Bajaj Pulsar 250 Price Analysis

Bajaj’s all-new Pulsar is likely to be launched in a few months and here’s how much it could cost

We recently reported that Bajaj is working on an all-new Pulsar, the Bajaj Pulsar 250, to be precise. It is expected to be launched in a couple of months and if you’re wondering how much it would cost, you’ve come to the right place. 

The Bajaj Pulsar 250 will be the successor to the famed Bajaj Pulsar 220F. The 220F has been one of the most popular budget-friendly, performance-oriented motorcycles in the country. However, it hasn’t received any updates over the years. Even the BS6-compliant iteration got nothing else apart from cleaner fuel-injection, instead of the carburettor. It was launched at Rs 1,17,286 (ex-showroom Delhi), which was Rs 8,960 more than the BS4-compliant version. Now, the price has gone up to Rs 1,24,248. Sure, Bajaj updated the instrument cluster with more info in January this year, but we think it still doesn’t justify the premium. 

To compound the 220F’s problems, it looks like the Pulsar 220F is slowly losing its sheen as enthusiasts are now spoiled with several options from TVS, Yamaha, Suzuki, KTM, and even Hero MotoCorp in the 200-250cc segment. This is clear from the fact that despite the industry having gotten back to pre-pandemic sales overall in recent months, the Pulsar 220F averaged around 5,240 units from December 2020 to February 2021 (4,498 units in December 2020, 6,310 in January 2021, 4,938 in February 2021). This is in stark contrast to the 10,000-odd units of the Pulsar 220F sold every month for most of its existence.

Sure, Bajaj offers the performance-packed yet affordable Pulsar NS200, complete with a KTM 200 Duke-derived liquid-cooled engine. But this motorcycle is also a little too long in the tooth in terms of features. So it seems Bajaj has decided to update all its bread-and-butter Pulsars to a brand new generation, starting with the 220’s replacement, the 250.

We already know the Pulsar 250 will have an air-cooled engine with an oil cooler, likely mated to a 5-speed transmission. That said, Bajaj may compensate with several features that we normally wished the Pulsar NS200 got. So while offering torquey performance that’s usually expected from such an engine, Bajaj will also be able to make it tech-savvy enough to appeal to younger riders. 

• Bajaj Pulsar NS200 BS6: Road Test Review
• Pulsar 220F Gets New Colour Schemes For 2021
• Bajaj Dominar 250: Road Test Review

So we could see the Pulsar 250 with modern features such as a projector headlamp, all-LED tail lamp and indicators, and an info-packed LCD instrument cluster. We think smartphone connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation make sense in a modern motorcycle such as the Pulsar 250, but if Bajaj had to cut back on costs, they’d probably do it here. That’s because the whole idea is to keep the new Pulsars cost-effective.

Keeping all these aspects in mind, we expect the Bajaj Pulsar 250 to retail at around Rs 1.30 lakh (ex-showroom). By the time this motorcycle is launched, the price of the Pulsar NS200 is likely to be bumped up from the current Rs 1,33,222 price tag to around Rs 1.38 lakh (ex-showroom). Even at our calculated estimate, the Pulsar 250 will be more affordable compared to its rivals, the Yamaha FZ25 (Rs 1,53,600) and the Suzuki Gixxer 250 (Rs 1,67,700, both ex-showroom Delhi) by a big margin, making it the most affordable 250cc motorcycle in the country. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Representative images used.