Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Comparing this to CBR 250, which is a better bike for city?

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Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Never compare both, one is butter and the other is clarified butter.

CBR for excellent highway performance, gem of an engine, and rock solid stability. Beautiful C-ABS system, though a tad over priced, it is justified by the gadgetry it offers IMHO.

200RS, basically NS in a different attire, which is basically a KTM 200 and I think it's a good VFM package, so there you go.

Oh my, did I compare those two! Did I, oh my!

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Was no one offered a test ride?

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Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience


For city ride, I think that CBR suffers from need for frequent gear shifts. But good thing is the butter smooth engine and gearbox. Gearshift is still an issue for me in heavy traffic on my RS200. Finally, clutch is lighter in CBR as compared to RS200.

If on budget, the VFM of RS200 makes it a better overall deal for street driving. If you take away buget factor and add highway driving/touring, CBR is a better bike. Another important thing is that CBR250R production is stopped and no credible news regarding upgrade to 250/300 model is around.

I had booked CBR250 in December and waited for almost 3 months to get a delivery. First, I was offered a 2014 model, which I politely declined. Then I was told that 300R is just around the corner. I waited patiently. In the end, my patience level was saturated, praticality prevailed and I brought home RS200 instead.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

I went to my local dealer here to check out the new Pulsar's. He has 1 unit of all the new ones i.e. RS 200, AS 200 & 150.

He politely declined my request for a test ride saying that these are display pieces and there is a waiting period of about 40 days on the RS. So he won't be able to give a test ride.

I looked around the lot to see if I could spot a 200 NS so I could test ride that, however not a single NS was present.

Bajaj has reduced production of 200 NS to accommodate the new Pulsar's, so there is a shortage of the NS as well. I will visit there next week and hopefully I'll get something.


Cheers!

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Last I checked, test rides were available for RS200 at Sai Services Station, Andheri, Mumbai. Not sure about AS twins though.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Any idea for kolkata?

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Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Sorry buddy, no ideas about Kolkata... In the meanwhile, you can try out 200NS. There is not much difference between the two and you will get a fair idea about RS performance.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

The RS200 wasn't yet available in Faridabad when I checked last month. So I called TCS Bajaj at Okhla, New Delhi to ask for a test ride. To my utter surprise, I was told that test ride was available only on pre-booking the bike. I asked them what if I didn't like the bike after the test ride. I was shocked to hear the answer, "we'll deduct 30% of the booking amount".
I immediately sent an email to Bajaj service support and two days later, I was at the same dealership for the test ride. It was a very short test ride on congested, traffic-infested Delhi roads. Here's my thoughts on the short ride:
The bike felt bulky, even on the move. Sitting position was almost spot-on, neither too sporty, not too relaxed. I had ridden the NS200 a while ago; in comparison, the initial pick-up on RS200 felt too slow despite the extra bhp. Thanks to the added weight, most of which is on the front end, the braking on my non-abs bike wasn't confident at all. It didn't help much in the handling department either and u-turns were painfully wide and cumbersome. I had read a lot about the engine being more refined than NS but coming from a butter smooth GS150R, it felt like a rumbling chaos.
In all, it was a bad impression and I immediately decided against the bike. Looking forward to test ride the AS200 very soon. This Sunday perhaps if available.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Thanks for sharing the test ride review. Please, if possible, do a test ride of CBR 250R and compare

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Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

CBR250R has been on my list ever since it was launched in India but couldn't afford it earlier. Now that I can, I did test ride it last month as well. The guys at the dealership were more than happy to give the test ride, in fact, I rode it for almost 15 kms. Here's my first impression:

Despite the bulk, the bike didn't feel too heavy. I was a little apprehensive riding a quarter litre sports bike but it was readily tamable with its nimble handling and smooth throttle response. Nothing to scare the daylights out of a novice. Engine was the typical Honda - smooth and vibe-free. The exhaust note is sweet at low speeds and really awesome when you pull the throttle hard. Seating position was a little too sporty for my liking and my palms were hurting at the end of the short ride.

The major problem however was the gap between 1st and 2nd gears. First gear is too short and second gears is a tad too tall, leaving the rider switching between them in traffic. The ultra light clutch comes the rescue somewhat but it still is a major concern. I rode a non-abs bike but the braking was still a lot better than on the Bajaj.

My choice between CBR and RS200? CBR, any given day. The only concern is availability. I wanted Repsol edition which isn't available anymore and I didn't like any other color. Too picky 😉

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

The CBR250R on sale in India is almost at the end of it's life cycle. Hopefully Honda will launch the updated CBR250 or CBR300 in India soon. Wait till then if you can.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Done with 1500 km. Riding at 5-6k RPM now, still receiving 39-40km/ltr. Gears have become absolutely smooth. Yet to experience vibes.

Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Any rattling in the fairing?

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Re: Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 Owners Review and Experience

Nope! None so far.