New Bajaj Pulsar 220F with a BS4 engine launched in India at Rs 91,000
Bajaj Auto has silently launched the updated Pulsar 220F in India at Rs 91,000Â ex-Thane and on-road at Rs 1.03 lakh, approximately Rs 4,000 more than the older motorcycle. The Pulsar 220F hasn't received an update ever since the move from fuel injection to carburetor in 2010 and two years ago, the company removed the F moniker from the nomenclature as well.
This isn't your regular stickers and stripes update. Bajaj has made the engine a BS4 compliant unit and while we did contact the company for additional details, they refused to comment on what all changes have been made. A source in the know how did confirm to OVERDRIVE that amongst the other mechanical changes, the timing chain has been changed for a quieter operation and power delivery has become smoother and more linear now. It is expected to be more efficient as well. The new Bajaj Pulsar 220F (yes, the moniker is back) still makes 21.05PS@8,500rpm and 19.12Nm@7,000rpm, according to the source. The gearbox is also the 5-speed unit. Other changes include an all-new digital meter with blue backlighting, softer seats, red and black paint scheme, manual choke, red stripes on the black alloys and a black end can.
Rajiv Bajaj in an interview a few months ago, did confirm that the updated range of Pulsars will be out shortly. While there were wide speculations that these Pulsars will look similar to the NS, we can now confirm that this will not be the case. Instead these will follow the changes done on the 220 and be made BS4 compliant along with the aforementioned changes. The Pulsar 220 has always done steady numbers inspite of fresh competition gnawing at its feet from time to time. While its arch rival, the Hero Karizma has now been discontinued, the 220F now battles it out with the Suzuki Gixxer SF (Rs 89,497) and the Yamaha Fazer Fi (Rs 93,070), both ex-Mumbai.