Upon its launch, Pulsar 250 will rival other quarter-litre bikes such as KTM Duke 250, Suzuki Gixxer 250, Yamaha FZ25 and its own sibling Dominar 250
Pulsar brand of motorcycles have been one of the biggest contributor to Bajaj’s success in the Indian motorcycle market in the last two decades. Over the years, there have been many iterations of the bike depending on engine configurations and body styles. The bikemaker has already made its intentions clear of expanding this range of motorcycles by introducing new models into the market.
The next big launch from Bajaj which will wear the ‘Pulsar’ moniker will most likely be Pulsar 250. In an interview with CNBC TV18, Bajaj MD, Rajiv Bajaj has revealed that they will be launching the biggest Pulsar motorcycle till date in November this year.
November 2021 is when Pulsar brand will also celebrate its 20th anniversary. What better timing, to launch the biggest, most powerful Pulsar yet. Though Rajiv Bajaj did not reveal that it is the Pulsar 250, he did confirm “biggest Pulsar we have ever made.” Bajaj MD also confirmed that it will be based on an all new platform, which will then make its way down to all the other Pulsar range over the next 12 months.
Bajaj Pulsar 250 Spied Testing
Bajaj Pulsar 250 is expected to be on offer in three variants. One will be naked or NS250, the other will be fully faired RS250 and the third is expected to be semi-faired 250F. These names are not yet confirmed. All three motorcycles have been spied testing in the past few weeks.
A digitally rendered image of the upcoming Pulsar 250 previews a possible production-spec design. The digitally imagined Pulsar 250, on its first glance, looks like a confluence on Pulsar NS200 and Dominar 250. For instance, the LED headlight cluster seems to have been inspired by Dominar 250 while split seats, split pillion grab rails, rear cowl and alloy wheels look uncannily similar to Pulsar NS200.
The designer has also incorporated a Pulsar branding on the fuel tank and also a lovely decal on its extensions reading ‘250’. It also features a freshly designed side-mounted exhaust setup which is short and upswept. The blue colour with white highlights give the motorcycle a nice and pleasant look. Its suspension setup consists of conventional telescopic forks at front and a monoshock at rear as seen in the recently spotted test mule.
Expected Powertrain & Features
This rendered design also gets a large radiator for the liquid-cooling system that wasn’t present in the test prototype. There is still a lot of ambiguity regarding its powertrain. Some are suggesting that Bajaj will introduce a brand new 250cc single-cylinder oil-cooled engine that will be good enough for 24 bhp and 20 Nm of peak torque.
Whereas, there is another school of thought which believes that the manufacturer will utilise the already existing 248.77cc single-cylinder, DOHC, liquid-cooled motor which powers Dominar 250 and corresponding KTM Duke and Huskies. This unit spits out 27 bhp at 8,500rpm and a peak torque 23.5 Nm at 6,500rpm. It will be interesting to see which one does Bajaj opt for. In either case, it is expected to be paired to a six-speed gearbox probably with a slipper clutch.
In terms of features it is expected to be offered with single disc brakes on both ends complemented by a dual-channel ABS as standard. It is also likely to come with a fully digital console with smartphone connectivity and multiple riding modes. More details are likely to head out way in the coming weeks.