[vibbs]

Congratulations on your purchase NS is quite a machine. I think one cannot go wrong in that price range with a Pulsar 200NS. It is one awesome product.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Bajaj Avenger: Liked the looks, price, style. But after reading a lot of reviews and trying it out myself, felt it was not too suited for regular city commute. Hence did not consider.

I just wanted to comment on this particular point. I own an Avenger and use it to commute close to 60 Kms daily in city and that too through the road that has India's most heavy traffic. Believe me, although it looks as if it is cumbersome in traffic it is far from that. The bike grows up on you and you feel at ease in the traffic after some time. Ofcourse it is nowhere as flickable as the 200NS. So no doubt that Pulsar 200NS is vastly superior to it in that aspect and many more. Infact I dont think one can find a better bike in India at that price range today.

Bajaj redefined biking in India with the Pulsar in early 2000s and with Duke and Pulsar 200NS it is turning a new leaf in the chapter. It is develops almost 10% more power than the Pulsar 220.
Good decision to choose a great bike.

Wishing you many more happy miles on it.

Cheers

Ride Safe.

[Siddy]

Congrats Rajeevraj on your new buy!
Just a few questions. How's the suspension, handling on the corners, top end (if you are done with the run in) and the rear seat comfort?
Does the engine like to be revved?

Wishing you lots of happy miles! cheers

[anandpadhye]

Congrats!

I am also pleasantly surprized by the reviews of this bike.
A Bajaj that revvs freely, shifts gears crsiply, handles and runs away like a Yamaha and and you can find the neutral too!!! This is just too mmuch.

I was waiting for a real ownership review to see if all this is really true. For a moment, I thought my fears came true when I read that you did not like the gear-box. Then I read further that it's because of the toe-only shifter and 6 speeds...is that correct? The shift quality is crisp and perfect like Honda? And you can find the real neutral when you want?

How is the suspension, seat comfort?
And we are waiting to know "kitna deti hai"?

[giri1.8]

Congrats Rajeevraj
Bike looks great in blue shade!
Are you satisfied with the stock tyres or do you have any plans to upgrade them?

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Frankly, the hugger on both the Duke and the NS is an after thought and a pain. I have been riding in the rain and slush and the entire underside of the bike as well as back of jacket and etiree pillion seat and rear cowl is covered in mud spray - so what is the hugger preventing?

The Austrians never designed the hugger for the Duke. The Bajaj guys have added it. And its not working. And is a pain as the rear fender and the hugger make contact often when taking the bike over broken surfaces.

I think if anything, its more to do with protecting those coming from behind than yourself or your own bike. Plus on the Duke its bolted on to the expensive aluminum swingarm.

I have the same thing happening in my P180, dirt gets thrown on the tail lights and also the pillion seat to some extent when I ride in rain(I haven't faced anything similar on my 3 previous bikes). IMO, manufacturers have foregone the prcaticality aspect to enhance the aesthetic appeal. But what I mean to say is it does prevent mud spray to some extent if not completely.

Also I read somewhere long time ago that bikes/cars need to have proper mudguards to prevent mudspray on those coming behind you. It is checked by the Govt. regulatory body while approving its road worthiness.
I may be wrong and I can't vouch for its authenticity as I read it long time ago.

PS: Congrats Rajeevraj for your need ride. Wishing you many happy miles on it. And sorry for hijacking your thread.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vibbs

...I own an Avenger and use it to commute close to 60 Kms daily in city and that too through the road that has India's most heavy traffic. Believe me, although it looks as if it is cumbersome in traffic it is far from that.

I agree. I am noticing a lot of avengers on the road these days. If there was no Pulsar NS, I think I mostly would have bought the avenger. Really like its looks.

Originally Posted by Siddy

Congrats Rajeevraj on your new buy!
Just a few questions. How's the suspension, handling on the corners, top end (if you are done with the run in) and the rear seat comfort?
Does the engine like to be revved?

Thanks. Suspension seems pretty good. Felt pretty comfortable over bad roads. I am still well within the run in period, so have not really revved it. Today I went on a 50-60km round on the highway and in an open stretch could not resist pushing the bike a little. Hit around 90km/hr in 6th gear at around 6000rpm. Just for a few seconds. Seemed pretty smooth to me.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Congrats!

I am also pleasantly surprized by the reviews of this bike.
Then I read further that it's because of the toe-only shifter and 6 speeds...is that correct? The shift quality is crisp and perfect like Honda? And you can find the real neutral when you want?

How is the suspension, seat comfort?
And we are waiting to know "kitna deti hai"?

The gearbox seems smooth and shift quality seems great. No issues with shifting or finding neutral or false neutrals. I dont have much experience with the honda or the so called bad gear boxes of the earlier pulsars. So cannot really compare. But seems good to me.

Seat is very comfortable. Did a 60km non stop trip with my wife on pillion and both of us did not feel any discomfort during the ride.

Too early for kitna deti hai. But roughly looks like it will match the 35-40 claimed by bajaj.

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Congrats Rajeevraj
Bike looks great in blue shade!
Are you satisfied with the stock tyres or do you have any plans to upgrade them?

No plans to upgrade. I dont think I'll be a aggressive cornering rider. So these tyres should be good enough for me.

Some other points:

• Horn is very weak. Just compared it to my wego horn and that was much louder. There is a dialog in a malayalam movie which roughly translates as 'I am a roaring lion-DO you want to hear my roar??-Here it is- 'Meeeaoww': . This is what the horn of the NS reminded me of
  
• There is a low fuel/high rpm indicator light. Realized that this will light up when you are close to reserve itself. Does not really serve a good purpose. Ideally I feel it should light up after it goes into reserve and is closer to empty.
  
• Brakes seem great. Had a situation today where I was overtaking a lorry and a dog suddenly came in front. Applied sudden brakes and the bike stopped without any hassles.

[unk9ja]

Congrats on your new ride, keep the reviews coming. I am now confused between the Duke and NS as my next buy.

[sumeshmani]

Hi Rajeevraj, Congratulations!!
My friend has a 200 NS and he faced a problem yesterday. I wanted to check with you if you had faced anything like this.
He rode his bike from home to office, ~ 10 KM. When he reached office, he could hear the coolant boiling away.
He told me it was quite loud, even grabbing the attention of bystanders.
The other issue was, when he was at a signal, the engine would raise every time engaged the clutch.

[0xTKB]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

My friend has a 200 NS and he faced a problem yesterday. I wanted to check with you if you had faced anything like this.
He rode his bike from home to office, ~ 10 KM. When he reached office, he could hear the coolant boiling away.
He told me it was quite loud, even grabbing the attention of bystanders.

This can be an isolated incident. But your friend should visit the workshop ASAP & explain this problem. Otherwise, the engine might be damaged. Also, it would be great if you could post the solution/remedy of the problem that the service guys will suggest.

[M.R.Boruwa]

Is the Headlight DC (Like karizma )or on the Alternator?

[evilmessiah]

I'm late but congrats on the new bike! I think that the P200 NS is 'the' bike to get under a lakh for enthusiasts. With no major flaws nor compromises, it seems that Bajaj has struck a home run. You're lucky to get one at such a short notice- here in Cochin there's a longer waiting period.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Bajaj Avenger: Liked the looks, price, style. But after reading a lot of reviews and trying it out myself, felt it was not too suited for regular city commute. Hence did not consider.

I believe that bikes are an intensely personal choice, but I think I'll have to disagree a bit on this topic. I commute to my workplace with my bro on his Avenger and I think it's doing great on such regular commutes. Good low end torque, punchy mid range, light handling - all are good recipes for the grunt work on a commute.

It does have its share of drawbacks- the ride quality for the rear pillion makes one wonder whether someone at Bajaj had filled the rear shocks with cement instead of springs, the gearbox is sub-par as far as I'm concerned (my bro still gets a couple of false neutrals everyday), bolts rusting at some places and the brakes are odd- the front brakes lock easily and the rear brake is too weak. Flawed, but it's the only option for a wannabe cruiser below a lakh. It's fun to ride despite all the negatives- never fails to put a grin on your face. No comparison with the P200NS as the NS is a mainstream bike designed to appeal to a large audience while the Avenger caters to a niche.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I was expecting info on running in, speeds to be maintained, service details. In anycase since I knew most of the info, this was not important to me.

Same thing at the Honda dealership in my hometown. Most of my knowledge came from the ownership reviews on t-bhp and the faq-s thread on the CBR by aargee.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Plenty of looks and comments on the road. But one thing I noticed is that only a person with reasonable knowledge on bikes will realize this is the new pulsar. For a person with no knowledge, they assume it to be the pulsar 135/150. This is fine for me as I dont want undue attention. But if you want to be an attention grabber, get the yellow one

I felt the same thing with my CBR too! Many people notice my bike but it's mostly the youth, kids and those who have knowledge about bikes. The real questions happen only with the last category (most common ones- How much did it cost, What mileage are you getting?). Those uninitiated with bikes often ignore my ride (which is fine by me).

On the other hand, my brother's Avenger despite being black, is a complete attention magnet. Many times, I've seen people twist their heads to take a second or a long lingering look. Maybe it's the acres of shiny chrome offset by the black paint? Weird, but true.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Gear shifts needs some getting used to since I am used to shift up with my heel on the splendor. Also the fact that there are 6 gears also needs getting used to (This is more for me specifically. Not a negative of the bike)

I wasn't used to a shifter on a two wheeler at all- and it's been really easy to get used on a 6-speed . Once you're used to it, there's no turning back. I miss a 6th cog in my bro's Avenger- it would have been much more relaxed with one.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Power: Yes, I have it in the negative also. It needs to be treated responsibly.

That's quite correct, I think on those lines too. It's hard to resist the temptation of soaring ahead when some poser tries to race with you- especially when you know that the bike you're riding can easily show them a clean pair of heels. The mature thing to do is to give way and let the kids pass by you. It's a really difficult thing to do but when one is riding such powerful machines like the P200 NS, one should be responsible with it.
Experience teaches me otherwise, however. I find that the most moronic and rash bikers are the ones on commuter bikes. Sure, there are some rash boy racers on sports bikes, but there are only a few of them. The former category is extremely common- people get complacent because of the low powered bikes and smooth engines that do not demand attention. Thus their attention won't be in the riding, but something else.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Horn is very weak. Just compared it to my wego horn and that was much louder. There is a dialog in a malayalam movie which roughly translates as [i]'I am a roaring lion-DO you want to hear my roar??-Here it is- 'Meeeaoww':

Another same story! My bike's horn is quite meek as opposed to the one on my bro's. Ha ha! I know that dialogue! Are you a Malayalee settled in Bangalore? Where's your hometown in Kerala?

Enough with my rants. Nice pics there! Good choice of color too. Congrats again, have a good time riding and be safe!

[anachronix]

Congrats on the NS dude! A great review too

Saw the NS in Chennai and I totally ignored it thinking it was the old Pulsar 135, but noticed the difference when I passed the vehicle and boy it looks very aggressive in the front with lots of muscle. The rear profile looks strikingly similar to the old Pulsar though. Those wheel huggers look awful on the bike, see if you can remove them! I have removed them from my Duke, it now looks more macho

[WindRide]

Congrats on the hot ride!!
What grade engine oil is recommended for this beast?

[twinblades]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Hi Rajeevraj, Congratulations!!
My friend has a 200 NS and he faced a problem yesterday. I wanted to check with you if you had faced anything like this.
He rode his bike from home to office, ~ 10 KM. When he reached office, he could hear the coolant boiling away.
He told me it was quite loud, even grabbing the attention of bystanders.
The other issue was, when he was at a signal, the engine would raise every time engaged the clutch.

i don't think that is normal. He will need to check with the service guys.

Congrats on the new bike Rajeevraj. IMO all the colours look great each one having a different purpose(Yellow the attention grabber, red and blue less and Black being almost invisible in the sea of commuter bikes and other pulsars) Reading your review was great. Waiting for more updates on your ownership.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

Congrats on your new ride, keep the reviews coming. I am now confused between the Duke and NS as my next buy.

Thanks. I think you should just list out what you want from your bike and also the hard constraints you have. Then it will be clear which one you want

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Hi Rajeevraj, Congratulations!!
My friend has a 200 NS and he faced a problem yesterday. I wanted to check with you if you had faced anything like this.

Thanks. No, I have not faced any such issues till now.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

I commute to my workplace with my bro on his Avenger and I think it's doing great on such regular commutes. Good low end torque, punchy mid range, light handling - all are good recipes for the grunt work on a commute.

It does have its share of drawbacks- the ride quality for the rear pillion

On the other hand, my brother's Avenger despite being black, is a complete attention magnet. Many times, I've seen people twist their heads to take a second or a long lingering look. Maybe it's the acres of shiny chrome offset by the black paint? Weird, but true.

Totally agree. If there was no Pulsar NS, I probably would have bought the Avenger or an RE350. Really like the looks of the Avenger.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

I wasn't used to a shifter on a two wheeler at all- and it's been really easy to get used on a 6-speed . Once you're used to it, there's no turning back. I miss a 6th cog in my bro's Avenger- it would have been much more relaxed with one.

Yup, now I am pretty used to it. Only issue is I get up to 6th in no time and then inevitably face some traffic and then have to come all the way down. So my gearbox is getting a good workout.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

Another same story! My bike's horn is quite meek as opposed to the one on my bro's. Ha ha! I know that dialogue! Are you a Malayalee settled in Bangalore? Where's your hometown in Kerala?

Yup am a Malayalee. Home town is Tirur in Malappuram Dt. Credit for that analogy goes to my wife

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

Enough with my rants. Nice pics there! Good choice of color too. Congrats again, have a good time riding and be safe!

Thanks for all the feedback

Originally Posted by anachronix

Congrats on the NS dude! A great review too

Those wheel huggers look awful on the bike, see if you can remove them! I have removed them from my Duke, it now looks more macho

Yup, will probably remove them after some time. I agree they seem out of place on this bike.

Originally Posted by M.R.Boruwa

Is the Headlight DC (Like karizma )or on the Alternator?

It is DC as far as I am aware.

Originally Posted by twinblades

Reading your review was great. Waiting for more updates on your ownership.

Thank you.