Performance and Efficiency
The burning question, brought upon by Bajaj themselves with their marketing for the RS200 is, is it the fastest Pulsar yet? And, if so, by how much? Let’s address that first.
Yes, this is the fastest Pulsar we’ve ever tested. On Bajaj’s kilometer long straight, I clocked 149 km/h on the speedo, and it felt like there was a little bit more to come given enough road. By comparison, the 200NS clocked 138 km/h on the speedo on the same straight and in same conditions. We weren’t allowed to strap on our VBOX at the track, so accounting for a 10 to 15% speedo error, this means that the RS200 should have a true top speed of at least 140 km/h. We weren’t able to test the roll-on figures either, but the RS should be fractionally faster than the 200NS through the gears.
Remember though, that this is a motorcycle that is 20 kilos heavier than the 200NS. Producing 24.5PS at 9,750rpm, it has a power-to-weight ratio of 148.48 PS/ton compared to 162.2 PS/ton on the 145 kg 200 NS. Torque has also been bumped up slightly to 18.6Nm at 8,000rpm and the RS now redlines 500rpm higher at 11,000rpm.
This new found top speed doesn’t come from the miniscule bump in power though, which is well near nigh. Bajaj has also reworked the gearing on the RS, giving it two more teeth at the rear sprocket. The gearbox is also smoother than before. The 200NS already had a smooth gearbox, but the RS is virtually vibe-free now. Even over 8000rpm, there was little to no vibrations from the handlebars or the footpegs. In fact, during the first couple of laps, I glanced down only to see the orange shift light blinking furiously, signaling me to upshift. Granted, I might have felt it if I weren’t wearing thick leather gloves like most bikers do in the country, but this is a testament to the RS’ smoothness.
Power delivery on the RS is linear, and whatever fuel injection hijinks Bajaj has faced in the past has been resolved with this machine. The Bosch Fi unit is the same as the one on the KTM 200 Duke, but Bajaj says that it employs newer software and is in a different state of tune. The cylinder head has also been reworked to accommodate the Fi unit, and the throttle bodies are bigger. All these small changes has resulted in an immensely refined bike that can hold its own against the best Japanese machines we have on sale in the country today.
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Best one by Bajaj… Finally a new and fresh look to the pulsar series…
Thank you for your feedback, Vivek. We don’t believe in unnecessary criticism just for the sake of it; if you are criticizing a product you have to have the facts to back it up. You must have missed the part where we gave it negative points on design and styling. Other than that, the RS 200 is a pretty great step-up for Bajaj, so we stand by our words.