I visited Khivraj Bajaj (Probiking Dealrship) in Bangalore, they have good stock of all pulsars and have many in transit...
Don't think new pulsars are any where near...
Also since no test mules are spotted, no spy pics, not even any news leaked from design board, so I don't think new Pulsars will launch before Mar 2012 (as per Rajiv Bajaj's previous statement)...

Also since we have already seen Duke 200 being exhaustively testes, it may get launched before Pulsar (anyways, both have different markets and not competitors)

Why the F can't Bajaj put any Kawasaki technology in the bikes? Why it always has to be KTM??? Is KTM a legendary brand in streetbikes and sportsbikes???

Stating the point that Bajaj will have KTM technology is admitting that Bajaj technology is inferior.


Kawasakis are so so better than KTM and Bajaj put together!

Change the thread title as September 2011 has just passed.

I dont think kawa and bajaj have an agrement between them which makes that possible.

The company belongs to rajiv bajaj and he likes italian/european bikes more(read this somewhere)

IMO KTM is a very good company, i have never seen their bikes anywhere but i just love x-bow and rc8... and ofcourse the duke 125 is one of the best beginner bikes a 16 yr old can have

And the reason bajaj can borrow KTM's tech is that he aims to purchase atleast 49% of KTM so there will be better understanding between both managements, i dont think kawa management will allow bajaj to buy a huge chunk of their shares...

And i feel that japanese companies are a bit dominating when it comes to alliances with other companies... its just my personal opinion...

No no! I meant bury the name pulsar for this 'new -radical -bike'

Crank case have evoled on the new pulsars, they are like the P135s now
Its a classic case of brand personality conflict.

The BRAND - Pulsar evolved into a brand which has grown bigger than the brand Bajaj. Now that is a good thing, but is a risky thing.

As an example. Microsoft is a parent brand, its still strong... just like Apple.
Apple product range like Macbook, iPod and iPhone are strong brands as well.

With every new product the brand grows stronger, and so does the parent brand. Imagine in your head some brand iPod variants..
Most would think of two
- iPod classic
- iPod Touch

Some would think of - iPod Shuffle\Nano if they own it or have been exposed to it.

Such is the case with Bajaj, just that Bajaj doesnt want 'Brand Bajaj' to be dominant (One reason is perhaps thier car project, so want to shed the 'motorcycle' image)

In the process they have ensure that the brand Pulsar is fed well and it grows into a monster.

Just like the iPod touch, brand pulsar has a personallity. The personality of being a VFM bike.
The personality of iPod is a 'Uber cool portable music player'
iPod touch has a brand personality of that nice gleamy shiny touch screen and gadgetry on it! This image is not carried forward with the shuffle, but the tag of 'iPod' helps its sales. Similarly, the Brand Pulsar, aids the sales of the Pulsar 135 (the iPod shuffle of the family)

Now comes the larger than life 'new radical' iPadv5 or the new radical-pulsar
(where radical is international tech, new chassis, 4v system, liquid cooled, and the visible cosmetic jazz - a COMPLETE new platform)

this would mean
- the existing p135, 150, 180, 220 would begin looking dated.

Now they can fix this by sticking to the Pulsar design cues, but thats like repackaging the iPad and calling it iPod! Ever wondered why its not called a MacPad?

All that gyan asides, answer two questions.

- Would you buy an Indianized KTM400 with the P220 design cues (shared by many!) and it being called a Pulsar

or
- Would you rather buy an Indianized KTM400 with a new design which is marketed as "from the makers of Pulsars, here comes a new revolution in the performance biking chapter of India. Prowler 400!

I would go for the second option. But in the back of my mind, I will have a slight doubt about it's reliability. Since Bajaj name has been associated with it. And i am a Bajaj Pulsar owner.


@Payeng: Never meant to offend a KTM lover like you. KTM is great no doubt but i have not seen the name KTM being associated with something fast and aggressive.

I am little confused on the fact that what could a streetbike gain from off-road bikes? And Bajaj can easily use some tech from Ninja 250!

[that was the reason behind WTF ]
And yes I would love to ride a KTM!

Well, KTM bikes are known for being reliable so a choice of many for touring and off-roading. Last xBhp magazine issue claims KTM as winner of DAKER rally for 7 consecutive times. There have been cries from people that Pulsars ain't reliable. KTM technology will help Pulsar be more reliable & rigid.

Secondly, Bajaj owns 26% (and rising) shares in KTM. So, why to buy a technology from neighbour when it is developed in your own backyard? Bajaj has no share holding in Kawasaki. They are just partners.

Note: I am not very sure about statements in bold.

Correction:

>> Currently the holding of BAL in KTM is 39 odd %
>> KTM has won 10 consecutive Dakar wins. Link


Brand attributes (like reliability, quality, refinement etc.) are mostly "perception" (formed of course by years of being exposed to the brand stimulus) based. For eg:

>> A 100 cc 4 stroke Yamaha bike is never "perceived" to be as smooth or fuel efficient as a 100 cc bike with a Honda name.

>> Similarly KTM has a Off/Road "perception" in the minds of people despite models like the Super Duke, RC8.

>> Maruti has a budget car "perception" associated with it, therefore cars like the Kizashi find it hard to sell.

They are exporting Kizashi directly & hence the cost is HIGH. If Suzuki starts manufacturing here, then they can offer it at a competitive price.

That's not the point.

The learning is how Maruti/Suzuki Cars are "perceived" with reliable yet value for money offering. They simply don't have the "perception" of luxury cars.

Another example is how Tata is struggling to shake the Taxi "perception" from its Indica/Indigo/Sumo brand.

They have started to rebrand the Indica Vista, Indigo Manza and the Sumo Grande with out the Indica, Indigo and Sumo tags.. but according to me its too late and the damage has been done.

Eggjhacktly! but BAL is slowly following the same footsteps, and making a monster brand an even bigger monster

But then 5 years back, the Swift did manage to change the perception of Maruti by taking it up a notch.
On the other hand there is also the example of how the ZEN Estilo messed up/killed the ZEN brand for maruti.


Branding is sure a tricky business.

I am sure that even BAL will not tom-tom much about the KTM genes for the next gen Pulsar since for average joe's, KTM would simply mean Off-Road bikes which will confuse them as to how it can help road bikes like the Pulsar..!!

[When xBhpians can't understand, then how can one expect the average customer to understand]

Thanks a lot. I got that.
I really don't know anything about Kraunreif & Trunkenpolz from Mattighoffen. Or Gerald Kiska.

Abey senty aadmi! Tereko nahi bola!

Thanks a lot.

Now you know, convincing XBHPians is little hard, how can Bajaj convince the general poser public at large?

Looking forward to the new Pulsars. When are they coming out?

[btw in France, i had the chance to ride pillion on KTM SMT 990 and a BMW GS1200]

I prefer option no:2. It would atleast have a new design(but for a 400cc bike, power matters most). That said, the p220 is still a beautiful bike..