Bajaj Pulsar 400SS and 400CS finally arrive!
Bajaj have launched the much awaited Pulsar 400 in two guises SuperSport and CruiserSport at the Auto Expo.
While everyone was expecting Bajaj to go ahead and launch the
supersports version of its venerable Pulsar 200NS at its stall at Auto
Expo 2014, the reality turned out to be a little different. Rather than
launching the aforementioned Pulsar 200SS, the Chakan-based motorcycle
giant unveiled two near-production ready versions of larger capacity
Pulsars, or rather what those larger capacity Pulsars could be. Most of
us in the media were speculating that in order to differentiate the
Pulsar brand from its KTM partners, the larger Bajajs would be 300cc.
But surprisingly, the blokes from Bajaj went all out and rolled out the
two new Pulsar prototypes in a similar 375cc capacity to the KTM 390 and
even went so far as to christen them “400”.
The first bike that
Bajaj took the wraps off was the Pulsar 400SS – a supersports machine
carrying the same design language that we’ve seen on the 200SS test
mules running around near Pune. The bike sports a full-front fairing
with twin projector headlights, LED pilot lamps and LED indicators. The
frame seems to be borrowed from its smaller 200NS cousin as well as the
fuel tank shape. But there are plenty of changes in details all over to
make it look like much more than an NS with a fairing. The underbelly
exhaust has been ditched for a stubby side can as well. But the biggest
change to the underpinnings is the massive, uniquely shaped swingarm as
compared to the 200NS. But we think this is a detail that may not carry
over to the production version.
While the SS, in one form or the
other was expected, the biggest shocker was the 400CS. There was news
that Bajaj would bring a new cruiser bike to the Expo, so most were
expecting a larger version of the Avenger. Bajaj though went the extra
mile and showed off a “Cruising Sport” model. The 400CS is a sort of a
power cruiser on the lines of the Ducati Diavel and carries a low-slung
silhouette. Flat handlebars are the order of the day and the most
interesting bit is that even unlike the 400SS, the front end of the CS
is held together with inverted forks a la KTM 390 Duke. Even the wheels
have a brand new sculpted design as does the bulbous headlight unit.
While there is no mistaking this bike for anything other than a Pulsar,
in a lot of ways, the 400CS is a departure from what we’ve seen before
on Pulsars so far.
Both the bikes feature a liquid cooled 375cc
single-cylinder engine derived from the KTM 390 Duke. The bottom end of
the engine remains fairly unchanged, but thanks to the addition of
Bajaj’s proprietary triple-spark four-valve head, the top-end of the
mill has undergone some serious transformation. As opposed to the 200NS,
these 400s also get electronic fuel injection and in other mechanical
changes, get anti-lock brakes (ABS) as standard.
