Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 vs KTM RC 200 [2020]

I was excited when I got an email from Bajaj Motorcycles to test their new motorcycle, the Pulsar RS200, at their Chakan test track. And there were two reasons - the Pulsar RS200 and the Chakan track. Over the last couple of months, we have written quite a few articles on the Pulsar RS200 ranging from it being spied around Pune to its name changing from SS200 to RS200. Honestly, I don’t think we have written so many spy pictures story for any another bike like we have done for the Pulsar RS200. It was the most anticipated motorcycle from Bajaj because it was going to open the doors of the budget fully-faired entry-level performance motorcycles. With India’s ever growing young population, the Pulsar RS200 seems to have attracted lot of interest. We take the Pulsar RS200 for a spin at Bajaj’s test track to find out how far it will take the legacy of the Pulsar brand.

Should you be spending around Rs 1.83 lakh on the R15, or put in Rs 26,000 more and go for the bigger RC 200?

This is the new-for-2017 KTM RC200, which like an ignored child, gets very few upgrades compared to the new RC390. Sure, all the 200’s tantrums have forced KTM to give it a new set of clothes. But with that white hue, the paint job looks more like the older RC390’s hand-me-down clothes; only these are altered for the 200’s size. Now, haven’t all the second-born amongst us experienced that, especially when it came to school uniforms?

I was left awestruck the day the images of the KTM RC200 surfaced on the web. I saw the pictures of the RC 390 but they were not as bewitching and enchanting as the ones of the RC200. The high resolution images not only became the wallpaper on my laptop and cell phone, but they left a big imprint in my minda as well. The impatient soul within me felt tranquil while I marvelled at the beauty of the RC 200. I only came to my senses when I was told that I was going to review one of the RC motorcycles. All the drooling, dreaming and waiting for one of the most anticipated bikes of 2014 was going to get over for me. Lost in the gawking, I don't even remember how fast the day dawned and we were at Bajaj's private test track at Chakan to see what it's all about.