[shreyashuilgol]

Hi All,

This is regarding the buying experience and ownership of the new Bajaj Pulsar N250. This bike is not owned by me it belongs to one of my closest friend (For all practical purposes it is like we share motorcycles between each other).

Let me give you the backdrop before we get into the details.

I was using a FZ25 for a period of four years now and was very happy with the performance, reliability and practicality of it. Have taken it on long rides covering above 500kms a day and it was never an issue. I also use it as a daily driver in the city and it is very easy to handle. It was also returning an approximate mileage of 40-45 kmpl. In short, it was a jack of all trades but a master of none.

One fine day, my friend decided that he wanted to go for a new bike which was similar to mine since it might be the only bike in his garage for a period of time. We started the search and soon discovered that Bajaj was releasing the Pulsar N250 & F250. He decided to go with the N250.

Buying Experience:

The buying experience was absolutely pathetic.

The nearest place where we could see the bike was in Deccan Bajaj, Ranigunj, Hyderabad. We visited the showroom on a Saturday about 15-20 days after the launch and nobody seemed to know the bike that we were talking about. They did not even have a clue that a new Bajaj bike had been released.
Finally, one of them understood what we were looking for and told us that he would call us back once the display bikes had arrived.

The call back was almost a month later and we visited the showroom to see the bike. It was almost what we were expecting and we decided to go ahead and book the bike. We asked for a test drive but, were told that the test drive bikes would be more than two months away. Despite that, we made the booking with a token amount.

Searched for the test drive vehicles all over Hyderabad and found one in the Gachibowli showroom. Took a test drive there and decided to stick to our decision of buying it since it ticked all the boxes for us.

We had asked for the black color but were constantly pestered by the Deccan Bajaj guys to take the delivery of a red colored one. After my friend strictly said he would not do it, they arranged for a black colored one.
My friend had also requested that we would get the insurance done from United India Insurance since it was cheaper than the one offered by the showroom. Initially they had agreed to it.
But, just a day before delivery we were told that if we were not taking insurance given from their end we would not be sold the bike. Although we plead our case they were very adamant and aggressive with this issue. We did not want to create any more drama, so we decided to go with it.
We took the delivery of the bike very unhappy with the arrogance of the dealership.

Ownership experience:

The ownership experience is not much different. Although, the bike has never broken down completely, the performance leaves much to be desired.

Since the day the bike completed its run in period and first service it has been plagued with a issue of the bike turning off/cutting off right in the middle of us riding it. It also did not start properly and it was a 3-4 minute exercise starting it.

We raised this issue with the Deccan Bajaj service center and they asked us to leave the bike there. The next few days it was there and then they gave us a call that it was rectified. We were in a hurry since it was a working day and we picked up the bike. End of the day when we were hanging out, we saw that there were scratches all over the place on the bike and the left leg guard, mirror and handle bar was damaged. The seat had marks of cat nails. Again we contacted the service center and were told that there was no proof that they crashed it and as a "goodwill gesture" they would change the leg guard for free. All the others were issues not related to them.

The main issue of the engine cut off was never set right. Nobody seems to understand the main problem. We started recording the engine cut offs and shared them with the service center. The starting problem has been solved. But, the engine cut off issue still persisted. The only answer we got was that they had updated the "codes". We filed a complaint with Bajaj helpline not hoping that anything would happen.

But, we were instantly contacted by Bajaj and a pick up was arranged. We were being ignored till this point. Suddenly there was an urgency in closing the complaint. Since that point, the bike has been to service centers seven times (sometimes weeks together) without a permanent solution.

The issue still continues to this day. We have given up hope on Bajaj rectifying it. Searching for some reputed mechanic who is good even with wiring and ECU.

Would never recommend anybody to go to Deccan Bajaj.
Absolutely useless sales and service.

PS: If anyone else also has faced the same issue with N250 and has somehow sorted it out please help us out with the solution.

Thanks,
Shreyas

[shancz]

Quite a strange experience during purchase, a Bajaj showroom not knowing about a launch is a new for me. A reflection and a red flag about the service in my books.
And the service experience is staying in line with their sales, pathetic.

Sorry can't be of much help but would suggest the following :
- keep in touch with Bajaj's customer care until your issue is resolved
- try a different service center

The issue in itself seems either electrical or sensor related.
Assuming everything else is working fine on the bike, some weird suggestions :
- Extend/retract the side stand when the issue happens to rule out any side stand sensor issues.
- Toggle the engine kill switch to rule out a malfunctioning switch.

Sharing the video could provide more insights.
Hope you have better luck and resolve the issue.

[windiesel]

There appears to be some issue with the new Pulsar 250 twins. They had a very luke warm response and the Company has had to resurrect the old Pulsar 220F from the dead. Now, the new Pulsar 250s on paper at least, put out more power, have a monoshock rear suspension, better features etc, but its the old P220F that's flying off the showroom floors.

[Chandrahas]

Bajaj/KTM (KTM and Bajaj customer care is same) are the worst when it comes to after sales service. I had a hard time dealing with KTM SVCs in Gurgaon/Faridabad. In my case the 250 Duke used to continuously wobble (tank slappers) above 120 and even the ASM(Area service manager) denied to help claiming the legal top speed being 120
BTW, these ASMs have total control over the service centers of their area, and if they deny your complaint, no one can help you as there is no higher point of contact for us customers.
KTM/Bajaj customer care is of no help because they redirect the complaint to the same ASM and in the end you are on the same SVC/ASM's mercy.
In a last ditch attempt I complained at their grievance redressal mail (on the KTM Global site), and this did had a noticeable effect on the ASM's attitude ( he himself claimed - 'Uppar se complaint solve karne ke orders hai), but I ended up selling the bike because even after this the problem was never solved and I was fed up.
In your case - I think you should contact the ASM and keep him in the loop.

[Abi5hek]

Originally Posted by windiesel

There appears to be some issue with the new Pulsar 250 twins. They had a very luke warm response and the Company has had to resurrect the old Pulsar 220F from the dead. Now, the new Pulsar 250s on paper at least, put out more power, have a monoshock rear suspension, better features etc, but its the old P220F that's flying off the showroom floors.

Would be great if someone associated with Bajaj can provide some clarity on this.
Are the 250's really that bad a product that Bajaj decided to revive the discontinued 220f ?

[anilp]

Originally Posted by shreyashuilgol

The main issue of the engine cut off was never set right. Nobody seems to understand the main problem. We started recording the engine cut offs and shared them with the service center. The starting problem has been solved. But, the engine cut off issue still persisted. The only answer we got was that they had updated the "codes". We filed a complaint with Bajaj helpline not hoping that anything would happen.

In case the checks mentioned by others earlier don't resolve the issue, get the valve clearance specs checked (adjust if it's out of spec). Hope your friend gets his bike fixed soon. It's a great product, and hopefully the service doesn't sour his ownership experience.

[marcussantiago]

This sounds like the same issue that I faced with my Duke 390. A third-party mechanic figured out there was some kind of sensor problem, but it was a brand new bike and I wanted KTM to sort it out under warranty. They too made infinite excuses and refused to admit there was a problem, even when I demonstrated it to them and had helmet-cam footage documenting it. I tried escalating it to senior people at KTM and couldn't even get in touch with anyone.

Team-BHP even featured this on their front page, and even that didn't get their attention. I gave up and sold the bike, which I'm still making payments for today.

If KTM's after-sales service has fallen so far, I can't imagine Bajaj being much better.

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by shreyashuilgol

PS: If anyone else also has faced the same issue with N250 and has somehow sorted it out please help us out with the solution.

The newer RS200, NS200 and N250 have been plagued with stalling issues even on a brand new bike. This issue seems to be picking pace right from third quarter last year. Though the issue was attended to by the SVC personnel, it wasn't rectified as it should have. There have been repeat customer job cards for the same and there seem to be an internal "recall notice" that most of the bikes have their TPS, throttle position sensor replacd during first service, and in some cases clutch switch also

It seems a certain batch of vehicles were affected with a defective TPS switch, probably a manufacturing defect by a vendor, and that's caused all sort of troubles for the end user. I've known RS200s with this issue, brand new and even KTMs for that matter RC200, D200 plagued with stalling and missing complaints with the culprit rooted to TPS sensor which was replaced free of cost and since then there haven't been anything unduly.

Hopefully, all goes smooth for you. Good luck, keep me updated.

Cheers!
VJ

[shreyashuilgol]

UPDATE: We were contacted by the Area Service Manager named Shiva Kumar. He has supported all through and seems like we have finally got the issue resolved. He had also taken recognizance of the damaged seat cover and got it rectified from the same place from where we had got the seat covers done. He has never been rude to us unlike the dealership. He identified the problem and changed the throttle sensor. Hopefully, the issue is put to rest once and for all. The only positive from this whole experience is the Area Service Manager.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Hopefully, all goes smooth for you. Good luck, keep me updated.

Yes sir. You are absolutely right.
The issue was with the TPS and it was replaced on this particular bike after the ASM identified the issue. For now we are not facing the issue. Hopefully, it stays the same.

[OffPoynt]

Hey there!

Almost exactly last year, a friend bought an N250, at the time when it was only offered with single channel ABS (the stupidity). To add insult to injury, the brake pedal is set unnaturally high causing constant brake activation (SVC replaced the rear pads at just 7k km. There was a slight metallic grind noise around this time which was a sign) and apparently there is no way to adjust the pedal. There are many instances where my friend or another friend has locked up the rear tyre; it is comically easy to do so. It gets worse in rainy weather: friend has had a very close call once while emergency braking for a speedbump.

During 2k to 5k km, sometimes in second gear the engine rpm would rise for no reason and the power delivered was actually reduced (similar to when you start pressing the clutch). This was an uncommon occurrence we got fixed at 7k km, when we changed SVCs and found a really good one where we had a general checkup done (the same one where the rear brake pads were replaced).

At around 3k to 4k km, my friend reported something strange. With a random chance, attempting to start the bike would make the console flicker, dim and turn off, without the starter motor even engaging. And this did not have any pattern for us to identify the cause. Bajaj SVC later did something with the battery that fixed it.

And then, at 9k km, the bike started to sputter and die 2 days before a Mys-BLR ride. Took it to SVC who found out the air filter was gunked to high heavens.


But surprise, they didn't have a new filter in stock. Mr.Compressed Air was pressed into action by the SVC and we hoped our derrieres were saved. But, alas. Somewhat in the midway, on the expressway, the bike lost all power. We made an emergency stop and cleaned the filter for half an hour, to ensure we could reach BLR without issue.


In Bangalore, we went to a Bajaj showroom who said they didn't run an SVC there and directed us to one. We went there and it wasn't a clean SVC, only had a couple of NS200s, and i knew we wouldn't get the filter for N250. Checked with them which confirmed my suspicion.

One friend navigated us to a store that sold genuine parts from all OEMs. I did not have confidence again given the N250 is a new product. The shopkeeper gave us one and with happiness we proceed to perform the lung replacement (or is it the nose?) when we find out the filter we bought wasn't for this bike, it probably was the NS200's. I returned the filter, told the guy to check and call me back (didn't take the money back yet). Now we drank some cold mineral water from a bakery nearby and proceeded to go to another Bajaj showroom who did have a service center, but they said they don't do OTC sales not wanting to spend an extra 200 just for them to replace the filter, i asked them where else i may obtain one, and he directed me to their Nayandahalli showroom. Went there, thankfully they had stock of the filter. Replaced it in front of the showroom and disposed the old one with them itself. Went back to the multi-brand genuine part shop and told him to give me a Motul Chain Lube instead of the money back (my bike chain was starting to dry up).

Something else I've felt is the scary high speed experience. It is not that stable or confidence inspiring. Friend says he's had a couple of high speed wobbles.

Overall, not a fuss-free ownership experience. Friend's family are planning to get the bike sold and buy another one instead. It's quite sad, as seeing the bike is pretty good. It is designed well, and is currently the most powerful Pulsar (also the best sounding Pulsar). It stands out from the rest of the Pulsars. It is a bike with more focus on power than tech.

[ManualMaestro]

With these new BS6 bikes, you cannot be sure of anything. So many fail points, unlike the trusty old carburettor.
Some points you could focus on:

Side stand cutt-off

Engine kill switch

Fuel pump and fuel lines

Lastly the ECU and sensors (unlikely imo since you would experience other things like uneven idle, smoke from exhaust, petrol smell from exhaust due to running rich, etc )

I think this will pretty much cover it, unless it shows signs other than random cutoff.
I had similar issue with my 2021 TVS Apache 160 4V, but it was much less frequent and resolved on its own. I've had the bike since Feb 2022 and have clocked only 5500KMs, so I've concluded that it might have been debris in fuel lines or just some proper break in issues

[astro-wolf]

I used to own a 2017 pulsar 200 RS. Now my brother drives it. And I had a similar experience with it. Lots of electronics that worked perfectly well for first 6 months. After that, something or else just keeps failing every month or so.
I had to change clutch plates at 12k km. Some sensors failing, side stand issues, and in general build quality was just appalling.
It's a pity because mechanically, I've never driven a bike so good. Even after two years of purchase and 10k+ km on odo, I could drive the bike at company advertised top speed, with a pillion rider sitting as well. And bike drives perfectly stable at triple digit speeds.
It's such a good bike mechanically, but all those faulty electronics ruin the ownership experience. My brother who now drives it, spends 2-3k every month on fixing various issues. He jokes that it's bike's EMI that he's giving to mechanic.