These are the first few spy shots of Bajaj's blockbuster that’s waiting in the wings, the CS400, seen testing in India. From what we have seen, the Pulsar family has been branching out into new segments with the fully faired RS200 (Race Sport) and the AS200 (Adventure Sport). Now with much awaited CS400 (Cruiser Sport), the Pulsar family is moving towards the power cruiser direction. The low slung and sporty formula has worked wonders for Ducati with the Diavel and the V-Rod for Harley Davidson. The CS400 looks to emulate the same, but will it succeed?
While it is hard to figure out the exact details of the motorcycle from the spy shots, it appears that the CS400 has stayed quite faithful to the CS400 concept displayed at the 2014 Auto Expo. The low-set headlamp gives the motorcycle an aggressive predator-on-the-prowl aura. The tank is muscular with strong creases and knee recesses while the saddle is a stepped, single-piece unit. The rear sports the signature twin-slash LED tail-lamps.
It is a real delight to see that the split instrument cluster shown on the concept has made it this far! On the concept, the handlebar-mounted display showed revs and other information, while the tank- mounted display showed the speed and selected gear. However, it is unclear whether the same format has been carried forward to the production bike. The beefy side-slung exhaust has been retained.
The front suspension is different from that seen on the concept bike; it uses regular telescopic forks instead of the USD units. Bajaj seems to have made this tweak to keep the new Pulsar’s price tag as attractive as possible. The rear shows a monoshock with a piggyback reservoir.
Unsurprisingly, the test bike uses a steel perimeter frame and will come with the motor from the KTM 390 Duke, albeit in a different state of tune. Bajaj could sacrifice some of the power to gain on low-speed ride ability, a sore point with many KTM 390 Duke riders. Nonetheless, power can be expected in the region of 40hp. There are no more details on the CS400 as of now, but you can expect to see it on Indian roads in Q4 2016.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
