[KALINGA]

Today saw a advertisement on TV.(Forgot the channel)

That Bajaj will bring the 500 CC Pulsar.

or its a Ninja 500 cc.

Can any one saw that advertisement ?

Edit :- Its a 500 CC bike not a 650 cc Ninja.

Mod:- I can not find any thread like this. So created a new one. Please move / merge this thread if already we have.

[praful]

Din't get the part about Bajaj having the puslar for "lunch" :

But, Bajaj is set to launch Kawasaki's Ninja 650R soon!

[shridhar.s.i]

I guess with rising income of indian folks, its high time Bajaj launched the whole lineup of Kawasaki Bikes upto Ninja zzr1400 hypersports, just like Suzuki launched Hayabusa
But there is one question which still remains...do we have good capable mechanics to service these high end bikes and also where in India can you ride these bikes to its fullest potential

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

also where in India can you ride these bikes to its fullest potential

also who/ how many in India can utilise this extra capacity without being a (now faster) moving threat to general traffic? At least elsewhere riders on such bikes would have to compulsorily wear a helmet..

[DRIV3R]

How long will BAL continue milking the Pulsar brand?

One thing that they should understand is this. Re-boring a 150cc mill to a larger bore and providing coated pistons, oil cooler and other goodies is not going to take them anywhere.

High time they start working on an all new and improved platform.

[shridhar.s.i]

@Selfdrive: Very true, and guess what i am not able to ride my apache at 100+ thanks to highways allowing bullock carts / random pedestrians
Imagine we take the Ninja for a spin at 200+ and some idiot standing in middle of the road scratching his head wondering as to which direction does he have to go:
The roads are just not safe enough for a car / bike actually of this caliber

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

How long will BAL continue milking the Pulsar brand?

One thing that they should understand is this. Re-boring a 150cc mill to a larger bore and providing coated pistons, oil cooler and other goodies is not going to take them anywhere.

High time they start working on an all new and improved platform.

Well the problem is us, it is like the Hero Honda splendor, Mouth to mouth publicity makes the bike sell so very well they will not think of an alternative until sales drop significantly
I personally feel the pulsars to be very risky when it comes to braking at high speeds or bending the bike for an aggressive turn

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

Well the problem is us, it is like the Hero Honda splendor, Mouth to mouth publicity makes the bike sell so very well they will not think of an alternative until sales drop significantly
I personally feel the pulsars to be very risky when it comes to braking at high speeds or bending the bike for an aggressive turn

Well, it's a capable bike alright. And it sells due it's VFM proposition.

Coming to your personal feeling, every bike has some shortcomings, right?

Pulsars don't handle as good as Apaches within the city, agreed. They don't have the same dynamics. Apache has a shorter wheelbase.

Rest assured, the braking and turning largely depends on the rider too.

But yes, Pulsars have one heck of a ball-crushing tank, in the event of a sudden brake or a stoppie going wrong.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

But yes, Pulsars have one heck of a ball-crushing tank, in the event of a sudden brake or a stoppie going wrong.

Very true and well said DRIV3R.
this was one of the key reasons I didnt buy a Pulsar when I bought my second bike! Almost reminded me of a scene in Hot Shots part deux, when I rode a friends Pulsar

[praful]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

But there is one question which still remains...do we have good capable mechanics to service these high end bikes and also where in India can you ride these bikes to its fullest potential

Originally Posted by selfdrive

also who/ how many in India can utilise this extra capacity without being a (now faster) moving threat to general traffic? At least elsewhere riders on such bikes would have to compulsorily wear a helmet..

Well the same question go for the cars like the Evo/Porsche/etc that are being sold in India. Where do we have the roads to fully extract the potential of these mean machines.

That being said, so far Bajaj is doing a pretty good job of servicing the Ninja 250R!

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

How long will BAL continue milking the Pulsar brand?

One thing that they should understand is this. Re-boring a 150cc mill to a larger bore and providing coated pistons, oil cooler and other goodies is not going to take them anywhere.

High time they start working on an all new and improved platform.

The Brand needs a change or the Platform?

Brand is an important thing to retain, take for example 'Ninja'. Its a brand built over time. The "platform" has evolved, but the brand needs to be retained.

Don't expect a 10 year old Bajaj to evolve products as fast as 40 year old brands like Kawasaki/Honda/Yamaha.

PS: Check out the little Pulsar 135LS, its new bike ground up. There are massive improvements in this bike, and it is scheduled to be scaled up to the bigger siblings as well.

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

I personally feel the pulsars to be very risky when it comes to braking at high speeds or bending the bike for an aggressive turn

Which generation of Pulsar are you talking about, over the years Pulsars have evolved a LOT. There is major difference between the handling of the newer Pulsars. Agreed, they are not yet the industry's best, but still they are light years ahead of the Pulsars of the yesteryears!

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

But yes, Pulsars have one heck of a ball-crushing tank, in the event of a sudden brake or a stoppie going wrong.

How many of the newer pulsar's sport this 'crusher', BTW any bike that tends towards a 'sporty' nature will tend to have a tank that obstruct your gonads from going over the tank. This is precisely so your legs can grip something and thus offer more control over the bike.


PS: I really doubt if there is any 500cc Pulsar coming anytime soon. Bajaj has a long way to get there, this news is definitely pointing towards the launch of the Ninja 650R.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by praful

The Brand needs a change or the Platform?

I think i was pretty clear, it is the platform. Same 150cc mill rebored to various sizes.

Brand is an important thing to retain, take for example 'Ninja'. Its a brand built over time. The "platform" has evolved, but the brand needs to be retained.

Absolutely.

Don't expect a 10 year old Bajaj to evolve products as fast as 40 year old brands like Kawasaki/Honda/Yamaha.

10 year old Bajaj? Really? I thought 10 year old 'Pulsar' brand.

That being said, Bajaj does evolve much faster than it's Japanese counterparts, which do sticker upgrades.

But we are not talking evolution here, are we?

PS: Check out the little Pulsar 135LS, its new bike ground up. There are massive improvements in this bike, and it is scheduled to be scaled up to the bigger siblings as well.

Is it not the same engine block with minor improvements to incorporate the extra 2 valves?

Which generation of Pulsar are you talking about, over the years Pulsars have evolved a LOT. There is major difference between the handling of the newer Pulsars. Agreed, they are not yet the industry's best, but still they are light years ahead of the Pulsars of the yesteryears!


How many of the newer pulsar's sport this 'crusher', BTW any bike that tends towards a 'sporty' nature will tend to have a tank that obstruct your gonads from going over the tank. This is precisely so your legs can grip something and thus offer more control over the bike.

Agree with you on the handling part. About the tank, all generations included. Just that the current ones are softer on you. (I own one from the current lot, mind you!)

And no other bike bothers to touch goands the way the Pulsar does. Sporty nature included.

PS: I really doubt if there is any 500cc Pulsar coming anytime soon. Bajaj has a long way to get there, this news is definitely pointing towards the launch of the Ninja 650R.

Echo that!

[praful]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

10 year old Bajaj? Really? I thought 10 year old 'Pulsar' brand.

That being said, Bajaj does evolve much faster than it's Japanese counterparts, which do sticker upgrades.

My bad, I meant to say 'Pulsar' whilst I typed Bajaj.

Rate of evolution is faster because there are more less doing what has been done before, but nothing to take away from Bajaj (read: Pulsar). I think they evolved brilliantly in the past 10 years. From any engine that lasted only a handful of minutes running on full load, to today where it can go on for a few days on full load.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Is it not the same engine block with minor improvements to incorporate the extra 2 valves?

The Bajaj XCD was a all new block, if I'm not wrong the P135LS borrows tid-bits from that block. It is not the older block, that is for sure. The P135LS also sports a new chassis, you should see the way it handles.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Agree with you on the handling part. About the tank, all generations included. Just that the current ones are softer on you. (I own one from the current lot, mind you!)

And no other bike bothers to touch goands the way the Pulsar does. Sporty nature included.

Maybe the other bikes don't accelerate that hard and stop that hard!

Well, I've had gonad crushing experiences on the Ninja250R as well! I just think its been a bit too overhyped for the Pulsars!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Bajaj Pulsar 500? Advertisement?

Bajaj has made it clear that their next launch for this year is the Kawasaki Ninja 650r, followed by the new platform Pulsar 200 and Pulsar 250. (Which would share components / platform with the KTM 125 / 200 ). Also, KTM 125/ 200 would be launched as a premium bike.

Where did a 500 come in, all of a sudden!

Advertisements seem to have started for Ninja 650r though!

[shridhar.s.i]

I guess i am getting to see the same phenomenon i mentioned in my post here, we are comparing a new pulsar to an old one and we feel that yeah the new one is much better than the old one, but what we fail to see here is "Does it really compete with competition as far as performance goes"
I do know Ideal things dont exist but better options than pulsar do exist..
I dont intend to hurt emotions of any pulsar owner here because i did drive my friends new generation pulsar 180 for almost a year..so i do know what i am talking about here
But anyways i believe this is not the right thread to discuss shorcomings of a bike etc as it would be
coming back to point..I only hope they come out with a powerful option comparable to its competition

[shridhar.s.i]

@CrazyDriver: Any idea on pricing of the Ninja 650R, some website in india are quating it to be around 5.5Lacs Ex-Showroom

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

coming back to point..I only hope they come out with a powerful option comparable to its competition

They always are powerful than the competition and more VFM as well! Even Apaches. And I hope you know that.