It's been two years since Bajaj launched the N250 and the F250, hoping they'd serve as a suitable replacement for the classic Pulsar 220F. Despite being a capable product, the N250 didn't receive the same level of acceptance as the 220F and the sales figures reflected that sentiment. Well, Bajaj has been listening and decided to update the N250. The asking price has gone up by Rs. 800 over the previous model and here's everything new over the existing N250.
2024 Bajaj Pulsar N250 Design and features
The design remains unchanged for the most part with subtle changes that only a true “Pulsar maniac” could spot. The big change is the addition of a USD fork which is finished in champagne gold on two of the three colors. There are two new paint options, one red and one white and Bajaj has replaced the eye-catching copper-color on the engine covers with a gunmetal finish.
The other big change is that Bajaj has replaced the part analog display with a completely digital LCD unit which is also found on the Pulsar N150 & N160. This unit also supports features like Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation.
Additionally, it also allows you to toggle through the different ABS modes and settings but more on that later. My problem with this unit is it isn’t bright enough which makes the dash difficult to read on a sunny day. What makes it more challenging is Bajaj has only provided a single button to toggle through this LCD which doesn't feel very tactile to use. It also takes a good amount of memorizing to execute each input. Apart from these tweaks, the design remains unchanged and the Pulsar N250 looks largely the same as before.
2024 Bajaj Pulsar N250 Ride and handling
The N250 aims to offer a balance of power, agility, and comfort. Bajaj wanted to create a motorcycle suitable for both daily commuting and occasional spirited rides. In the city, the N250 felt nimble and very comfortably maneuvered around traffic. The front feels a little taut but is still supple over bumps and undulations. I only felt a lack of agility while taking sharp U-turns where you notice that the bike doesn’t have a very tight turning radius. The suspension performed comfortably both in the city and at highway speeds. Bajaj has also increased the overall width of the tyre by 10mm but you'd hardly be able to tell the difference. Instead, it adds more to the N250’s overall aesthetic by adding some visual heft to its stance.
2024 Bajaj Pulsar N250 Performance
The motor remains unchanged and so is its performance. Bajaj says the changes have added 2kg to the overall weight but that’s a negligible difference in the real world. The 249cc, single-cylinder motor still produces 24.1hp and 21.5Nm. This motor has sufficient low-end grunt and a healthy midrange but lacks any top-end oomph.
The LCD shows a redline of about 12,000rpm even though the N250 doesn’t exceed 9500rpm. Gear shifts were some of the smoothest I’ve experienced in this class and the light clutch made it effortless to use in congestion. Some might complain about the lack of a sixth gear, but the five ratios here feel well spaced out.
Overall performance is good for the price and the N250 is a bang-for-your-buck type of product. However the N250 does lack some of the drama and engagement I’d want from a sporty 250. This motor will make for a great companion for city commutes and even the occasional short highway run but it;s not the most exciting bike on your favorite twisty road.
The brakes too perform adequately well but stop short of offering the bite and feedback one would expect from a performance-orientated machine.
On the positive side, Bajaj has given the bike switchable traction control which makes it the first 250 to have this feature, including the much more expensive KTM 250 Duke. The N250 always had dual channel ABS as standard, but the system is now switchable by cycling between three modes - Road, Rain and Offroad. The system intervenes moderately in Road, Rain mode gets more intervention and Offroad allows a certain amount of slide before intervening. Traction Control stays on in Road and Rain and can only be turned off in Offroad mode. While you could argue that these features are overkill with less than 25hp, there’s no doubt that it's nice to have the additional protection in the background for a rare case.
2024 Bajaj Pulsar N250 Price, Verdict
The Pulsar N250 was already a good value proposition but the extra features certainly do a lot to dazzle up the bike, although the LCD system left me wanting for more. I didn’t find the LCD usable enough and even found myself missing the handsome semi-digital unit that debuted on the new 250s in 2021.
Overall, As before, this is a very competent motorcycle, but it does things in a bit of a clinical manner and isn’t the most characterful thing out there. On the bright side, you get all this new stuff for a very small bump in price of just Rs. 800. And that makes what was already one of the best value deals in the 250 space even more so now.
Dinshaw Magol
Rishaad Mody
