ABS is Classic
Attractive Body
Nice performance
The engine construction broadly remains the same, but the RS200 gets a new head and, more importantly, fuel injection, as against carbureted fuel supply in the 200NS. Power rating has gone up by one horsepower, and the RS200 flaunts 24bhp that peaks out at 9, 750rpm. The throttle response is definitely crisper and more instant on this bike, and that’s sort of needed as well - to offset the bulk of about 15-20 kilograms that’s gained in form of the fully faired plastic body work and other technical components like the ABS unit, etc.
Anyway, before I hit the track on the RS200, I was given a crisp download of the product. The bike has undergone some major, and some not-so-major revisions compared to the Pulsar 200NS - the product which the RS200 is chiefly based on. However, all that chatter needs to translate into actual performance advantage - with the RS200, it does.
I’ve not been a great fan of the 200NS - its seating was a bit weird and I wasn’t ever comfortable with the handlebar-seat-pegs geometry. The RS200 gets a shortened rake - so the handlebars are closer to the rider and the entire seating position is biased more towards comfort; it’s more upright than outright sporty. For a bike that’s positioned as a sports product, that kind of works - which is very strange! I guess the design was never meant to offer aggressive riding posture to begin with. The seat itself has good padding - that’s a great thing.
I was riding around Bajaj’s official test track, and around the corners the RS200 felt a bit less entertaining than what I thought it would be - especially because the suggestions from its engine were very encouraging. That leaves you with mixed feelings. Though the chassis balance is quite good, the default suspension setup is rather soft and my heart stopped for a second on one hairy moment I had while leaning into a fast right-hander. I’m sure the ride is going to be quite worthy on regular city roads going at regular city speeds, but if you’d like to enjoy some track riding or want to go knee-kissing around some snaky ghat roads, I’d say you tune the monoshock a bit in favour of handling.
The brakes now - the RS200 is offered in two trims: ABS, and non-ABS. I was on the saddle of the ABS version the whole time, so please pardon me for being unable to tell you any functional attributes of the non-ABS variant. The ABS offered is a single-channel system - that means only the front wheel gets ABS equipped braking.