The timeline of Pulsar

          When you look at the history of Indian Motorcycles, you see that Pulsar has created a revolution sort of thing in Indian Motorcycle Industry or precisely speaking Pulsar has brought the Sport Biking Concept in India that was absent from a long time.

         While that was the time of Hero Honda and Yamaha 2 strokers domination and they were bringing lot of Commuter Bike segmentation to the market with few exceptions, Bajaj was the only company who thought of bringing a bit change to the market and winning the hearts of Indian Bike enthusiasts.

        The Pulsar not only transformed the way Indians commuted, but also changed the DNA of  the country's second-largest two-wheeler maker that till then had successful but staid models like the M-80, the  rear-engine three-wheeler and of course the blockbuster scooter, Chetak.

        ‘Pulsar', a word that’s become synonymous with sports-performance, macho looking motorcycle. This Indian powerband showed & shook the Europeans & Jap’s with their technology & patents. This was competent to last nut & was smashing in every department.

      Bajaj priced the Pulsar very well, a bit low than competition CBZ X-treme & Karizma but with better performance. This was easy on average Indian buyer who would also get the best bike of that time. Another thing was Pulsar was available in wide range starting from 135cc to 220cc.

       Currently there are 5 variants of Pulsar available, with engine capacities of 135 cc, 150 cc, 180 cc, 200 cc(Pulsar NS) and 220 cc. Previously it was also offered with a 200 cc DTS-i oil cooled engine, which now has been discontinued. With an average monthly sales of  around 86,000 units in 2011, Pulsar has a market share of 47% in its segment. By April 2012, more than five million units of Pulsar were sold.  
Making it the India’s Number-1 sports bike.

The Timeline of the Pulsar

2001: The first generation of Pulsar was a runway success. It introduced us to the world of performance. It taught us the words like, bhp, torque, 0-100time and power-to-weight ratios. It was not a just a mode of transportation but was new relation between rider and the bike. The first Pulsar's to hit the market were powered by a 150cc air cooled single cylinder 4 stroke petrol engine which delivered a power output of 11.8bhp. It used a carburettor for sending the air-fuel mixture to the engine and a single spark-plug for its ignition. It sported the dome shaped round headlights and its styling was an inspiration derived from a wide open muscular human arm! The 180cc Pulsar launched after that produced a power of  15bhp and was equipped with electric start as a standard fitment. It was 'Definitely male'.

2002-03: The Pulsar was already the default choice of youth of the Youth. It became the bad-boy of the streets out-selling and out-performing every other bike. It featured Headlamp fairing with twin pilot lamps and the revolutionary DTS-i(Dual Twin Spark-ignition) technology which gave performance advantage over the competition which it still holds. Not to forget it also had engine kill switch. It had 13 and 16bhp for 150 and 180cc models respectively.

2004-05: Each Pulsar upgrade has had 2 aspects to it - styling and technology. The changes were very been significant, each time redefining the segment. Competition was constantly kept on its toes trying to stay at least just behind Pulsar thus keeping Pulsar and the Pulsar maniacs ahead of the curve. UG2 was the first all black Pulsar had many technological upgrades that are till date a part of the Pulsar. It had standard for the industry - 17' alloy wheels Exhaus TEC, nitrox filled suspension. This was where I became a Pulsar maniac.

2006: By this time more than 1 million Pulsars were sold. The 2006 pulsar had the most significant updates featuring the digital speedometer, back-lit switches, self cancelling indicators, LED tail lamps etc. Multiple sensors and the digital console gave the rider a lot of information about the overall performance of the bike and with it a confidence to push forward with additional power.

2007-08 : The first Indian bike to break the 200 cc barrier had hit the road - The Pulsar 200 and 220. Biking in India was set to change and Pulsar was again leading this revolution. While the 200cc sported a carburetor, the 220cc was fuel injected! These babies could dish out undulating power of 18bhp and 20bhp respectively and also boasted of an oil cooler. They came out with split seats, 220 also had both front and rear disc brake and projector head-lamps.

2009-10: 3 million Pulsars were on road by this time. The 150 got clip-on handle bar and 15bhp power in Feb.

2010: All black styling DC Lighting The 180 got a whopping 17 Ps power, split seas, clip-on handle bar, tubeless tyres, O-ring sealed chain etc. 

This period also saw the launch of the smallest pulsar, the 135LS. It had 4 valve DTS-i engine and was also the first bike to have 2 intake and 2 exhaust valve giving it superior performance in terms of both power and mileage. 

During this year the 220 carburetor version was also launched and the fuel injection was discontinued. This also meant an increase in power for the 220 taking it to 21 Ps and a highest in class power to weight ratio of 140 Ps/ Ton. Later a naked streetfighter version of same was introduced along with tanks flaps.

2011: The Pulsar 150, 180 and 220F didn't go through any major upgrades apart from some new color combinations introduced.

2012: This was the special year for pulsar fans. The Pulsar family had already sold over 5million pulsars and all new Pulsar in the form of 200 NS came, showing the all new path. It was world's first triple spark bike and set a new benchmark for bike makers.