Babaj Pulsar NS 160 : The day’s traffic miraculously parted as I twisted the wrist on the redesigned Bajaj Pulsar NS 160.
The throaty burble from its short exhausts released a throaty growl before the eye-catching Volcanic Red paint job could register itself in anyone’s peripheral vision.
After three days crawling all over this machine across the varied terrain that Mumbai offers, one thing has become clear – Bajaj has upped the NS 160’s aggressive street fighter game and come up with what the local riders colloquially refer to as an insane ‘ghatak’ (Lethal) machine in the 160cc space.
That was until last week when Bajaj prodded us to launch their updated model, with substantial updates to styling, features and performance – much more than typical graphic updates that get passed off as “new” in this segment.
I got a chance to take it through the paces on city streets, empty highways and on a short stint around Bajaj’s test track near Pune. The end product is a bike that redefines what can be achieved in the 160cc class of motorcycles.’
Babaj Pulsar NS 160 The Street Fighter Look Is Sharpened
The design language of the NS has always reflected a street fighter with its well-sculpted tank, minimal bodywork and an intimidating stance.
The 2025 model pushes this direction further with sharper lines, more attention-grabbing features and an imposing presence on the road.
“Young riders want a bike that’s a statement,” Rajiv Kumar, a senior designer at Bajaj, told me at the launch. “Performance potential should be communicated more directly in the design language of the NS.”
The first thing you‚ll notice is the new angular LED headlamp cluster with droid-like LED daytime running lights giving the RS a unique signature.
The tank shrouds themselves are more sharply creased and the air scoops are larger and aren’t there just to look pretty: they direct airflow to the engine to help improve cooling around town.
I was particularly impressed with the attention to rarely-considered craftmanship details. The stepped seat is even more shaped with increased quality stitching and feeling for maximum aggressive level seating.
A new belly pan is slightly more angular than the old edition, fitting even better into the total appearance and offering improved protection against dirt and flying stones.
“Just look at the tail section,” remarked Vijay Singh, a motorcycle journalist who I happened to meet at a gas stop.
“The two-piece rear light is sans the Biharileave it and the 3D and sharper back cowl make it seem like a far more premium motorcycle when viewed from behind.
Add to that ultra-skinny new fiddly twin-spoke alloy wheels, that not only look fancier, but also shave a few blips off the unsprung weight of the previous model.
The test bike I rode was finished in a flagship Volcanic Red colourway with Matte Black accents – which was a combination that invited many genuine compliments during my tenure with the bike.
Babaj Pulsar NS 160 Performance: The Soul of a Street Fighter
Beneath the more aggressive body panels, the NS 160 gets significant updates to its engine.
Retro history but now with more power Being a retro, the engine might be out of a classic, but it’s a refined unit that suffers in no way for the retro aesthetic – and at 160cc, it’s pretty much in the middle of the modern pack for engine capacity; iar-cooled, it now produces 17.2 PS at 9,000 rpm and 14.6 Nm of torque at 7,250 rpm – up a modest 0.3 PS and 0.8 Nm as compared to the old model, but enough to notice when you’re out there riding.
“We have changed the airbox design and the routing of the exhaust,” said Sanjay Sharma, a powertrain engineer with Bajaj.
“We’ve concentrated not only on peak numbers but it’s about getting a better spread of torque in the mid-range, which is where the majority of riders are actually going to use it.
This pays off when navigating urban roads. On my way to the office, amidst the traffic chaos Mumbai is famous for, the engine’s punch between 3,000-6,000 rpm made getting in and out of traffic gaps a lot easier as compared to the older model I rode last year.
Also worth mentioning is how much lighter the clutch actuation feels – pretty sure lefty hands will be thankful for it on stop-and-go rides.
The NS 160 cruised quite comfortably at triple-digit speeds on open sections of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, never feeling particularly stressed out.
The acid test was climbed and then descended upon whose twisty back-roads near Lonavala, and the eager revving nature of the motor and the positive action from the 5-speed gearbox proved to be engaging to the hilt and gives almost nothing away from the 160cc capacity.
Special attention should be given to the exhaust note —it is deep and mature sounding, unlike the overly loud examples often found in this sector.
“They’ve gotten the tuning just right,” said Rahul Patel, a Pulsar owner I met at a roadside dhaba. “It has premium sound without making your neighbors mad when you start it, in the early morning.”
Chassis and Suspension: Parents Just Don’t Understand decisions and fate,/how you always seem too late, to the fact that we don’t like it that way, you won’t be around long enough Well, don’t worry baby.
Arguably the biggest gains have been made in the handling stakes. The perimeter frame hasn’t been updated but Bajaj has tweaked the suspension, with retuned front forks and a new monoshock at the rear.
Their difference is immediately apparent on the pot-holed highways of Mumbai. Where the older model might have felt harsh over sharp bumps, the new setup soaks up initial hits better and also remains composed during a charging corner.
When I did my test-ride on some of Andheri’s pot-holed ridden stretches, the NS 160 stayed stable where a lot of bikes would’ve had a sudden shift in ideological principles.
Here braking performance gets a significant boost with the bigger 300mm front disc (earlier one was 280mm) and a double-channel ABS has been added as a standard fitment on all the trims.
The stopping power also felt impressive in an emergency braking exercise, when a cab jumped lanes on the Western Express Highway – the system offered good feedback at the lever, without showing too much eagerness as some of the rivals do.
“We benchmarked the braking with bikes a segment higher,” Sharma said to me during the tech briefing. “The idea was to have the type of stopping power that you’d expect from a 200cc premium motorcycle.”
The riding position is spot-on for a good mix of sport and comfort. The clip-on handlebars are positioned at a height that offers good leverage for city hustling without requiring yourself to blindly bend too far forward.
On my long highway trip, I found it to be a nice compromise —sporty enough to feel involved, yet yielding enough to remain painless for both my wrists and back after a few hours.
Babaj Pulsar NS 160 Tech and Specs: A Higher Standard
Tech package: It’s where the NS 160 really sets itself apart from the competition.
The new all-digital instrument cluster can connect to a smart phone via Bluetooth and get turn-by-turn GPS navigation displayed on the screen… something usually reserved for higher priced motorcycles.
“The app integration is incredibly slick,” I wrote after linking up my telephone during a coffee break in Lonavala.
Call and message notifications show up well on the screen and navigation prompts are large enough to read on the move without distraction.
The LED lighting is also looks super cool but is not just there for looks – at a section of the highway which was not very well lit after the sun really went there was a sudden delay in route that meant i ended up riding after sunset so I got to see the headlight in action and it’s really a very bright unit.
The beam pattern is a nice spread and reach – and fixed the biggest complaint I had about the halogen bulb on the previous version.
Other nice touches that round off the convenience of everyday use are a USB charging point hidden near the fuel tank, gear position indicator and a distance-to-empty fuel calculator.
Babaj Pulsar NS 160 Competitive Scene: The Loud Message
Priced at ₹1.36 lakh and ₹1.42 lakh (ex-showroom) for the standard and dual-channel ABS model, the NS 160 is clearly a premium contender in the 160cc class.
This cost will pitch it against the likes of established rivals such as the TVS Apache RTR 160 4V, Honda X-Blade and Yamaha FZ-S V3.
What you are paying for is the overall package which includes the sharp lines, high level of equipment and the polished performance.
While talking to interested attendees at the launch event, I found the design to drive the interest more than anything else.
“It looks like a real big bike, not a commuter bike trying to be sporty,” said Karan Mehra, a college student inspecting a display model. “My gang rides the FZ but this one is ghatak!”
This is exactly the perception that Bajaj SEEMS to be targeting, to make a motorcycle that has outrageous appeal in a segment that is all too often made by mulling with ones heart than by considering the facts.
The NS 160’s street fighter character, along with real performance gains and the new features, make it more of an aspirational product and less just for moving people from A to B.
Babaj Pulsar NS 160 The Verdict On style and substance
Packing up the NS 160 to return to TVS after my three days with it gave a twinge of regret.
In a class that is usually catered to with minor updates and conservative design, Bajaj has a bike which not only looks fly, but has the power to back up its bad boy looks.
The “ghatak” street fighter styling will undoubtedly be the first lure for most buyers, but it is the better powerplant, dynamic ability and equipment manufacturer that will manoeuvre initial interest into customers.
Bajaj has hit the nail on the head by mixing an element of heart with actual value in the riding experience leaving for an end product that feels a bit more special than it should be given its displacement or price.
And for riders who are looking for a machine that is not just eye catching but also fun to ride on a day-to-day basis in the entry-level 160cc category, the new NS 160 is going to be a strong contender to be the street fighter to beat in the segment.