THREE'S A CROWD?

The third 125cc bike in the Pulsar lineup the N125 will disagree

- By Manaal Mahatme

Every time Bajaj drops a teaser for a new Pulsar, the most natural thing to do is count the number of Pulsars that are on sale now. With the introduction of the N125, there are 12 Pulsars to choose from, and three in the 125cc space itself - the Pulsar 125, NS125 and the N125.

But Bajaj feels strongly that there's enough room for each of them. And considering the efforts that have gone into making this bike, Bajaj definitely isn't bluffing.

The N125 is one of the best-looking Pulsars in my books. That's also because it doesn't share its design with its bigger siblings, at least for now, unlike the other two 125s. It looks fresh and appealing from every angle. Right from its aggressive headlight, the floating panels flanking the unit as well as on the rear panels and the distinct tail lights, everything is unique to this Pulsar. Yes, I am not ignoring the big plastic fork covers, and though I wasn't a big fan of the idea when I saw the pictures, they don't look half as bad in the flesh. In fact, the small, high-mounted headlight, beefy fork covers, slim profile, tall stance and the flat seat almost gives it a silhouette of a supermoto. Well, maybe that's why Bajaj got us to ride this bike on a go-kart track.

Even though it looks tall, the 795-mm seat height isn't really bothersome because of how narrow the seat is. The moment I sat, all those supermoto-related thoughts disappeared. I was comfortably perched, almost upright, and the footpegs weren't too rear-set, either.