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Performance and Gearbox – Press the self start and the 200cc, 4-valve, 3-spark plug engine comes to life in a smooth and reviving nature, unlike old Pulsars, which makes one feel as if the entire bike has started rather than just the engine. Let the engine idle because it will idle in cold or rainy mornings unlike other carburetted bikes. This will idle as much as you want without the manual throttle input. Thanks to the technologically advanced ignition system, the Pulsar 200 NS has something which almost resembles the fuel injection system in terms of power delivery and behavior.
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With a power to weight ratio of 162 PS per ton, the Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS will hit 60 km/h in 3.61 seconds and 100 km/h in 9.83 seconds.
Depress the clutch and push the gear lever and you will notice that there is no typical Bajaj Pulsar thud after engaging the first gear because the gearbox and crankshaft come from the KTM Duke 200, so revving up the engine up to 11,000 RPM in first gear is insanely quick and before you say anything you are in fourth gear doing almost 125 km/h. This is because the first three gears of the Pulsar 200 NS are short and other three gears are relatively tall to aid top-end power and better fuel efficiency. There is some vibration which does filter through the handle bar at red line. When it comes to mid range, all the high-tech measures to remove lag from this carburetor has paid off, at any revs, any gear there is no delay between ask and get.
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Despite the extra 10 kgs and a reduction of 1.5 BHP and 0.7 NM of torque from the KTM Duke 200, the 200 NS is on par with the Duke when it comes to acceleration up to 120-125 km/h after which the Duke will take the lead to its limited top speed of 138 km/h while the Pulsar 200 NS shows 145 km/h on the speedometer (speedo error this). The engine does not feel strained, nor does it sound extremely loud uptil 100 km/h and cruising at these speeds on the highway in top gear is easy. Moreover, when you decide to pull the remaining throttle on an empty stretch, you will hit 135 km/h without crouching. You will feel that the bike is massively stable for a naked bike. When pottering around in town, there is enough grunt up to 5000 RPM so you can zip away without revving high.
Head over to the next page to read about the dynamics of the Pulsar 200 NS.
