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The seized Duke engine was a one off incident and is applicable to all the manufacturers that we have here. There have been seized R15s, 220s, ZMAs and Apaches....all new engines.

Being a Duke owner myself, I can vouch for the reliability of the Duke. A lot of Punekars with me, who have the Duke, push and punish it every weekend at Lavasa or Amby Valley and the Duke holds its sharpness and edge.

Coming back to your topic, the R15 V2 may not be an upgrade for you as the engine is the same and you will feel that it is underpowered (similar characteristics). The Duke (if available there) or the 200 NS might be a good upgrade for you. An alternative would be the CBR 250 R if you can bump up the budget.

The ZMA/R can also serve your purpose but somehow, in the era of the Dukes, CBRs, R15s and Ninjas, the ZMA/220 seem outdated.

Lastly, try to get a test ride around your commute route on the bike of your choice before you make the decision.

1. Upgrading from R15v1 to R15v2 makes no sense at all ! If you are going only for the looks, then you wasting your Rs.100k.
2. Pulsar 200NS or a duke. You have a budget of 1.3lakhs with which you can buy a baby duke (duke 200). Then why cant you get it from another city if possible. Because P200NS will give you the thrust , the punch, but the feeling you will get from his cousin is a level different.

I hope you are quite knowledgeable and know about all the specs of these bikes.

CBR250 in consideration is a very good choice and i think it is available in JK. Only if you can stretch your budget upto 1.8l at which you get the CBR250 ABS, that would be the safest bike for your region. Not going with a 250 non-abs is simply you dont get ABS in it! Importance of ABS is no more hidden to Indian Bikers and ofcourse the region you leave in, has slippery roads. So better, be safe with spending those few extra 50k and live a long life.

Bro,

Considering your requirements I think DUKE would be best option. I can see that you are not looking for pillion comfort .
Its a hooligan bike.

Pulsar 200NS is also a good Option( I own one , from Yesterday). NS is more of a packaged deal.
For the tyre options you may chose Pirelli Sport Demon or MRF Zapper Q.

I am not sure how much the front tyre costs, ( should not be that different, what I am mentioning here is of the rear tyre, Bangalore Price)

Pirelli Sport Demon
Cost : should cost you 3800-4000 / Tyre
Pros : Grippiest among the lot, International Brand , almost all of them who bought it swears by it
Cons : Since Its softer compound wearing out might be fast, Costly.

Zapper Q
Cost : 2000-2800
Pros : Nice thread Pattern, Harder Compound.
Cons : Heard its a bit heavy and people do have mixed opinions ( 80% Positive though),

MRF REV-Z
Cost : Same as Zapper
Pros and cons , I didn't check it much . Looks nice, Harder Compound than PSD.
Could check with any FZ or DUKE owners ( Please recheck).

R15 , I am not sure buddy as I haven't test driven it.., Since you are saying it doesn't have the grunt you require, I think you have answered the query yourself

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and the information provided.

I am going to ask the bajaj dealer here the last time, if the duke will be coming here or not . If not then I would have to consider the 200NS ( I dont like the CBR250 that much and it costs quite a lot).

I am not sure if the dealer here would provide a test ride of the 200NS , So I just have one more query : Is the Pulsar as good as the R15 dynamically? I mean does it handle as well?

From R15 to 200NS would be a NO upgrade.. you will lose on handling, weight, height, fairing, top speed, 0-60, 0-100, turning radius (I think so), fuel injection, branding and the FEEL.

Thank you all for your suggestions.


Contacted Bajaj and they told me that the ktm isnt coming here as there is no infrastructure here!


Had a test ride of the 200NS and surprisingly I liked it. I did really like the power that was missing in the R15 and brakes are good too. The riding position felt weird but comfortable compared to the R15. Also felt a considerable wind blast above 100kmph and some vibrations but nothing to be bothered about.


I think the 200NS is a very nice bike and i am quite impressed by its power and road presence , and that is saying something for I have have owned the R15 for more than 2 years.

Now that you are not interested in the Duke. You must choose between R15 v2 and P200NS. The equation is simple, if you want the power and can sacrifice a little on handling when compared to R15, go with P200NS. If you want looks and a particular fan of faired bikes, go with R15 v2.

Oh no no no... I am hugely interested in the Duke but it isnt coming here. Getting one from another city is not practical since the nearest city where it is sold is 500 km away!