Bajaj Pulsar CS400 Review. Is it the ultimate budget conscious performance motorcycle made for the Indian enthusiast in mind lives up to the mark?
Ladies and Gentlemen. Enough of endless spy shots that pour through your screen every morning and night. You are forced to see videos, which don’t show much or couple of words on the motorcycle that description of what to expect. CS400 deserves more than that. A motorcycle that will be solely responsible for catering the Indian enthusiast with what they always needed.
A fast, safe cruiser with unmatched sales and service network to support weird touring plans you have. A cruiser motorcycle that isn’t a thumper. A cruiser that is more sportier in look, soul and design. CS400 is meant to fulfil all those ideas. All of this made it the most highly anticipated motorcycle of all time. Duke 390 came and conquered. However, the hype for this is high because it is based on the 390 engine platform. Makes it a perfect cocktail that you cannot ignore at the bar. The plus point is, that the cocktail is even cheaper than regular soda.
We have ridden it for you and frankly for us as well, to finally quench our thirst as well, which is a major cause of anxiety on a daily basis as the launch date is very near now. What we had with us for some time was a near-production version of the motorcycle. Lost its camouflage and looking really good in black without decals or graphics. Let’s skip the design part this time. Let it come in full production form in front of us in all colors, then we can understand that a bit more.
Let’s get to the part which is important for a cruiser. Ergonomics. The foot pegs are set higher, the seat height is slightly higher than expected. The handlebar can be seen on the Pulsar finally, a very good move indeed. The assembly seems to be borrowed from the KTM Duke’s and they are raised as well. Clip-ons take the exit route and it is a good move. They restrict movement and don’t allow riders leverage in corners to correct their mistakes. Ask Pikes Peaks management, they just changed the law.
Riders ranging from 5’5 to 6’1 should feel comfortable because there was enough legroom for my 5’11 height with riding boots. The CS400 ergonomics seem to be in favor mostly for taller riders since the motorcycle is low slung. A job was well done by Bajaj. This reminds of something. A traditional cruiser manufacturer since a century couldn’t get it right, with their product recently, the Pune based manufacturer seems to have it bang on since day one.
Rear view mirrors seem adequate but could have be bigger in size. We can’t pass a judgement on the seat cushion for now, but the base was wide enough and was quite good. The rear pillion seat is one of the biggest in the segment. Grab rails looks practical this time. Great for mounting luggage or taking another half for a weekend ride in comfort on that big seat. Other minors thing we can see is that Bajaj has made changes to the light [RHS] switchgear. There is no off button, [the dot] if you look closely. Pilot lamps, which are LED, will stay on always. Low beam and then high beam can be activated post that. Clever way of meeting new headlamps regulations.
Ok, let’s come to the part that is the ‘heart’ of the matter. The engine and gearbox. We all knew that the architecture will be the same for CS400 the way it is for RS/AS/NS 200. Bottom end comes from KTM, which includes gearbox, crankshafts and other things that can match Pulsar engineers criteria. It looks like it is true again in this case. Fire up the engine it sounds thrashy like the AS 200. Rev it up and the sound is similar, but it definitely has more bass to it. The engine character is identical to the Pulsar AS 200. The entire rev range offers linearity and no sudden peaks like the Duke 390. Fuel-injection does it make smoother too. Redline it in first gear and it reaches 50 km/hr. Not as quickly as the Duke 390 though. The 390 too, does the same speed in first gear.
We ride a Duke 390 on a daily basis for two years, so similarity came in easily. Keep climbing gears though, and you notice the gearing is similar to the 390. However, we did not get a full highway run with sixth gear and cruising ability. We managed to get into fourth and we could see cog ratio getting shorter, to boost midrange, which was plentiful. Duke 390 has taller gearing all around. This means we could get same acceleration runs, but the top-speed can be lower than the Duke 390.
Similar top-speed still can be achieved, but just like Duke 200 and Pulsar 200 case, it will take more time to reach. Overall, performance numbers aside, this is a very calm and refined engine and should help in cruising and deliver good fuel efficiency and performance at the same time, thanks to triple spark, four-valves and fuel-injection that it will most likely offer.
Dynamically, we couldn’t put it a through a thorough test, but we can tell you that it is a very poised motorcycle around corners. Turns in quite quickly for a vehicle of this size. The chassis and suspension are the tautest yet from the manufacturer. The CS400 showcases agility in corners, nimbleness in city traffic and going by that, we can expect good high stability as well.
We don’t have official numbers, but we expect it to be heavier than the Duke 390 and offer a longer wheelbase. Tyres, we can confirm that this test bike had were 150x60x17 MRF C1 Tyres. Yes, the tyres originally made for Duke 390, did not make it to the market in full swing but will come as standard with this new Pulsar most likely. Brakes are going to be the highlight as well. ‘Initial bite’ seems good enough on this non-ABS version of the bike.
Summing up this experience is quite an extraordinary task at the moment. We don’t have any numbers which include prices, dimensions and horsepower numbers. If you ask us, this is the best part. We liked what we did after ages. A motorcycle not handed by the manufacturer, left to us to decide what it is in real life. How is it like to ride, what kind of emotions it brings out, what are the key aspects that strike you immediately. We are bound by numbers, we all are in every way, motorcycles obviously come in that list too. Let’s wait for the numbers, for now, The Bajaj Pulsar CS 400 reminds of one word, Hunto!
