Leaks have come one after other on Social Media, which are showcasing the 2019 range of Bajaj Motorcycles. First, a Dominar 400 with USD forks and dual port exhaust was leaked over the internet. Then the pic of a Pulsar 150 surfaced online, showing ABS rings in its rear wheel. Finally, the Pulsar 220 was leaked with an all-new belly pan and ABS rings. But what about the alleged Pulsar 250 or the new generation of Pulsar? They are not coming, because there isn’t much time or space for it. I’ll explain.Since the last year, the air quality in India has dropped to a record low. India is now home to 15 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. Understanding the gravity of the situation, the Supreme court gave the order to enforce BS4 norms by April 2017, which were until now always pushed to a later date. Also understanding that an already late BS4 norm will give rise to an even late BS5 norm. The court decided to skip the BS5 stage and ordered to implement the BS6 norms by 2020.
As the emission norms get stricter, the motorcycles will emit less pollution. But all of it will come at the cost of the bike’s performance. More catalytic converters have to be added, on-board diagnostic systems will have to become self-calibrating and engines will either be detuned or have to be remade to run on "leaner-fuel" and even burn it better than ever. All of this need to happen while producing less CO, Hydrocarbons and NO2. Remember how the number of maps on the CDI chips was increased in the BS4 Pulsar 220, they are going to be increased again. Add to these complications, the mandatory ABS which will come into effect on April 2019 and things get even overloaded. This proves why there is no time with the company to be working on a new bike.
If Bajaj was to make a 250 Pulsar, it would not just compete with the market but also with its current line up, the company has a total of five 200 cc motorcycles competing with each other for dominance. Even at the lower end of 200 cc engine class, the Avenger 220 produces 19 HP and at the very far end, the RS 200 produces around 24.5 HP. So even if a 250 cc would exist, its power category has already been covered. Also by neglecting its current task at hand and launching a new motorcycle, Bajaj can disrupt its demographic, which in totality, is pretty satisfied with its products.
Coming back to the current leak of the Pulsar 220, it will launch in 2019, probably in January as that'd give the company a good amount of time to send them to the showroom. In terms of technology, it will deliver more fuel economy and fewer harmful emissions. I for one, am happy that the upcoming motorcycles are more environmentally friendly than even the Euro 5 motorcycles which will enter Europe at the same time in 2020.
A Pulsar 250 doesn’t exist and it has no reason to be. While the envelope for entry-level motorcycles in being pushed to almost 400 cc engine, we can easily move forward being assured that a continuous innovation system in the 200 cc segment has already been established.
By: Yetnesh Dubey