Ride Fearlessly

With the anticipation building up, all eyes were on the centre stage. In spite of the dim lights, everyone could see the outline of a bike hidden underneath a blue velvet cover. As the music was cranked up. Matiur Rahman, chairman and managing director of Uttara Motors Ltd, took his position beside the covered beast closely followed by Milan Bade, vice president, Bajaj Auto Ltd.

As both men pulled the cover, in front of us were a beast unhinged in his posh and shiny armour; the new Bajaj Pulsar NS160 FI-ABS.

NS160 FI-ABS

The Bajaj NS160 FI-ABS is a premium offering that is positioned a notch above the Pulsar 150, both in terms of pricing and features retaining all the design elements from its bigger sibling, the NS200. One can only differentiate between the two by the NS160's smaller tyre profiles and smaller 240mm front disc. However, it sports the same perimeter frame as the NS200, making it a better handling motorcycle compared to the Pulsar 150.

Engine

The bike uses a four-stroke Single OverHead Cam (SOHC), four-valved, oil cooled, single cylinder, fuel-injected 160.3 cc digital twin spark ignition (DTSI) engine which delivers 15.02Ps of power at 8500rpm and 14.12Nm of torque at 6000rpm.
The motorcycle is suspended by telescopic forks up front and a gas charged monoshock at the rear. The motorcycle sports split-five-spoke alloy wheels shod with 80/100 front and 110/80 rear tyres. For braking, the motorcycle employs disc brakes at both ends and is equipped with single-channel ABS.

Mileage  

As per Bajaj's claim, the two-wheeler has a mileage of 42-45 kmpl. However, test drives has shown the bike scoring around 38-40 kmpl. With a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres, this bike can go up to 540 kms on a full tank. All mileage figures have been achieved under ideal test conditions, the real mileage may vary depending on driving conditions and riding habits of riders.

Features
The NS160 FI-ABS is loaded with class leading technologies like perimeter frame, DTSI engine, underbelly exhaust, Nitrox mono suspension, tubeless tyres and a street fighter naked design making it a staunch sports bike.

In addition, the two special features of the bike include a direct Fuel-Injection engine (FI) for quicker throttle response and an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) to prevent wheel lockups and skidding giving an excellent blend of performance and control to the avid riders of Bangladesh. The hydraulically operated ABS has 2600mm disc at the front and 230mm disc at the rear. The tank can hold up to 12 litres of fuel making it an ideal vehicle for a long ride with confidence.

Colours

The motorcycle is available in four specific colour combinations; a blend of passion red with satin black, pearl metallic white and stain black, glossy pewter grey and satin black, and sapphire blue and satin black.

Price

Pre-booking of Pulsar NS160 FI_ABS started from September 29 at every showroom of Uttara Motors across the country. Deliveries of pre-booking has already started. Uttara Motors has also introduced the Twin Disc version of NS160 receiving overwhelming response from the market priced at Tk 1,86,900. NS160 FI-ABS is available at an introductory price of Tk 2,54,900.

Overview

The bike is a practical sporty commuter with a refined engine and cheaper spares. The NS160 FI-ABS is yet another example of brand segmentation. It is Bajaj's entry-level premium commuter motorcycle that looks like its elder sibling, the Pulsar NS200, but is priced way above compared to its competitors.

The two-wheeler has been launched to draw some sales away from the segment leader like the Yamaha FZ 2.0, Suzuki Gixxer and the Honda CB Hornet 160R.