65 replies to this topic

[Yatharth]

I found the review to be very well written and can't help admire the very interesting story. It has to be the best comparo of these bikes that I've read so far. And the list includes the reviews coming from popular mags n all.

[satyenpoojary]

About 6000+KMs of riding the NS now.... Pushing it to the edge at Leh, Lahaul Spiti....! I can put my money on saying that the "Vibes" being reported is probably just the early days with the bike!!!

And it does leave behind the question if the 35K premium for Duke is justifiable...

My two cents
1. Duke - If you prefer the brand and the riding is more city biased
2. NS - If you want a does it all, VFM package...

Had a chat with someone who did a solo ride on the Duke. He echoed about the stifness of the suspension of the Duke! The NS however wasnt spongy like the P220, but it wasnt as harsh as the duke either!

[pulsurge]

 satyenpoojary, on 15 July 2012 - 05:54 PM, said:

About 6000+KMs of riding the NS now.... Pushing it to the edge at Leh, Lahaul Spiti....! I can put my money on saying that the "Vibes" being reported is probably just the early days with the bike!!!

And it does leave behind the question if the 35K premium for Duke is justifiable...

My two cents
1. Duke - If you prefer the brand and the riding is more city biased
2. NS - If you want a does it all, VFM package...

Had a chat with someone who did a solo ride on the Duke. He echoed about the stifness of the suspension of the Duke! The NS however wasnt spongy like the P220, but it wasnt as harsh as the duke either!

For it goes like this...now I have been riding the CBR now for the past 6 months and my earlier bike the ZMA. And with the soft and lovely suspension on bad roads- I will find the NS obviously on the stiffer side

Talking about early days- I just had this query, if in the early days of a bike is supposed to be slightly on the gruff/ vibey side- how come our press goes gaga over its smoothness? Coz if someone like me says its vibey- everyone will jump and say running-in running-in. Does the press/other media get run-in'd bikes?

[pulsurge]

 arn, on 14 July 2012 - 12:50 AM, said:

I always found the mid corner stability of the CBR way ahead of the ZMA, and have leaned the CBR a lot more in the corners than I ever did on my ZMA, which, BTW had a hugely improved rear suspension over the stock bike.  Unfortunately, you don't seem to have the same level of comfort - but that does not mean the bike cannot do it easily, in somebody else's hands. Point number two - wind protection, though obviously better than the KTM and NS (where the designers have decided that windblast is an essential part of biking), is a lot worse in the CBR than the ZMA . If you wish you simply need to compare screen heights and angulations. The CBR is a bike which you consciously keep below 100 over long runs to avoid being slapped continuously by the wind - it's a pretty big minus on the highway!

Lastly, mentioned in the motoroids article reply (not here) , the low end torque vis a vis the ZMA - the ZMA isn't even close. The ZMA doesn't shudder when you try to pull at 2.5K rpm because ...it isn't pulling!. The CBR will be. Once it gets to 3 - 3.5K rpm, it's a no contest thereafter. Besides should anybody actually be riding at 2 and 2.5K? How's the low end torque at 3.5K on the NS and KTM, that's what rules the city, not torque at 7000rpm

Inclination of the windscreen I completely agree. But I had this problem on the ZMA when riding at high speeds- there used to be lot of drag on the knees and legs- and I had to keep them tucked in- with time it used to get uncomfortabe, which doesn't happen on the CBR. I find the windrag on the CBR mostly on the helmet. When I go flat out- I just duck in a bit- not crouch completely and there is a drastic reduction in drag.

[satyenpoojary]

Yeah... what the press had got were the early preview builds which were already "ridden" by a group of testers. So am assuming that they were pre run in!

[Silver Phantom]

1Number Shootout.. Now i definitely know which one to buy...... NONE.... PAisaa Kidhar hai Man....

[rahul_rn]

 Silver Phantom, on 16 July 2012 - 02:52 PM, said:

1Number Shootout.. Now i definitely know which one to buy...... NONE.... PAisaa Kidhar hai Man....

In this modern world there exists a thing called bank which lends you money to buy stuff you don't need..
Many a times to impress people who you don't like..

[pulsurge]

 satyenpoojary, on 16 July 2012 - 02:49 PM, said:

Yeah... what the press had got were the early preview builds which were already "ridden" by a group of testers. So am assuming that they were pre run in!

I think Amit can clarify this. When we got the P200 (first gen) at Chakan..they were fresh off the assembly line and we thrashed the daylights out of the bikes. And as far as I know the press are never given the testing bikes that we see on the highway (spy pics)- so to get 2000 kms by just doing laps of Chakan is a big task to ask for.

@CV: Bhai tu chalaake dekh and then make a decision! Though I very well know what would suit you

[Silver Phantom]

 rahul_rn, on 16 July 2012 - 03:27 PM, said:

In this modern world there exists a thing called bank which lends you money to buy stuff you don't need..
Many a times to impress people who you don't like..

Error 404: Loan not Found..
Please Review your Finances, and PRevious Loan Burdens, and Retry After a Few Years...

 pulsurge, on 16 July 2012 - 03:29 PM, said:

@CV: Bhai tu chalaake dekh and then make a decision! Though I very well know what would suit you

Arey koi agar uski bike mereko Ghat mein Chalaney ko dey toh try and decide karu.. Saala Dealer Test Rides dont go for more than a few 100mtrs.. thats it.. for me to really decide on a bike, i need to ride it in the Ghats, where i know i will be spending most of my time during rides.

anyone up to lend me thier bikes for a short duration of a ghat.?!?!

[arn]

You are coming for the BN meet, no? Sab try karne ko milega!

[Silver Phantom]

 arn, on 16 July 2012 - 03:52 PM, said:

You are coming for the BN meet, no? Sab try karne ko milega!

Aap ke muh mey Sugar-Free Ghee Shakkar...

[Reeto]

In my opinion, the suspension of the CBR250R is jelly-like and doesn't inspire any confidence while cornering on our city roads and highways. To add to this, the Continental tyres are a big let down on wet tarmac. Of what great use is an ABS unless it is mated to a set of wheels shod with grippy tyres. Also its mandatory for the ABS on the CBR to be ON at all times, there should have been an option for switching it OFF (like the TVS Apache), especially on roads with patches of gravel as well as during off-roading, where the ABS can prove a handful to come to terms with.

Owners and potential owners boast of the features on the KTM Duke - Fuel Injection, USD forks by WP, sporty looking tank, Digital Instrument Console displaying hordes of info, etc. Frankly the USD forks are made in India by Endurance under license from WP. The suspension setup is too stiff and Bajaj should eventually o do some R&D to make the suspension a bit more "Indian" street friendly. The sporty looking fuel tank is of little significance since its capacity is limited to only 10.5 liters. The FI system makes matters worse here by setting aside a mandatory reserve of approx 2 to 2.5 litres for smooth functioning of the submersible fuel pump, which brings down the usable tank capacity to just 8-odd litres. Even if the rider manages a 35 kmpl, the maximum tank range will still be restricted to just 270-280 litres. This isn't great news for hard -core tourers coz lack of sufficient tank range and adulterated fuel available at many highway petrol bunks is going to make matters worse for the Duke's engine and FI system. An increase in tank capacity by offering an alternative 17-20 litre tank will be very helpful for the tourers.

I am in total alliance with the fact that the KTM Duke 200 is a machine that boasts of international standards incorporated by automotive giants in developed countries, but road and weather conditions prevailing in India is way different from that in Europe.

In the light of my above mentioned observations, my opinion is that the Pulsar 200NS is the best bet on Indian roads. The 200NS handles as good as the Duke, top sspeed is more-or-less similiar to the Duke and rider/pillion comfort is superb on it.The Duke has a seat which can only witness a supermodel sit comfortably as pillion, even an average size Indian lady/man will find it tough to remain seated on the Duke for long rides.     The 200NS on the other hand is good 30-35K chaper than thr Duke, has better saets, no jerky acceleration, suspension is absoloutely taut for Indain roads. The Pulsar also inmpresses with its 12 litre tank which gives it a range of 350 kms coupled with good fuel economy. The Pulsar 200NS has the most comfortable seating/riding ergonomics for city, highways and race track (in my opinion) amongst the three bikes under review.

People who are super impressed with the Duke's acceleration must remember that the 200NS also accelerates very well if not better than the Duke. The adavntage of a carb (which does its duty on the Pulsar 200 NS) is that it can be up-jetted along with increasing air intake (K&N Air Filter) will result in substantial increase in acceleration (will make the 200NS quicker than both stock Duke and CBR). Best part is to improve performance on a Pulsar 200NS, one does not need to spend anything above Rs. 3-4K for the K&N filter and a larger main/pilot jet for the carb. After carrying out the above mentioned mods, the owner will still have buffer cash remaining for a good Free Flow Exhaust and Sprockets(if need be)........

But on a fuel injected bike like Duke or CBR, any attempts towards performance enhancement will entail greater expenditure to the tune of Rs. 15-20K just for a remapped ECU and a Free Flow Air Filter and maybe a Free Flow Exhaust (read Akrapovic).

So it makers a lot more sense in spending one's hard-earned money on the Pulsar 200 NS as it is "Bang for Buck"; delivers race-track performance as good as the KTM Duke and has touring capabilities close to the heels of the CBR.
If you want the best of both worlds.........go for the Pulsar 200NS

[pulsurge]

Aaaah welcome Reeto Very well said and I agree to most of your points except the performance mods. Upjetting and K&N filter won't raise the performance by much. I know ample people who did this mod to death and the performance vs the money spend were poles apart- also reliability will definitely take a beating. In the end there is no replacement for displacement. And same goes for the CBR and the Duke too- I happened to come across a guy who spend nearly one bike's cost on modifications on his CBR- well he did have 26 bhp making at the rear wheel, but it still got whacked by the Ninjas on straights The quest for power never ends...125 blokes mod their engines to run like a 150, 150 guys to a 180, 180 to a 220...220 to a 250 etc etc etc. Its a never ending loop.

[Reeto]

 pulsurge, on 19 July 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:

Aaaah welcome Reeto Very well said and I agree to most of your points except the performance mods. Upjetting and K&N filter won't raise the performance by much. I know ample people who did this mod to death and the performance vs the money spend were poles apart- also reliability will definitely take a beating. In the end there is no replacement for displacement. And same goes for the CBR and the Duke too- I happened to come across a guy who spend nearly one bike's cost on modifications on his CBR- well he did have 26 bhp making at the rear wheel, but it still got whacked by the Ninjas on straights The quest for power never ends...125 blokes mod their engines to run like a 150, 150 guys to a 180, 180 to a 220...220 to a 250 etc etc etc. Its a never ending loop.

Hi. Just that the cost of modification for power enhancement is more in case of a fuel injected bike like the CBR as compared to a Pulsar 200NS which is operating on a carb. BTW the free flow silencer, carb upjet and K&N had worked pretty well on my RE Machismo 500 but yes it does lead to reliability issues, not worth the effort. I see every other rider pitching hard for the Duke and the CBR but hardly anybody for the Pulsar 200NS which by all means is definitely quick and comfortable to ride on city roads, highways and on the race track. In fact in my opinion, comfort and ease of riding for long hours at sustainable triple digit speeds is what the Pulsar 200NS brings on the plate at a very reasonable price.

[pulsurge]

People will think am biased...hell with it let them think To be frank...ride a CBR and a P200 back to back at same speeds, for eg say 100-120. I know that the CBR isn't as polished as it should be, but the composure of the CBR is just something else. The P200NS can never match that feel. The second instance is stupid and it might be only in my case hence refraining from posting