Bajaj Pulsar N125 First Ride Review: Third Time's A Charm?

How much is too much, that is a thought that crosses our minds every now and then. With respect to different things of course. And one such thought is how many Pulsars are too many Pulsars? Well, to be even more precise, how many 125 cc Pulsars are too many Pulsars? Confused? Well, let me tell you that right now, Bajaj has three 125 cc Pulsar models on sale - the regular Pulsar 125, the sporty Pulsar NS125 and the latest, the Pulsar N125, which sits between the two. Is there a really a need of so many Pulsars 125s? What about cannibalisation? All of those questions will be answered in the next few paragraphs!

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Design 

There is no two ways about it! Bajaj did a good job with the way the Pulsar N125 looks. The design is youthful and appealing. The new colour schemes and graphics are quite catchy and will sit well with college-goers and young professionals. The front end especially gives you the look and feel of a 150-160 cc motorcycle. The sharply raked LED headlight along with the chiselled fuel tank and the thick fork sleeves offer a beefy look to the Pulsar N125. Viewed in profile, you see neat lines, an angled rear section, a sleek grab-rail and an underbelly exhaust, similar to the other models in Bajaj's Pulsar line-up. The quality and the fit and finish seem to be good but there are a few areas such as the plastics, where Bajaj could do with a slight improvement.

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Differences Between Base & Top Models 

The Pulsar N125 is offered in two variants - with and without Bluetooth. But there are few more changes. The Bluetooth model gets a digital display, an integrated starter generator along with an idle start stop system. The one without Bluetooth gets a different display, and no ISG along with no idle start stop system. What needs to be noted is that this is the first Pulsar model to get ISG tech. There is a difference of 2.8 kg between the base and the top model on account of the ISG, with the base model being heavier. The colour schemes are different on both motorcycles too and the rear tyre on the base model is 10 mm narrower than the one on the top-spec model. And then there's the USB charger, conveniently placed below the key slot.

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Engine & Performance 

Now Bajaj says that the Pulsar N125 gets an all-new engine and an all-new chassis, that is supposedly different from that on the Pulsar NS125. There is inspiration from the elder sibling, but the diamond-type frame with a single-spine and the engine as a stressed member. The 124.58 cc single-cylinder, air-cooled engine has been tweaked to offer a different riding character, which isn't as sporty as the NS125. The N125 strikes a balance between performance and practicality. The engine makes 12 PS at 8,500 rpm along with having a peak torque output of 11 Nm at 6,000 rpm. Bajaj claims a best-in-class power-to-weight ratio of 96 PS/tonne, thanks to a light kerb weight of 125 kg. 

Thumbing the starter, the N125 takes a while to come to life, and does so with a nice burble. As you put it in the first gear and twist the throttle, there is an anaemic reaction, up till 2,000 rpm and then the motorcycle comes to life and kicks up the dust. The mid-range is strong and bike does well to hold speeds of 60-70 kmph with ease and little to no vibrations. The engine is refined and has enough poke and grunt to make riding it comfortable in the city. The 5-speed gearbox is slick too and the clutch action is quite light. In fact, Bajaj says that the force required to operate the clutch on the N125 is half of what it takes on its rivals. The motorcycle has a top speed of 97 kmph and we did see speedometer indicated 95 kmph on the Mumbai-Pune highway but it does take time and real estate to reach those kinds of speeds. The 0-60 kmph sprint is done in a claimed 6 seconds which is more or less the case.

Bajaj says that the Pulsar N125 returns about 60 kilometres to the litre, 5 kmpl less in the city and 5 kmpl more on the highway, as per standard testing conditions. All things considered, that's decent enough efficiency. With a 9.5-litre tank, you could possibly get a range of up to 550 km.

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Ride & Handling

Now we spent some time riding the motorcycle on a tight and somewhat technical go-kart track and well, we are happy to report that the motorcycle feels nice and agile on its feet, err, tyres! The light kerb weight coupled with a seat height of 795 mm makes it easier to manoeuvre the motorcycle in tight spaces and even on traffic laden roads. The tyres provide decent grip too and the ride while it is a little stiff but it irons out most undulations in a sorted manner. The bike gets 125 mm of travel at both ends. The disc brake up front and the drum brake at the rear make for decent braking too but we think Bajaj could have offered ABS as an option at least. The competition does. The N125 has a solid ground clearance of 198 mm, which is more than enough to take on big speed breakers and broken roads.

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Pricing & Rivals 

The Pulsar N125 without Bluetooth is priced at Rs. 94,707 while the model with Bluetooth and ISG is priced at Rs. 98,707 (ex-showroom). It is decently priced, considering that the NS125 is around Rs. 1.06 lakh and the top-spec Pulsar 125 is around Rs. 97,133. Rivals from other manufacturers, such as the TVS Raider and the Hero Xtreme 125R are priced between Rs. 95,000 and Rs. 1.04 lakh. So, there isn't much difference in prices of sporty looking 125 cc commuter motorcycles.

Bajaj Pulsar N125: Final Say 

The Bajaj Pulsar N125 seems to make a good impression with its fresh design, youthful appeal, good performance and decent pricing. And some may think that Bajaj is overdoing it with too many Pulsar models, but there is a method to the madness. With the kind of variety and pricing that Bajaj offers on the Pulsar and more importantly the Pulsar 125 models, it may very well prove beneficial to have multiple options in the same segment, a strategy that Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India employed with a fair amount of success a few years ago.