per first impressions, I was very impressed with the gear shifts.

Now for the part where all of you must have been waiting for…..what exactly happened after I shifted to 1st gear, and turned the throttle??? Well, here’s what happened?

This is one fast and powerful bike…and by Indian standards…I’m sorry to say, but all other Indian bike manufacturers better wake up and take note, or they’ll be eating the dust this bike leaves behind, very, very soon!!! And that includes the higher displacement Indian bikes as well. No idea about top speed, as the dyno test wasn’t ready yesterday while I was there, moreover, as I have already mentioned earlier, didn’t get to take the bike out on the roads. But that initial burst of a wild acceleration is unlike any other Indian bike till date. Makes me wonder what the newer breed of 220’s and 250’s coming up from the bajaj’s, yamaha’s and honda’s is going to be like. Anyway, getting back to the topic, since this amazing acceleration was so amazing, and it pulled itself so well at the slightest turn of the wrist, that available 50 metres which I had was over in a jiffy, and then I had to turn back. I did brake hard as much as I could, but again, how well can you make out the brakes, if you aren’t going really fast? But again, first impression says that the brakes were really good, though the front disc brake lever could have had some more feedback in it…an issue which can definitely be adjusted to suit your needs. Considering the raw power of the bike, the mighty acceleration, and the meaty tyres, a rear disc is sorely missing here. And as always the rear 120/80 MRF Zappers sure do feel good while on the move, besides just looking good.

One thing I felt while doing an about turn, once I had reached the end of the 50 metre stretch, was that the turning radius was kind of weird. I did feel less comfortable turning the P-200, than I feel turning the larger karizma. This might simply be because it’s a new machine with new dimensions, and so I felt that way since I am not used to it….but considering this seems to be an ideal city bike, I’d reckon that the turning radius should be more suited to tighter turns. Can anyone please comment on this and correct me if I am wrong?

Well, that’s about it, as far as my first impressions go, on the P-200. Will be back with a proper review on the handling and performance when I can manage a proper test ride, in a day or two. And now, after patiently going through this long and probably even boring “preview” of the P-200…here’s a treat for all of you……

Pictures taken at Kolkata Probiking…..and please let me know which colour you personally feel is the best looker…


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