We have the globally heralded supremo of naked motorcycle maker, Austrian based KTM getting into Indian market via Bajaj and on the other Bajaj’s very own hugely popular Pulsar, a name synonymous with “sport biking” in India. However, this has also left a few souls confused on which one to chose between these two naked monsters:
So, which one will you go for if you are in the market for a powerful 200cc bike. Let’s check out:
STYLING :-
STYLING :-
Bajaj has done a very clever job with the new Pulsar. The fresh update to the Pulsar came at a no better time than this. The Pulsar has already become a hugely popular brand among the motorcycle lovers in India and with its design language fading away against its competitors it was time it received this update.
Coming to the rear, things are slightly disappointing. Bajaj has carried over the step type longitudinal tail lights from its last iteration. Not much change in this department except the design change of the seat handle bars. From the side, you can easily make out the well sculpted fuel tank with lots of chiseled feature lines, the gold paint treatment it gets to the engine, the rear mono shocker and the disc calipers. Overall, the Pulsar, with its muscular tank, naked styling has really taken the game a couple of levels higher.
KTM Duke 200
Frankly speaking from the front, the bike looks a bit weirdo with its long headlight but that’s KTM for you! Indian biking scenario hasn’t seen such a design ever which do make people wary about it but the design is truly KTM, truly Gerald Kiska.
The rear is so minimalistic that when you look at it from a distance all you see is a fat tire and a thin LED tail light strip. From the side, the bike looks cool indeed with orange flavored tank, engine undercover, headlight frame and the rear tire hugger frame. It has to be accepted that the styling is controversial, but controversy is what makes it so popular! If there is one word to describe it – Out and out Sporty.
PERFORMANCE :-
KTM Duke 200
Here comes the real question. It is quite known by now that the Pulsar 200NS and the Duke 200 have major mechanicals in common. Although there might be heavy engine component sharing, but both the bikes feel totally different in real world scenarios.
The Duke 200 is a cheetah, waiting to be unleashed. Thumb the ignition and you are welcomed with a loud, roaring gnarl, a sound that can easily tell the on-lookers something is about to happen. Twist the throttle and you are doing 60 kmph in no time. This bike is so rev-friendly that you can easily hit the 100 kmph mark upon a little blink, if you can sync your shift with the throttle position to near perfection.
Like I said, this bike is all about technicality, the more skills you have got, the more the bike lets you flaunt them. The Duke comes with a single cylinder, 4 stroke, 199.5cc, liquid cooled engine that produces 25 BHP of power @ 10,000 RPM and 19.2 Nm of torque @ 8000 RPM.
It is mated to a 6 speed constant speed gearbox and gets fuel injection for fuel delivery. One of the significant differences comes because of its shorter gearing. This ensures that Duke reaches to its (restricted) top speed of something around 140kmph in a flash. One word to describe its performance – Superb!
Bajaj Pulsar 200 ns
The Pulsar 200NS, although gets the same power mill but has some detuning done for proper differentiation. Like for example, the primary ratio and the final ratio of the gearbox have been changed to make the Pulsar calmer and smoother compared to the Duke 200. Also, unlike the fuel injector of the Duke, the Pulsar gets a carburetor for the fuel delivery. This of course is another step to make it placid. However, don’t mistake this bike to be a slow machine.
The Pulsar gets a 4 valve, 199.5cc, liquid cooled engine that produces 23.52 PS of power @ 9500 RPM and 18.3 NM of torque @ 8000 RPM. One of the biggest changes is the 3 spark technology that Bajaj has incorporated into the Pulsar. Bajaj says that the addition of another spark plug provides unprecedented performance and efficiency – Fast and optimal combustion at part load conditions results in better fuel efficiency and ensures lower emissions. Combustion in a triple spark engine is 27% faster than a twin spark and 50% faster than a single spark engine.
The Pulsar steadily climbs through the rev band with no wild rush. You can easily sense the rise in RPM when you twist the throttle, unlike the Duke which ferociously climbs the rev ladder, imperceptible for your senses. Having said that, barring the Duke, Pulsar 200 NS is the quickest bike under 1.5 Lakhs in India!
RIDE & HANDLING :-
KTM Duke 200:
Handling is another dimension where both the bikes execute pretty different behaviors. To say things straight, the Duke 200 just weighs 136kgs making it extremely agile on corners. Duke 200 is one of the most corner hungry machine India has seen till date. Throw this bike into any kind of corner and you are bound to come out with a big smile on your face.
However its not a very good option for long tours. The ride quality has taken a fall for all that handling prowess. The bike throws up the bumps and potholes on the road very hard onto you. The shockers and tires give ample amount of feedback to the rider, letting him know very precisely where and how the bike is behaving.
Brakes are also very impressive. So much power on tap does need a lot of stopping power and KTM has done it spot on.
One word – Awesome!
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Bajaj Pulsar 200NS:
The Pulsar 200NS, if outrightly compared, doesn’t stand up to the Duke 200. However, it comes with Perimeter Steel frame which is one of the best chassis in the world. And for the records, only other affordable bike that uses it in India is the mighty R15. And this shows in the way the bike wallops corners.This is one of the most significant changes that the new Pulsar 200 commands.
The old Pulsars probably stood at the last when it came to handling but the new Pulsar 200 is a revelation in terms of handling and cornering capabilities of a bike. However, what takes away the fun are those stupid Eurogrip tyres. Unfortunately, Bajaj doesn’t provide any alternate as of now for these tyres.
As compared to the Duke, Pulsar 200NS is agile and fast but with 10kg more kerb weight and that long wheelbase, it gets slightly heavier on corners as compared to Duke.
The fact that Bajaj could offer a pretty fabulous ride quality on its latest generation Pulsar keeping the agility is what is really impressive. The Nitrox Mono Shock Absorber with piggy back gas canister at the rear absorb the potholes and bumps with ease and gives you a pretty comfortable ride all throughout. The braking performance is also good. Both the front and the rear brakes offer decent amount of bite and lend that much needed confidence that was eluding on earlier gen Pulsars!
INSTRUMENT CLUSTER :-
KTM Duke 200:
Both the bikes also receive digital instrument clusters. While it is completely digital on the Duke, it is semi digital on Pulsar 200. The KTM Duke 200 gets you a digital rectangular display which has insane amount of information to share with you. It displays the standard details like speedometer, odometer, tripmeter, fuel level, RPM meter, coolant temperature level, which gear you are operating in, side stand down or not etc.
Apart from that, the digital display shows truck loads of information enough to totally confuse the average user, telling you that the KTM is no ordinary machine. I am not listing them here due to space constraints . The layout of the information is good. However, the brightness of the display is one area which could have been better. On a bright sunny day, you will face some difficulty reading from the display while driving the KTM. For the bucket-loads of information on offer a 4.5 for the Duke.
The Pulsar 200NS, on the other hand doesn’t come with the utterly confusing display like the Duke. And it doesn’t come with so much of information either. The Pulsar 200NS gets a big analogue RPM meter at the center, which tells you how fast are you accelerating, with the fuel level indicator integrated on the right side. At the right wing, you get the odometer, trip meter, speedometer and a clock while on the left you get the side stand indicator, high-beam indicator, gear neutral indicator and turn signal indicator. The instrument cluster of the 200NS is neat, ergonomic and easy to read.
SUMMARY:
To come to a conclusion, the KTM Duke 200 and the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS are bikes of a different league, built to serve different purposes. As mentioned previously, if you are power hungry, love to race and corner, then you can pick the KTM hands down, no second thoughts. You will not find a better bike to suit your passion and at Rs. 1.5 lakhs (approximate on road price), you get a powerful naked monster.However, it is more fuel hungry as well.
On the other hand, the Pulsar 200NS is calmer and composed just like your everyday sports bike but with slightly more aggression on tap when you want to explore it. The biggest factor going in favor of Pulsar 200NS is its price tag which is under 1 Lakh (on-road) in most cities of India. This is half a lakh cheaper than Duke and you can get half a Pulsar more at Duke’s price.
