Is Bajaj making their pulsar brand redundant?

Bajaj is one of the leading Indian-origin two-wheeler manufacturers in India and the third largest in the world. From dominating the early years of an automotive renaissance in India with Chetak to taking the fight to the Japanese giants in the modern performance-oriented commuter bikes with its Pulsar and NS models – Bajaj has seen it all, done it all.

In the current two-wheeler market other manufacturers are leaning against the sales of their scooters to sustain their profitability – Bajaj, on the other hand, took to the battlefield relying on their Motorcycles alone and kept at it for a long while until the revived Chetak EV came along but that was a flopped attempt and didn’t deter Bajaj from making high-performance commuter motorcycles and kept racking up Pulsar models for its customers.

A Short History Lesson on Pulsar

Bajaj started its journey with scooters by creating brands such as Chetak, Priya and Super in the early 80s and became synonymous with the term scooters in the country that was until Honda stepped into the country with its attractive motorcycles and gearless scooters that created a shift in the market and with time scooters started to fall out of fashion with young enthusiasts started to lean towards more sportily designed bikes Bajaj tried to stay persistent with its Chetak scooter but – chetak wasn’t automatic nor was it designed to look sporty – and few other factors that resulted in declining sales which forced Bajaj to go back to the drawing board and design its very own motorcycle that is both stylish and quick – which gave birth to the Pulsar brand.

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In 2001 Bajaj launched its first model of the Pulsar brand and with time it kept bringing in upgrades to the Pulsar lineup with models such as Pulsar 150, Pulsar 220F and Pulsar 220S (s – for Streetfighter). The Pulsar brand saw a major shift in its lineup with the introduction of Pulsar NS Twins, NS200 and NS160 which was a huge premium offering for the brand and the customers of that particular segment alike, for the time with its perimeter frame and a 200cc motor co-developed alongside the KTM – resulting in instant success for the brand in the segment with its class-leading performance and unmatched price tag.

My Issue with the Pulsar Brand

After more than twenty years since the inception of the Pulsar brand and ten years from the introduction of the NS models – Bajaj’s 3/4th of the lineup is filled with bikes that wear the Pulsar badge in various forms and shapes – Bajaj currently sells 12 different pulsar models and two more are on the way. And I feel it’s getting a bit out of hand.

Models that are sold under Pulsar Moniker

• Pulsar NS200

• Pulsar RS200

• Pulsar NS160

• Pulsar NS125

• Pulsar N250

• Pulsar F250

• Pulsar N160

• Pulsar N150

• Pulsar P150

• Pulsar 220F

• Pulsar 150

• Pulsar 125

Now, I am sure you can feel my frustration with the naming strategy of Pulsar and the number of models Bajaj has cramped under one umbrella and I feel it’s sending the brand into redundancy – I have been a huge fan of the NS models Bajaj makes that competes in the streetfighter segment and seeing so many models wearing the same badge as the more premium offering such as Ns200 slightly repels me from owning one – knowing in the back of my head that some other motorcycle whose purpose is solely to be commuter bike and doesn’t place under the same price bracket.

I am sure this makes me come across as materialistic – but will you be okay with paying a hefty premium for a product that will be collectively recognized with the humbler models- I am not sure, how well it’ll hold onto its uniqueness when in general it’ll be categorized under the same moniker as ten other models.

Sure, Brands like Honda also have a model line that are badged under one or two names such as CB, CBR etc. – but such badges represent a type of motorcycle that is unique to that badge and the brand, unlike Pulsar where Pulsar RS200 a fared sports bike carries the same badge as the Pulsar 150 or P150 that are pure commuters with no redeeming qualities of a performance bike.

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Honestly, with the recent launch of the Pulsar N150 which is being sold alongside the N160 and NS160 with insignificant price variation- I feel the Pulsar brand is getting clustered and borderline becoming redundant – Bajaj needs to work on their naming strategy to not only set apart their performance bike from humble commuters but to avoid imminent confusion and hysteria among potential new customers in the future as there is no sign of stopping from the manufacturer – and two more are on the way. And the stark resemblance between the majority of Pulsar models doesn’t help its case. Surely, there’s a Pulsar for everyone but I am pretty certain that owners of the more expensive models don’t want to be associated with pulsars that are made for everyone.