you better wish it wont come true (kidding) Am waiting for original Duke

Looks good. I feel its just the next evolution of pulsar (body design) and not a revolutionary one. Having a close look at the tank, i feel it resembles the existing pulsar tank design. Changes are done to it but still resembles the old tank rounded desgin but with bigger tank extensions. Similarly with rear body panels and tail lamp, the curves and shapes look similar with the old ones but an evolved one.

Current plusars are favoured by many category of customers of different age like the college going, middle aged and sometimes even older ones. I feel if the new pulsar(if it is really pulsar) is of 150 cc, then it would loose lot of customers ( 35+ and above age) because of its raised tail and split seat. These type of customers not only use it fulful their desire of driving a performance bike but also as daily commuter for their family. Just think how difficult it will be for their family members to board the raised pillion seat.

If Bajaj is to introduce this design for 150 cc pulsar, which has lions share of entire pulsar sale, i think they would have looked into this issue. But if this design is for higher end pulsar, then it should not be an issue.

This just my view and i might be wrong also.

Somebody has posted this a few pages back with a link.
Although one can question the credibility of the information on the link by looking at the photoshoped image itself

Most xBhpians seems to be expecting a Small Capacity 125/135/150 cc Pulsar.

Why?

[1] Because the rear number plate holder, grab rail looks like from the P135

My take: Why can't the next gen Pulsars get this new rear number plate holder and grab rail design?


[2] Because the engine casing seems to be from the KTM 125 Duke

My Take: Doesn't the baby Duke also has a 200 cc variant which belts out 25 bhp?


[3] Because there is no Rear Disc Brake

My Take: Are these the only 2 test mules that is being tested? Couldn't there be other test mules with rear disc brakes as well?


[4] Is this the Indian version of the KTM 200 Duke..??

My Take: No way KTM would be anything else other than "edgy and in your face", whether its Europe, India or Timbuktoo.


My Final take: A 125 cc, Full faired bike might command a premium in out full fairing starved nation, but not a naked bike. Which one would have pricing power? Which one would fetch in more profits, (125/135/150) cc Street Naked? Or a 200/250 cc Street Naked?

Moreover, the test bikes looks huge for a small capacity bike.

Swing arm is from current P150. Anyone noticed?

Sir, if the pulsars get Duke 200's engine then what sense would the Duke make?
People will obviously buy the less priced pulsar with the same duke engine.

so either KTM has developed a new engine for the pulsar range (minimum probability) and if it is so then it'll be great or Bajaj has developed an engine with KTM technology and is generous enough to put ONLY KTM logo and not its logo on the engine.

worst case, this is the Indian version of Duke 200 (hope not)

200/250 are just mere numbers. But it is the Brand DNA is different and attracts different sets of buyers.

The DNA of Pulsar is a Value for Money, Performance Oriented commuter bike. Even if the attraction for a VFM product is huge in India.. there are a niche segment of guys who desire for something exclusive. There are guys who would like to stand out in a crowd. The KTM like the Ninja 250R riders/owners will belong to a niche category of bikers.

Apart from exotic parts like an India first "Upside Down" Front forks and a chunky and detailed cast aluminium swingarm, the 200 Duke will have brand KTM associated with it. Moreover the Duke sourced engine need not be 100% same in specifications for the Pulsar.

Also aren't there some hardcore guys who would buy anything but the Pulsar? No matter how good they are/become?

It is mentioned in this site
First KTM, Bajaj co-developed bike launch in India next year - Economic Times
and I quote which also includes exports to Thailand, Malaysia, and Brazil.

This is possible with the speculated price of 1.5lakh. But if Bajaj shares the Duke 200's engine (even if it is detuned) I don't see that happening. Because the general public (read non enthusiasts) who would have bought the Duke for its performance or fresh looks or whatever other reason would think twice before buying because the pulsar has got KTM engine too(they don't care if its detuned or not) and has got similar looks too for a lesser price. Another thing to be noted is KTM as a brand is unknown to most of the people in India unlike Yamaha or Honda.

Talking about the true bike enthusiasts, this would be a good upgrade for people riding a 150cc now. Those who are already riding 180-220cc bikes would want to upgrade to a 250cc or higher bike. Not everybody would like to come down to a 200cc bike from a 220cc even though they appreciate the product and are well aware of the features it has to offer. There would be a few buyers who would keep this bike alongside other big bikes of theirs but again not everybody has that luxury. And now that there are speculations about the Japanese launching their 250s in India by mid 2012 a perspective buyer would definitely wait for it.

Considering all this 82000 units seems a little far fetched.

guys had no work at house.... so just painting the above pic....
and it looks like the same tank of the spy pic....[ completely IMO]
i think its indian version of duke....
it has same front mudguard, alloys, engine, liquid cooler, and same tank[if i am correct]

btw i just painted over the tank... if i paint it little thick above the tank it would look bigger....[considering the thick leather over the tank in spy pics]

Absolutely right!
Other than the alloys, monoshock and possibility of liquid cooled engine everything else seems to be a mish mash.

@spikester: No way would a pulsar compare to a KTM. Would KTM agree to this joint development, if the pulsar undermined the Duke?? Hell no. Bajaj doesnt have enough share in the company to make that happen.

Like everyone's saying, at the most, Bajaj would probably just put in 2 more valves and liquid cooling and bring up the performance stats of the 200 in question, into the range of the existing 220. Any more and the end product probably wont stay in the same price bracket we want it to. And if its priced any higher, it would probably eat into the sales of the KTM as well, the not happening of which, would probably have been one of the terms of the joint dev.

Like Payeng says, the pulsar brand is all about performance for the masses. Cheap and fast. Hopefully, what looks like a different chassis and swing arm in the "spy" shots, will also bring in some handling improvements that would make it worthwhile.

So what if the pulsar shared components, that wont make it a parallel to the duke. The duke will be leaps ahead in overall tech; and how the power, handling and everything else comes together.

So, bottom line: Pulsar will never be Duke. There will be goat and elephant gap between the pulsar and KTM. No one who wants a duke will think of buying a pulsar. You might even step forward to say that the pulsar's job is to give a taste of what to expect in the duke.

Definitely not .. The current P150 has obviously smaller swing arm and chain adjustment mechanism is different.

I have not compared pulsar to duke anywhere. What I've mentioned is my point of view of what a non-enthusiast buyer would think if the KTM engine is detuned and shared with a pulsar. I'm saying the whole engine and not just a few components.

Why do i have this doubt? Because of, only the KTM logo on the crankcase.

If we recollect what Mr Rajeev Bajaj has said about platform sharing, for products sharing the platform the internals will be the same but the externals like the crank shaft casing and other engine coverings will be different that an ordinary person or an cursory glance cannot recogize the similarities. So its possible that while testing engine has been lifted from KTM to make people like us keep guessing, but the production models will be having different crankcase so that identity is not mixed up.

Also on close observation (enlarging) the snap posted by Payeng, if we look at the bike nearset to the view or the driver who is wearing white shoes we can see the coolant pipe coming out (radiator?) which confirms of it being a liquid cooled engine. Secondly observe the cladding of the center body just below riders thigh and we see even the chasis being covered up. On closer observation of the curvature of the cladding i see beam frame of 3-4 inches wide, so is this pulsar going to come with aluminum beam frame chasis? If yes, then we can understand the handling improvements this bike will come with.

Lol... lots of confusing things !

Its simple... whatever they are gonna launch... it would be better than any other Indian bike!