Hello and welcome PowerDrift, today is a big day because this is not just the brand-new Pulsar
N250, it's also the first of a new generation of Pulsars, this platform will replace all the
Pulsars that are on sale today.
Okay, if you're going to do everything, should I quit?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first ride
review of the all-new Pulsars and this is the motorcycle that you should be interested in, the
F250 because it replaces the 220F. So while Shumi takes his afternoon nap,
you and I, we both go for a ride.
The 220F is a bit of a legend. It came out in 2008 featuring a whole slew of
technology from fuel injection to disc brakes. And it wore the mantle of the top Pulsar rather well,
to the point where it's been hard for Bajaj to replace it with something else through the years.
Sales have been steady and the expansion of the Pulsar line has not made a dent in its popularity.
That also means that the F250 has to fit into the role and expectations that the 220F has created
rather than find a new position to take up in the motorcycle universe and that means the F250 has
a pretty interesting challenge ahead of it.
You see because of the price point at which the F250
comes at, they wanted to keep the vibe and feel similar to the to 220F, but you don't see any
technological developments. Heck, it does not even get Bluetooth connectivity, but that's okay.
You see the 220F was the world's fastest Indian, but the F250 is made of mania.
Marketing that's light on meaning aside, there are real sweeping changes. You might spot
numeric commonalities between the F250 engine and other current Pulsars, but Bajaj says their
just oversquare 250cc engine is brand new, with nothing shared at all with the Dominar,
the KTM 250s or anything else. A lot of work has gone into the engine’s refinement,
from the position and design of the counterbalancer, to the offset crank.
It's mounted more vertically than the 220's motor in the frame and it's oil cooled,
but with directed jets of oil rather than the previous splash style method and it does add up.
There has never been a Pulsar that has been this effortless. Now this effortless quotient
is not just applicable to the motorcycle, but it's also applicable to the rider.
Now Bajaj are saying that
80% of the torque is available between 3000 to 7000rpm, so it doesn't matter if you're in the
second gear, third gear or fourth gear or fifth gear, get on the gas and there is enough torque
to take you forward, overtaking is easy and this overall is a really pleasant motorcycle to ride.
And when you do happen to switch gears there has never been a Pulsar
that has been this slick, this effortless, achievement unlocked.
Of course, this is not the most refined motorcycle out there,
this is a Pulsar, it needs to have character and it has enough character to make you feel
that there's a motorcycle running, there's an engine humming but that's about it.
Bajaj did choose a five-speed gearbox and honestly, it doesn't get in your way even when you're on
the highway cruising at 80 to 90 kilometres per hour. That engine goes into a new frame which is
a diamond-style frame in tubular steel. Suspension is 37mm forks up front and a preload adjustable
monoshock at the back. The surprise is how light this 164-kilo motorcycle feels in corners.
It's almost weightless in side-to-side transitions and it only slightly shows signs of instability at
120 kilometres per hour plus cornering speeds, which we only saw on Bajaj's test tracks,
you will scrape a foot here or there though, there are motorcycles that are a lot more confident
in cornering than the F250 for sure, but this is pretty decent in the corners, it's not good,
but there is one aspect of the dynamics that will surprise. As far as ride quality goes, I'm shocked.
I'm shocked because this is unbelievably good. You know for the average Indian who's
going to use the F250 for riding in the city, this is a whole another level and
I promise you, you are going to be very very happy. When we rode it on the racetrack as well,
its ability to handle corners, to form a connection with the chassis, I am telling you I am completely
blown away. You know Bajaj weren't kidding when they said that they have set a new standard by
bringing in a new platform, a new architecture, they weren't kidding and I honestly don't
know how it will compare to competition, but just for the Pulsar, this is so good.
The brakes, new from Grimeca, a European brand now owned by Endurance,
who also make the new one-kilo lighter wheels and the suspension units, are pretty good too.
The bite is nice and the Pulsar stops well, but other testers did note some inconsistency in feel.
The MRF Zappers feel familiar and competent, but the F250 definitely doesn't enjoy the benefit
of the best possible tyres in the market to be sure.
All that is wrapped up in a new design
that looks modern, the fairing and the side panels can look a bit busy with a textured inlay
panel but the plastics are higher quality, the seat material looks nice, but the Pulsarness
that we associate with that unique tank shape has now been consigned to history for sure.
The build quality on the F250 is really nice but the finish level,
not so much. Point to note, this is a pre-production motorcycle and Bajaj has promised us that
all of these issues are going to be sorted. But I really wish we got the final product because
new engine, new motorcycle, new platform, new design.
Anyway, talking about styling, you see the 220F has a very distinct style, and so has the NS200.
Now when you look at the F250 in flesh, you will realise that there has been some inspiration that
has been taken in the form of projector headlamp or even the wolf eyes. But when you look at this
in flesh, this is an all-new design. Do I like it? Maybe not as much. But what about you?
Let me know in the comment section below. And finally, finally, finally time to sum it up.
So, at Rs. 1,40,000...bro, you're not forgetting anything, right?
Like a whole another motorcycle?
Maybe Varun needed a nap a lot more than I did, because
this is the naked Pulsar, this is also a 250 it's a very close sibling to the 250F and obviously F is
for fairing and it's for "nangu", I mean naked, and N is also for nap and I'm feeling really fresh. So,
I'm hoping that while I was sleeping, Varun has told you everything about the F and all of that applies
to the N because physically, in hardware terms, this is exactly the same motorcycle as that one.
The difference is, you've got a tubular handlebar instead of clip-ons,
and you've got this little fairing with the same headlight configuration and all of those things.
The lack of a fairing does change a few things. These Pulsars boast a near 50-50 weight
distribution now, but the N250 has just a smidge less weight on the front tyre,
which makes it feel a little more flighty than the F250. Not a deal breaker, but certainly a little
less composed at higher speeds in the corners. The other thing is the new bezelless dash, which you
notice more because it isn't sitting surrounded by plastics on the N. Oddly enough, the N has the
sportier seating position because the bars are lower than the F's clip-ons. The foot pegs are
very low, I must point out, which makes it commuter friendly but also makes the ergos hard to classify
as sporty or not. In Performance terms the F has the advantage in top speed because of the fairing.
The N250 is two kilos lighter than the F and is also Rs. 2000 less so that's Rs. 1,38,000
ex-showroom available from roughly 10th of November in showrooms all over the country.
What I have to say is that this kind of Pulsar
has never been seen before, this kind of effortlessness,
the smoothness which was there on the ride quality, Bajaj have really knocked this out of the park.
These are good Pulsars. However, if the 220 meant the tech and performance leader to you,
the F and the N250s will feel harder to explain, because they're designed to fit into the brand
Pulsar a lot more than they're designed to stand out. That strangely enough bothers me quite a bit.
But the conservative approach to the specification, this is a good engine but a
basic engine for example, also allows Bajaj to take the other Pulsar box.
And if you think about the pricing, it's really sweet too because the Gixxer
Rs. 35-40,000 more, the FZ which had a price
correction is now roughly the same price, but if I had to pick between the FZ and these Pulsars,
I think these are doing far better. So by the Pulsars standard, amazing motorcycle, by the
standard of the market, I think we still need to figure out where the Pulsars slot in but I think
it will be very near the top and for that reason I would say new generation Pulsars, bring them on
and the next 18-24 months are going to be a lot of fun. If you're wondering where Varun Painter is,
he told me, he will see me later because he's going for a nap
and as I'm concerned, I'm done here, thank you so much for watching.
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Dude, he's lying, I am not napping, I am right here.
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