Bajaj Pulsar has been a name synonymous with affordable performance in India. Right since the day they were launched, it has seen some of the most exciting products in various iterations. Recently, at the higher end of the spectrum they stacked in the RS200 and AS200 but the older-gen motorcycles have been going through just sticker jobs for a long time now. All that may change soon.
The company’s Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj, in an interview to Money Control has revealed that they will launch the 2017 range of Pulsars very soon. The timeline given is “between now and December (2016)“. Without naming any specific model (from the existing range), he informed that these will get “significant changes in both their appearance and performance“.
Since he did not share which models will get a makeover everybody is out there speculating about the possibilities. With BS 4 getting mandatory from April next year, the new bikes will have to comply to these new emission norms.
Here’s is what we think about the possibilities.
- Pulsar 135LS: Despite being an interesting offering, which was faster than the Pulsar 150 in the 0 to 60 sprint, the bike failed to get the desired numbers. However, we believe Bajaj will not mechanically update this bike at least for now. In fact, we will not be surprised if they axe the bike in the coming months.
- Pulsar NS150: This can be one of the major launches lined up. The standard 15 PS Pulsar 150 has been chugging for a long time now. The NS with 17 PS output is absolutely ready and on sale in various markets including our neighbour Sri Lanka.
- Pulsar 180: For some reason, we believe Bajaj may let go the 180 in some time. If the NS150 is launched, the output advantage for the P180 completely disappears. Also, with the adevent of the performance 150 cc and 200 cc segment, the 180 cc market has been shrinking for a long time now (few may even argue that it didn’t ever become a segment and remained a niche with just 2 players).
- Pulsar NS200 FI: Yes, by now you must have read countless reports about the return of the motorcycle in its fuel injected avatar. While that completely makes sense, it all depends on how Bajaj would want to play the game, since it has new and upcoming competition from TVS and Hero.
- Pulsar 220: The 21.5 PS DTS-i mill has been one of the most loved engines from Bajaj. In fact, even the newer 200 cc 4-valve engine (of the newer-Gen Pulsars) could not stand tall in front of it despite the latter being more refined and powerful. While converting the old mill to BS4 might not be an easy task (we are not sure if it is even possible), axing the legend will mean a lot of lost volumes in this segment. Let’s see if Bajaj can spring a surprise with this one!
Also Read: Last Minute Change: Most Powerful Bajaj VS400 Will NOT be a Pulsar!
So, what do you think – how will the new Pulsar line-up look like after all of them have been launched?
