Let us agree that the Pulsar RS200 is the prettiest motorcycle with the Bajaj badge. The overall design language is fresh and aggressive. Some design inspiration is visible from the Japanese but the Indian industrial designers have done a good job. But while I appreciate their effort, I find the motorcycle’s design a bit too busy. The front fascia reminds me of the Bumblebee from the famous Transformers property. Look very closely and the placements of the two projector headlamps will remind you of the rattlesnake - very aggressive, and with a character of its own. It gets two LED pilot lamps, which are flanked by small decals to make the design lively. The turn indicators are the ones seen on the KTM Duke 200. The windscreen is big and quite useful during rides.
The side profile of the Pulsar RS200 looks quite menacing. The multi-panel fairing has lot of sharp and deep creases and its romance with the decals make it look overdone. It doesn’t look bad, it is just that they could have slightly mellowed it down. But this won’t bother the target audience because the RS200 is coming from Bajaj; especially after looking at the overall performance package and value it has to offer. The cowl near the engine area doesn’t cover the engine and does more of an aerodynamic job. The perimeter frame is visible, but flows around really well with the rest of the bike. The fuel tank is not bulky and at the same time neither is it very sharp but Bajaj has integrated them well, leaving no gap between them. The finish given to the tank is not a glossy one but it is more of a rough fake carbon fibre finish. The most interesting aspect of this new tank is the introduction of a horizontally placed cushioned tank pad, which I quite like.
With this new bike, Bajaj has taken a new design approach and that is evident with the tail section where they have integrated grab bars onto the tail component. But I am sure the Kawasaki Ninja 300 played a big inspiration for them. The tail-light cluster design is something we are seeing for the first time on a production motorcycle. It is quite quirky and hard to accept for a motorcycle. The Pulsar RS200 gets a short, well-designed exhaust that complements the bike’s design. Overall, the Pulsar RS200 is surely going to attract lot of attention on the roads. The design is well targeted and we won’t be surprised if the bike becomes the dream of every college kid.