Another day, another new Pulsar that has been spotted testing. This time, it’s the NS160, and it appears to be getting a new WP USD fork and the same TFT display that we have already seen multiple other Pulsars gaining since August. If this feels really familiar to you, that’s because the elder sibling NS200 was also spotted last month with the exact two changes.
- NS160 is expected to share the 5-inch TFT display with the NS200 and the NS400Z
- Could get more features the updated NS200 is expected to get
New Bajaj Pulsar NS160: What’s not changing?
Most parts are expected to remain unchanged
Based on the images, let’s understand what Bajaj doesn’t seem to be changing with this new NS160. First up, it looks almost exactly the same as the current version, with no apparent changes to the decals, at least not on the Ebony Black colour in the images. At this time, we also expect the motorcycle to retain its 160.3cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. The elder NS200 is purported to get 1hp extra power (claims a Bajaj dealer), and we’ll have to see if that’s extended to the middle child as well. Currently, the NS160’s engine makes 17hp and 14.6Nm.
The N250, NS200 and RS200 were the last three Pulsars spotted testing – in that order. The N250 and NS200, specifically, are expected to get ride-by-wire, proper ride modes (versus the current ABS modes), a quickshifter and traction control. We are uncertain whether these features will reach the NS160 (and the RS200). What we can be certain about is that the NS160 has the 5-inch TFT cluster – which the Pulsar NS400Z was the last to get – and the WP USD fork. The WP fork was also spotted in an earlier test mule of the NS200, but it’s conspicuously missing from the feature set mentioned by the Bajaj dealer. As has been the trend, it’s likely that Bajaj will restrict the TFT display to the highest variant of the NS160. The lower variants could stick to the updated negative LCD screen present on the NS125 and the like.
Bajaj currently sells the Pulsar NS160 at Rs 1.26 lakh for the base variant and at Rs 1.35 lakh for the higher variant with a USD fork. As we’ve seen with other new Pulsars, the company will likely raise the NS160’s price, but we’ll have to wait for the official launch to see the extent of the hike.
Images: motomaniac_2161 via Rushlane