I’m on the Pulsar RS200, Bajaj’s flagship and the only faired motorcycle in its range. It has been around since 2014, and the last noteworthy update came in 2017, with the arrival of the BS-IV norms. To refresh your memory, the RS200 is summarily the faired version of the NS200 which, in turn, is Bajaj’s spin on a very fun motorcycle produced by its Austrian counterpart — the KTM 200 Duke. However, the RS200 is more than just another motorcycle with a lot of bodywork. It’s seriously fast and capable, although it comes without a professional racing pedigree.
The R15 V3.0 is at the opposite side of the spectrum. Here’s a machine virtually carved out of the asphalt and kerbs of racetracks around the world. It inherits heavily from Yamaha’s legendary racing dominance, and that so much has been crammed into a 150cc motorcycle is nothing short of pure genius. Of course, this had been achieved a decade ago when the first-gen R15 made its début, but that Yamaha has evolved it to offer even more is no small feat either. The R15 V3.0 is a racer’s motorcycle and, going by its utter disregard towards the RS200 (the R15 did take that perfect line first, after all), it wants to win this test.
Swing a leg over
The Pulsar RS200 seats you nearly upright and its clip-on handlebars are raised enough to serve the function of a conventional tubular handlebar. It’s visually racy but quite comfortable to ride. The seat is seemingly more generous, and the footpegs are relatively less rear-set, compared to the Yamaha. The RS200’s riding geometry serves to put you in control, without adding excessive emphasis on your wrists.
On the R15, you have no such concessions. It’s unforgiving in its sincerity towards racetrack-grade handling, and this is evident from its low-set clip-ons and high-positioned rear-set footpegs. The R15 is unapologetically focused and its riding geometry suggests you best use it on a racetrack, or at least on a very fast twisty road. Overall, it’s also visibly narrower and more compact than the Pulsar, clearly displaying its affinity to the racing adage ‘less is more’. Underlining this is its 139kg kerb weight, making it a jaw-dropping 25kg lighter than the Pulsar.
Rishaad is the more earnest of the two of us in matters of track riding and he’s speeding up the enticingly curvy road with sublime precision.
The R15 he’s on is powered by a 155cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve motor, and with 19.3hp at 10,000rpm on tap, it’s no surprise how easily the R15’s tail-lights seem to be accelerating between corners of varying radii.
On the Pulsar, I have the stronger engine — a 199.5cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve unit which produces 24.5hp at 9,750rpm — but weight (the motorcycle’s and mine) is making life difficult. Where the road straightens up a bit, I use the Pulsar’s stronger motor to narrow the gap, but it’s almost impossible to make a pass. Say, it’s a bit too rainy today, eh? Excuses aside, the R15 has a clear edge in this environment, although the RS200 isn’t out of place here at all.
The R15’s six-speed gearbox with a slipper clutch is undoubtedly the best among any motorcycle in the sub-₹2 lakh price bracket, and it adds to the urgent, seamless progress. It’s almost clinically precise and refined in its responses, and it sounds rather nice when being revved to the limit as well. With a 0-100kph time of 10.73sec, the R15 is amply quick to prove entertaining and, paired to the agile chassis, it makes for a terrific recipe for those with racing aspirations.
The RS200 gets a six-speed gearbox, too, but no slipper clutch. The gearshifts are good but lack a level of obsessive precision. In other words, it is possible to miss a gear under hard acceleration; having said that, it’s fast in a very likeable way. Ridden aggressively, the RS200 is a sensory delight, Its mid-range is particularly likeable, but what takes the cake is the strong top-end surge it offers, which is addictive. In the real world, it helps you close the gap to more athletic motorcycles, such as the R15 V3.0, for instance.
In the real world
It’s here that the Pulsar begins to showcase its strengths. Despite being fully-faired and of the same format as the R15, it feels almost like a naked streetfighter in its approach, which is just fantastic. The Pulsar doesn’t require you to have track-trained muscle groups , and it has an energy to it that’s empowering and enabling on the road. It is, like all good Pulsars, terrific for point-and-squirt riding and its street usability goes beyond just its motor, thankfully. It has the bigger brakes of the two — a 300mm disc up front and a 230mm disc at the rear — and also offers a single-channel ABS; our test bike, however, was the non-ABS version.
The R15 isn’t quite versatile. It’s happiest around a circuit or a smooth and winding road, and this is where it really excels. But how long you can enjoy it elsewhere depends on your levels of inclination and fitness.
For a serious (even if on an entry-level scale) handling-focused motorcycle such as this, Yamaha’s decision to leave out ABS is disappointing.
The R15’s braking is still impressive, and ABS would only serve to enhance it, given its obvious safety benefits and the additional braking liberties it allows you to take.
To take a pick is, therefore, simple enough. The Pulsar (₹1.26 lakh – ex-showroom, Delhi) has a few things going against it — the visibly lower levels of fit and finish, its heavier kerb weight, and an overall design that’s overdone and could have been so much better, to say the least — but a lot going for it in the areas of real-world usage. The R15 (₹1.26 lakh) costs the princely sum of ₹100 more, but its list of negatives is longer and has bigger implications on its usability.
All things considered, both motorcycles are also for very different audiences. If you live, breathe and sleep MotoGP, you’ve just got to have the R15. However, if you want to do a lot more with your motorcycle, it’s the Pulsar RS200 that’s more deserving of your hard-earned money right now.
