A Chronicle of Power, Progress, and the Pulse of a Generation

As Bike India turns 20, we take a look back in time at the motorcycle that most of our team grew up with, the motorcycle that democratized performance for the youth of an entire country, the motorcycle that is still breaking records and reaching new heights today

- Story: Saeed Akhtar

LIKE MANY OF MY generation, my acquaintance with the Pulsar is bound tightly to the memory of an autumn evening in 2001. That's when Bajaj’s now-legendary “Definitely Male” ad first flickered to life on our TV sets.

I was still several exams away from my learner's license, but the appeal was near-instant. I remember sidling up to my mother with as much confidence as I could muster, floating the idea that perhaps one of those striking new motorcycles would make a worthy companion for my eventual college days.

She saw through me in a heartbeat. We'd already agreed that a motorcycle was coming my way once I came of age. What neither of us expected was my cheeky campaign for something bigger, faster, bolder than the run-of-the-mill set—precisely what the Pulsar symbolized to a teenager on the cusp of adulthood.

We settled, predictably, on something more practical: a Bajaj Discover 125 with alloys and blue accents, a bike that proved itself far more than just a consolation prize. It was a faithful first set of wheels, my introduction to what would become a lifelong love affair with motorcycles and, by a winding road, a career in automotive journalism. But even as I zipped past on the Discover, the yearning for the Pulsar lingered. It wasn’t dormant. One fresh scrape to the ego, usually from catching a classmate’s Pulsar glinting in the sunlight, was all it took.

Years passed. Eventually, I scraped together enough savings and nerve for a preowned 2008 Pulsar 180. It was mine, in every sense. That was the beginning of an enduring relationship with a machine that’s as much a marker of personal milestones as it is a chapter in Indian motoring history.

A Journey Through Time