Bajaj Plans to launch New Pulsar & Discover by 2012

Bike manufacturer Bajaj, will launch a new generation of both its Discover and Pulsar brands. But this is no surprise as the current model’s styling is too old and shies away from modern and well sculpted motorcycles like the Yamaha FZ series.

Further, Bajaj Auto’s managing director Rajiv Bajaj said that a “completely new line up of these two brands will be launched during the second half of 2011-12”.

The all-new Pulsar will be sculpted based on the styling of its latest sibling, the Pulsar 135 LS (light sports) variant and will borrow design cues from Bajaj’s Austrian partner’s KTM Duke 125. As the current Pulsar is already loaded with features such as the LED lights, projector headlamp (P220), these features will likely be carried over in the new Pulsar as well.

To improve the design of the Pulsar brand which has to face some serious competition in the form of Honda CBR250R, Bajaj will likely restyle the pillion foot pegs, the tail lamp assembly and may even offer stepped seats.

As per BS Motoring, the new Pulsar will get engines based on the KTM Duke 125’s engine and will be mated to the Bajaj’s patented DTS-i system for better fuel efficiency. The low-capacity variant of the new Pulsar will be powered by a 150cc-160 cc motor making around 15 bhp while the high-capacity variant of the new model will have 200 cc developing roughly around 21-25 bhp of maximum power.

The new Pulsar engines (both 150-160 cc & 200 cc) engines will likely get oil-coolers, and Bajaj, backed by its previous experience in attracting more buyers with the low-priced carburetted version of the Pulsar 220, will stick to the carburetted version in the new Pulsar too.

The new Pulsar is expected to get more high-quality parts from the KTM supply chain. Further, there are more chances for Bajaj to build the new Pulsar on a twin-spar chassis as in the Yamaha R15 with telescopic forks and monoshock suspension for the rear. Apart from taking design cues from the KTM Duke, Bajaj is also planning to use the Duke’s mechanicals such as the short exhaust ending below the engine.

While we’re not sure about a rear disc for the 200, we’re sure the new Pulsars will sport latest petal discs at the front by Bybre, Brembo’s Indian arm. Tyres will continue to be the excellent soft-compound MRF Zappers that we’ve seen on the P220. Overall, we expect the 200cc version to weigh around 140 kg. Combine that to the 21-15 bhp power output and we have the makings of a worthy successor to the current Pulsar! We really can’t wait for this new-gen hooligan to come out!

Bajaj’s mass commuter motorcycles, the Discover 100, 125 and 150 models will also get a face-lift and may even complete-make over in order to further grab the market share in the commuter segment.

Before the new products debut, the Discover brand has added a new a 125cc variant. Priced at Rs. 45,500 (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Discover 125 is 2,000 rupees more expensive than the 100cc variant and cheaper than its 150cc sibling by 4,000 rupees. It sports the same DTS-I technology available in other Bajaj bikes. At 118.5 kilos, the bike has a power-to-weight ratio of 92.8ps per ton.

The Discover 125 is expected to add 40,000 units to the monthly sales of the Discover family. Currently the Discover 100 & 150 has combined monthly sales of 110,000 units.

The company is also planning to launch a Kawasaki bigger than the currently available 250cc Ninja, while “more than one” models of KTM will be introduced in the market later this year.

The existing Pulsar is a great motorcycle, but the new one promises to better by a substantial margin. Needless to say, the competition is in for a tough time!


Also see - Spied – KTM Duke 200 in Bangalore


Image credit - 2WheelsIndia

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