Finally, after conducting thorough investigation Bajaj released the official report on the ongoing episode of broken wheels of Pulsar RS/NS200. Before Bajaj has come out with their official statement on the issue we conducted our own investigation and based on our findings we rejected the logic of broken alloy wheel caused by hard braking. Now Bajaj Auto is also deduced the same from the circumstantial evidence the investigation team has found at the site of accident and from the bike itself. Here is what Bajaj has officially given as statement:
Bajaj Auto was informed on Wednesday, 22 July 2015 of an incident where a Pulsar RS200 was reported having a major alloy wheel breakage. We had immediately sent a team to the workshop in Mumbai to conduct a full analysis of the accident vehicle.
Our team has now completed the investigation and the detailed results are as follows:
1. The breakage of the alloy wheel was caused by a side impact of a rigid object on the front tyre and rim at a speed of approximately 80 kmph from the right hand side.
2. The high speed side impact broke the alloy spokes and caused the front fork to bend to the left. The direction of forces on the wheel are clearly borne out by visible marks on the front wheel rim and distortion of the front fork.
3. These physical external marks are consistent with fracture analysis displaying directional stress fracture and crack propagation perpendicular to the plane of the wheel from the right to the left. The initial fracture took place in three (3) spokes closest to the impact point. The rest of the spokes failed on account of dynamic overload.
4. The rider had claimed that the wheel rim broke under hard braking. Had this been true, one should have seen the fracture initiation from the front of the spoke & end at the back of the spoke. The fracture is from right side to left. Hence it can be concluded that this is a clear case of side impact. The wheel is not the cause of the accident, the opposite is true – the accident has damaged the wheel. This wheel cannot break under hard braking. The speed of impact can be estimated from the nature of wheel breakage and the extent of bending of the front fork
5. No defective component has been found on the said Pulsar RS200 motorcycle.
6. Due to the side impact and corresponding damage, the rider lost control of the bike and fell.
We reiterate that Bajaj bikes are manufactured to the highest quality standards and are designed for safe operations. Over the past 14 years Bajaj Pulsar has earned the trust of more than 50 lakh customers in over 25 countries.
By: Farhan Kashif
