Long-term ownership review of my Bajaj Pulsar NS200

Meanwhile, I was managing to satisfy my need for this happiness and freedom by borrowing bikes from my friends and family for short rides to nearby places. Although these experiences were very far and few. This riding bug had bitten me and I was really interested in riding now and I wanted a proper bike for myself this time.

BHPian _nilaygandhi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I want to make it clear that I am writing this review based on my own experience and these are purely my views.

As they say “if you don’t turn around to look at your bike after you’ve parked it, you bought the wrong bike“, and this bike sure makes me turn around a thousand times whenever I park her. Welcome to the story of my black beauty - the Bajaj Pulsar NS200 a.k.a “Atrium”.

Let’s start the review in a typical Team-BHP fashion with the likes and dislikes section first.

What I like

• Engine performance- Quick acceleration and top speed.
• Looks- Those sharp contours and creases.
• Comfortable ride- Nicely tuned suspension.
• Sporty handling- Riding on mountain roads is fun.
• Brakes- Good stopping power & ABS.
• Liquid cooling- For long rides.
• Easy part availability.
• Relatively cheaper maintenance.
• Powerful headlight – 55/60W halogens lights up the roads without blinding the oncoming traffic.
• Nice backlit switchgear.
• Beautiful split tail lamps.

What I don’t

• Older design - Just a few sticker jobs since 2012.
• Basic semi analogue instrument cluster missing basic features such as Gear shift indicator and DTE. Etc.
• Poor paint quality- Prone to scratches.
• Long turning radius- Movement of handlebars feels restricted.
• Uncomfortable pillion seat- The pillion seat is really hard and small, no one wants ride pillion on this bike as it gets painful even on shorter rides.
• Weight- Difficult to reverse on slopes while sitting.
• Mild Vibrations around 4-5k RPM.
• Poor attitude of Bajaj service centre employees.

What could have been better

• Dual channel ABS- Only a single channel variant is available even now.
• Electronic fuel injection- Available only in BS-6 models.
• LED indicators from RS200 should have been provided, these bulb indicators spoil the look.
• Better fuel efficiency- Getting around 30-32 Kmpl in the city and 35-36 on the highway.

Prologue

This part is going to be long and maybe a little boring, So please feel free to skip it if you don’t feel like reading a long post.

Background

My mom says I was a born petrol head and the only thing that could make me happy was the sight of moving vehicles. When I was a toddler and used to cry, then my mom had to take me out of the house so that I will see the moving vehicles and stop crying. Automobiles have always attracted me.

Cars were a part of my childhood. As my dad runs a taxi business, I had access to all kinds of cars that were popular as taxis at that time in Delhi. I literally grew up listening to names of different kinds of car parts and related terms from my father.

When I grew up, I was more interested in cars and trucks than bikes but they attracted me. But because we didn’t had a two-wheeler at home, I started my two-wheeler journey a little later.

I learnt to ride on my uncle’s LML NV scooter when I was awaiting my +2 results, and I fell in love with the feeling of riding a two-wheeler. I just loved to ride so much that I was always on the lookout for excuses so I can go out for a ride.

So when I was in the second year of my Automobile engineering diploma, I got to know that one uncle of mine was not using his scooter anymore and it was just standing in his parking and collecting dust. I just casually asked him can I have it and he happily just passed it on to me. Naa..just kidding, had to persuade him for weeks actually.

So that’s how I got my first two-wheeler. That happiness was short lived though, after just seven months the poor scoot got totalled in a freak accident when a car rear-ended me. Let’s leave that story for another day for now.

Coming back to our story, after I recovered from the accident, I somehow lost interest in scooters but couldn’t get that feeling of happiness and freedom that riding used to bring, out from my mind.

I started researching about bikes and best riding practices on the internet and learnt many things about bikes and riding. I used to read many forums and watch a lot of videos.

Meanwhile, I was managing to satisfy my need for this happiness and freedom by borrowing bikes from my friends and family for short rides to nearby places. Although these experiences were very far and few.

This riding bug had bitten me and I was really interested in riding now and I wanted a proper bike for myself this time.

Why? What and How?

Why?

Life moved on and things changed. After completing the course, I got placed in a construction equipment dealership in Chandigarh where I worked as a field service engineer. Providing after-sales service to excavators and all kinds of construction equipment in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal.

As it was a field job, I was travelling long distances everyday mostly towards remote locations and under-construction highways for work assignments.

I started to feel a need for my own vehicle and discussed for the same at home. My parents were not ready for it, after the last experience mom was really scared. She didn’t want me riding a motorcycle everywhere, especially when I was living alone in another city.

Things changed again and I left that job after 1.5 years and moved back to Delhi. Now I was in a better position to persuade parents for the bike, although with the workplace so close to the home it was more of a want than a need. Somehow managed to convince them.

This is how Atrium came into my life.

In the end of 2017 , I started my research and shortlisted a few options.

What?

This was the difficult part, with a budget of around one lakh, I started my search.

Asked around in my circle and watched lots of reviews. Tried out few bikes of my friends and colleagues. From all this, I realised that I wanted a naked bike with a neutral sitting position, which has enough power for the long rides, is easy to fix so I can work on it myself and it should come with ABS as an option at least.

Keeping these things in my mind I shortlisted a few options.

Options considered

RE Bullet 350 Std.

Always had a soft spot for the bullet, but the only variant in my budget was the Std. 350 which was too bare bones and lacked basic features such self start, disc brakes, even a fuel gauge wasn’t there. The main compromise was going to be the absence of ABS though.

One weekday evening, I went to the RE Jhandewalan showroom with my father. It was a really disappointing experience, to say the least. Inquired about the model at reception and they told us to wait and a salesperson will attend to us soon.

We waited for almost an hour and literally, no one attended to us, even though the showroom wasn’t that busy. Reminded the receptionist multiple times that we were still waiting to be attended to and got the same response every time.

This experience made me decide that this brand wasn’t worth considering anymore. If these people treat a prospective customer like this, how poorly are they going to treat them at the time of after-sales?

Suzuki Gixxer 150

Went to the Patel Nagar showroom, staff was really nice and courteous. They explained all the features and financing options nicely, and offered a test ride too.

Test riding the bike, I found it to be really smooth and refined. But somehow, I couldn’t feel a connection.

Thanked the staff and went home with brochure and price quotation leaflet in hand. Overall it was a nice experience.

Yamaha FZ

My folks at home didn’t like the look of this bike, one of our neighbours had it and on riding his bike, I felt it was similar to Gixxer in terms of performance.

TVS Apache 4V

I didn’t like the looks of this bike, the front looked weird with the absence of a visor (no offense to the existing owners), although it was one of the most feature loaded bikes and the newest of the lot.

Bajaj Pulsar NS160/200

Went to the Bajaj showroom in Jhandewalan. I liked how the bike looked, the salesperson was a knowledgeable guy and explained the features and specs of both bikes nicely along with the financing options.

Took small test rides of both the bikes and was impressed with 200’s performance. Thanked the showroom guys and went home.

Now after comparing all the options, NS200 was clearly the bike with the best performance and the only one that offered liquid cooling and a six-speed gearbox. And also I liked how the bike looked. I was sold on it.

Discussed about it with my parents and they were ok with it as long as I could afford it.

How?

The next day visited the Bagga link Karol Bagh showroom again and booked the bike against an amount of ₹2500. The model I finalized was NS200 BS-4 in sparkling black and matt grey colour with single channel ABS. I was told that the bike will be delivered the next day.

I wanted the bike with MRF tyres as I had read in reviews that they were better than the Eurogrip tyres that were also offered with. Got to know that the ABS variant that they had in stock was shod with Eurogrips only.

Talked to the sales manager and was assured that it will be taken care of and I can take the delivery the next evening.

Went to take the delivery of my bike the next evening she was kept ready with basic accessories installed and tyres switched to MRF nylogrip. Performed a quick PDI and every thing seemed to be OK.

Paid the pending amount of ₹47k through bank transfer as the down payment and the rest financed from Bajaj finance.

Didn’t opt for the complimentary helmet and got ₹800 removed from the total amount, as it was a very basic open face helmet that was being provided and I was looking to buy a better full faced one.

Had opted for zero dep. insurance from the showroom itself and was given the printed copy within a few minutes, which was from United India insurance.

Was given a quick walk around of the bike and explained the features, toolkit and first aid kit placement etc.

Temporary number was fixed on the bike and she was ready to be delivered. Took her straight towards Jhandewalan temple and got the pooja done before taking her to her new home.

(The phone I was using at that time got damaged and I lost all the data, so I don’t have any photos from the delivery day).

The price break-up

• Ex. Showroom- ₹111015
• Road tax- ₹9608
• Smart card (RC)- ₹200
• H.S.R.P- ₹69
• Zero dep. Insurance (United India)- ₹3644
• Total On Road Price- ₹124536

Extended warranty/service package

Extended warranty or service packages weren’t being offered at that time. I would have surely opted for Extended warranty if that was being sold.

Although Bajaj started to offer these later, but extended warranty was only being sold to new bikes.

I later opted for service package for the third year though, which I got for ₹1545. It covered three free services (Labour charges), Two washings and one Teflon coating, additionally 10% discount on labour (for repair jobs) and 5% off on parts.

Continue reading _nilaygandhi's review of his NS200 and BHPian comments for more insights and information.