TWO BRIGHT!

The new Pulsars are here to liven up your days

- Kartik War

An all-new Pulsar isn’t just a motorcycle — it’s an event. And for the past 20 years, such events have given Indian motorcyclists reasons to wheelie, stoppie and scrape ’pegs in celebration. One such motorcyclist is yours truly; on a fresh winter day a long time ago, the first-gen Pulsar 180 became my very first bike. As such, I am left with indelible memories and a strong instinct for what makes a Pulsar. Which is why I never really liked the bikes beyond the first Pulsar 200 and the Pulsar 220. The motorcycles you see on these pages finally change that.

As the incessant hashtags may have informed you by now, the N250 and the F250 are the biggest Pulsars ever — more important is that they bring back that Pulsar feel. What’s that, you ask? A grunty motor, a short wheelbase, compact dimensions, and an innate willingness to do nothing but have fun. Now, even with an extra 49cc, the Pulsar 250s make exactly the same amount of power as the previous generation. I won’t readily dismiss those who lament this fact since I myself always want more horsepower, but I also won’t dwell on the spec sheet too much — the new bikes also make more torque than before, and the riding experience is obviously more involving than seeing ink on paper.