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-   -   Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS : Ownership Review, 2200 Kms (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorbikes/129657-bajaj-pulsar-200-ns-ownership-review-2200-kms-2.html)

I think from what I am hearing the Duke is the slowest amongst the four (the others being the CBR, the NS, and the R15).

Except for the Duke, all the other 3 show upwards of 145 indicated.

Or maybe they just have better speedos. :uncontrol

I am wondering whether to put a smaller rear sprocket on the Duke and make it also join this elite club.

We had a friendly drag of the CBR and the P200...and the CBR simply gobbled up the NS in acceleration- so I can vouch it isn't as fast or actually faster than the CBR ;)

The NS might do 149 or even 150+....difference is the time it takes. The CBR nearly hits 150 in the 5th gear itself before hitting the rev-limiter (I've done 148 in 5th before hitting trucker traffic at 158 kph in 6th) and it will do 150 everytime you want it to. How easy does the 200 do 149 needs to be seen?

Thanks mate, I tried my best to write a comprehensive review, so that others dont face any problems in their decision making process.
Thanks for the compliment on the photo!

Thanks extreme_torque! The NS will hit 100 Kph in top gear at 6800 RPM and it has got enough power left for highway overtakes.

Thank You Blow Horn Ok! In my enthusiasm to get the Pirellis, I lowballed on the tyres, one can easily get 3000 INR for the OEM rubber. It was my birthday that day and you know how things work when you have a couple of very good and reliable yet extremely overpowering friends! Peer pressure you see! stupid:

149 was done on a closed stretch of road after the Pirellis were on. I can't even think of getting to 130+ with the OEM rubber!
The NS wasn't faster than the baby ceeber. All through my run on the closed stretch of road, I was behind by about a bike's length. This can also be because of my weight, which is on the higher side of 100, and the CBR rider was about 65 Kgs. The NS was filled to the brim during the run, the ceeber had just under 4 litres. However, still weighed about 15 kgs more at this time.

The Duke 200 gets overtaken in the 5th gear though.

Thanks Shamik! The tyres are worth the money, every paisa of it. However I am a little concerned as to how long they will last as the compound is pretty soft. I will be happy if it does anything above 12000 Kms.

Thanks! Yes, the helmet which you see is actually my old helmet which was a white LS2 Diamond. The lid was in pretty good shape, so dint want to buy a new one, just went to a local paint shop, got a coat of gloss black paint, and then drew the crackhead thingy with a whitener pen. The clear coat was put later.

Thank You! I have ridden a 220F and its a good bike.
The power difference and the delivery is quite different in the NS and you will enjoy it after the 220F, but I will definitely suggest you wait for the Duke 390 which is due in 4 months and according to rumours, should be priced at about 2 Lakhs! That will be a helluva ride!

Thanks Anjan, but this is a carbed engine and not EFI. The EFI will eventually find its place in this bike in the next model. IMO, not having EFI currently in the NS is to have enough differentiation from the Duke 200, along with USD forks and the perimeter frame which justify the premium price of the Duke.

Thanks Bhai! To be very honest, the yellow is the only color which brings out the lines in the bike. The red unlike in the normal pulsars, is a darker shade. The blue, I never liked, which looks almost black at night and the black makes the bike look tiny! The Black mind you, isn't the normal Pulsar gloss black, it is more of a metallic Honda City black, with maroon-ish paint particles.

Thanks pugram! You seem to have missed the "small" part where I was going on rambling about how the bike looks! lol:

LOL! Agreed, but it is good to have it on a premium bike.

Haha! Thanks Ashwin! If you aren't there in my fb list, please send me a F Req.
The metaphors are inspired by the Great Jeremy Clarkson!
149 Kmph definitely had some error, but I will like to point out that this was on a slightly sloping decline all through from 140 onwards and it takes some time getting there. If I was a little more brave and didnt weigh on the higher side of a quintal, the bike would have done 155 Kph, I do not have a shadow of doubt about that.
As far as Bajaj mechanics in the city are concerned, I trust no one other than Auto Service, Banshankari. They are the best in business. I get it done from there, do check them out if you haven't already.

Thanks Ricci! Shot with a Canon 7D and a Canon 24-70 2.8L.

EXIF:
30"
f/16
ISO 200
Spot Metering

True that. Must be some speedo error. But the NS does overtake the Duke 200 on the highway when in full throttle in 5th gear.

350 Kms will be your effective range including reserve if you are belting it out on the highway redlining all gears and staying above 135 for most of your run. At 100 Kmph however, you should be getting about 450+ Kms on one tank.

Thank You for the compliment! *Respect*
The helmet was done up by me on a LS2 shell, which used to go well with my black P150, but not so much with this.
I rarely go to Kolkata though, for most part, I am in Bangalore. Hope to catch up sometime.

I agree in totality. The CBR is way more refined than the NS and feels more planted at higher speeds partly because of the fairing and partly because of the weight of the bike. The price difference is evident in terms of fit and finish, but the Honda after sales has been playing up a lot lately.
In terms of power delivery, the CBR is more linear and the gearbox is way more slick, sometimes too slick. The R15 holds till redlining in 3rd gear and then loses it to the NS. The exhaust of the NS is quite meaty beyond 8K rpm, true that. Aural pleasure when compared to the Duke's exhaust.
Speedo is definitely a bit optimistic, but I could easlily hold a CBR250 at bike's length all through the dash.

Thanks F150! I really want BAL to do something about the back end. All Bajaj bike have atleast one major downside and this is no exception.

It is scary alright. Without any fairing whatsoever, the NS fishtails like crazy at 149 but with a bit more of a push and slightly less weight on board, indicated speed can go to the CBR's claimed top speed of 155 Kmph, no doubt there. At 149 Kmph, the dial showed 9700 RPM.

In my mind, the 135 LS was a bike made during the formative days of the 200NS. I know it was a long time ago, but the Bajaj guys may have taken the shape right out of the LS's design. The side looks fine, the deal breaker to my mind can only be the rear 3/4th. Also, if you look closely the front ends of the LS and the NS are pretty similar too.

I am sure the CBR is the fastest among the three, followed by the NS as a close second. The Duke will eat the NS in acceleration and the R15 for breakfast, lunch and dinner in terms of everything thats at stake.
The duke will most definitely match the ceeber in terms of acceleration and in the city, will be faster.

True. It should, otherwise why would anyone pay 70,000 more? uncontrol:
One more thing to mention though is that the NS has a taller 6th gear than the CBR 250R's.



Some more figures which I did not include in the review.

Top speeds in each gear:

1st : 55 @ 10,300 RPM
2nd : 75 @ 10,300 RPM
3rd : 92 @ 10,000 RPM
4th : 114 @ 10,000 RPM
5th : 134 @ 10,000 RPM
6th : 149 @ 9700 RPM

I will try and do a run with a Go Pro HD, till then I will have to let the figures talk. Thanks to all for the compliments!

I would like to note that the speeds mentioned here, were achieved on a closed road with levelled tarmac. We had protective gear on all through the runs. Please do not try these speeds on public roads, obey traffic rules and speed limits.

Cheers!
Preetam

Not just the top speed, but the composure of the engine at high speeds- it won't give you the feel that its doing 150- yes the windblast does.

About taller gear- I have a doubt, as I remember my CBR doing 150 kph @ 9500 rpm.

In fact another example is when I rode the CBR and the NS back to back- the NS does 115 in top gear @ 7500 rpm where the CBR does it at 7200 rpm.

Your photos do all the justice for the looks dept. I think BAL can borrow a few pictures for their use :D

Another small observation- pls do correct if am wrong, the NS does 70 @ 5000 rpm in top gear and the CBR does 80 at the same rpm. Amply clear that the gearing is slightly shorter to what you have said.

Anyways- getting back to the review. Had kept it for reading at relaxed pace. Very very well written. And congrats on the ownership.

@Preetam

I realise this is a theoretical argument (though I have ridden quite a lot with a test NS to know different), but my question is this:

If the overall top end of the Duke 200 is the same as the 5th gear top speed of a 200NS,

and

If the Duke 200 accelerates much quicker than a 200NS.

Does it not stand to reason that the 200NS can never catch the Duke in 5th - even given an infinite endless road?

Assuming of course that both start together. :)

Preetham Nice Review and Photos. I was considering the Pulsar 200 NS. The only thing I did not like was the 12 Liter Tank and the Service Centres of Bajaj. Had an CT 100 for about three years, every service used to cost me around 1,000/-. However, my Suzuki GS 150 which has clocked 80,000 KMS costs only an average Rs.600 per service (with AMC). For example, the rear brake shoe lasts upto 25,000 KMS on my GS 150. However in my CT 100 I used to replace every 8,000 KMS (front and rear). Your point about build quality is true. Bajaj quality is still not that up of Japs Counterparts, but is catching up. Another irritating is only three free services if i am correct. Is the electric fully DC. Does the Headlight runs on Battery or not. Do keep the thread alive as you munch more kilometers.

Thanks pulsurge for reading the review at a leisurely pace. That way the feedback becomes more detailed! :thumbs up
Also, thank you for correcting me, what I meant was the other way round, as in the CBR has a taller 6th gear than the NS. My bad.

The duke will stay ahead in 5th or maybe just neck in neck, if you dont mind a blown 200 NS engine on an infinite open road! In test conditions the the KTM should be ahead. However, I have taken on the occassional KTM on the road, and when rolling, the KTM doesnt pull away as fast or at all, if the NS is in the right gear. Also another simple explanation is that the Duke in India is limited to a 138. :deadhorse

As I said, theoretically, there is no way a NS would overtake a flat out Duke in 5th gear - even going by the numbers posted by you, if both started together.

In practice, however, with real life riding conditions and traffic, things are very different and my experience has been the opposite of yours.

And this is the open highway we are talking here, not city.

That is, every time there is a break in traffic, an opening, the Duke is gone, and the NS telescopes just as the next slow down comes up. If the traffic is sparser, the NS is soon at parity, but I have never had the NS overtake me.

Admittedly, this is one NS and one rider I am talking about, and the production NS's could be different, but I am pretty sure he was not laboring in 5th, even though a blow up would not have been on his pocket.

P.S. The new Dukes are limited to 132-133. The older ones were 135-136 (138 with the right conditions).

Your location mentioned Calcutta, hence...

Okay, I differ a bit. I found the NS's engine to be quite refined, though the bike which I rode was new, but shall update after riding another friend's bike.
And agree to most points. Though the way the CBR pulls, I think the gap shall increase post 120kmph. IIRC, mags 've put the fig of NS & 250R at ~130 & ~145 respectively.

Had an R15 earlier. I topped at 132 (ran out of road) & 128 was done in 5th. I rarely used to see upwards of 120kmph in my commute, whereas on the CBR, 135+ comes up almost everyday.



Please factor in increased cc, FI, higher power & torque figure. It weighs a bit, but still...

If the KTM 200 is de-restricted, it just might. Though there is much more to a bike than discussing top-end. You rarely reach :)


That sweet chassis.

+1. No way I am undermining NS, but doesn't feel as a significant upgrade in power over others (P-220, R15).

And boys (me included) not all bikes race with you :D

I need to watch Top Gear more often. :D

Probably a little fairing might help the bike reach slightly higher speeds too! For the short while that I rode the NS, I did find it slightly weird at the rider's seat, particularly the knees, but maybe that's because I was just riding the bike for the first time. I was quite surprised at Bajaj deciding to go with Eurogrip tyres when the industry norm was MRF. Glad to see you went for the Pirelli, although I have my reservations on how effective that may be on Bangalore (if I may call them so)roads, we have nails, staple pins lying everywhere, so a soft compound tyre is always prone to a puncture. :Frustrati

Also, Venkat's Auto Service is only for Bajaj Bikes. I have a Hero Honda Hunk, any idea where I can drop if off for service? The guys at Prakash Motors don't even know to tune the carb, they claim that a varying RPM needle is normal!

I started with a Pulsar way back in 2005 and bought a 180 then. Man, it was a head turner, but since then lot many competitors have barged into the arena, leaving it no more a one machine show.
I own a P200 now and sport 35k kms on the ODO. What delights me most is the maintenance cost. I wouldn't have spent more than 5-7k till now including my paid services. I am very happy with my Pulsar and surely feel, its still the king of Roads no matter what may come. I must say, Honda bikes are really good and their refinement shows here too.

Coming to PNS, it looks cool, sporty and much more sound technologically indeed, but i expected something revolutionary in the looks department. I agree that looks are subjective, but i guess no one would disagree on one point. IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, MUCH BETTER.

Nevertheless, its a gem of an engine. All the best and happy motoring

Sorry Ashwin, all I have owned are bajaj bikes, so I dont know of a good Hero mech in the city. However, will be in the lookout, will let you know if I come across someone.

Thanks Shiv! To each his own. The 200NS could have been way better, I agree to that!

No problem. Ride safe and enjoy the NS! :D