All three quarter-litre motorcycles in this space are closely specced to each other, price and engine output being the only major differentiation
Bajaj has finally launched its flagship model in the Pulsar range of motorcycles- Pulsar 250 in two iterations. The naked one is called N250 while the semi-faired version is named F250. Most of the specifications of Pulsar 250 are on the expected lines as it has been covered vigorously over the last few months.
Pulsar 250 directly competes against its Japanese rivals- Yamaha FZ25 and Suzuki Gixxer 250. Like Pulsar 250, Gixxer 250 is offered in two iterations- naked and semi-faired (SF 250) whereas FZ25 is only offered as a naked streetfighter. The naked and semi-faired iterations of both Pulsar and Gixxer are similar, barring their styling.
New Bajaj Pulsar 250 Vs Yamaha FZ25 Vs Suzuki Gixxer 250
While design is purely a subjective thing, each of the motorcycles mentioned above looks sharp. However, if one wants to opt for a faired look, then FZ25 cannot be the choice. While exact dimensions of Pulsar 250 haven’t been revealed yet, it offers a wheelbase of 1351 mm which is bang in between FZ25 (1340 mm) and Gixxer (1360 mm). Pulsar 250 is also the heaviest among its rivals at 162 kg for N250 and 164 kg for F250.
On the other hand, FZ25 is the lightest in the category. Both Pulsar and Gixxer offer a ground clearance of 165 mm while FZ25 offers 160 mm of ground clearance. Seat height of all three bikes is around the same region from 795 mm to 800 mm. The main difference among these three models is that Pulsar 250 is based on a tubular frame while the other two are based on a diamond frame.
Powertrain Specs & Features
Coming to powertrain, all three are powered by a 249cc single-cylinder SOHC engine. However, Gixxer 250 churns out the highest output of 26 bhp and 22.2 Nm. The reason behind this is while others offer a 2-valve setup, Suzuki offers a 4-valve setup in Gixxer 250.
FZ25 is by far the least powerful in the segment. While Gixxer 250 is paired with a 6-speed gearbox, Pulsar 250 and FZ25 are offered with a 5-speed transmission.
All three motorcycles offer more or less the same amount of features with a few variations. Common features on all three motorcycles include LED headlight, LED taillight and automatic headlight. While Pulsar 250 is the only one to offer a USB charger as standard, it misses out on a fully digital instrument cluster and a dual-channel ABS, like its compatriots.
Price
Coming to prices, Gixxer 250 is the priciest among them with both its naked and semi-faired iterations priced at Rs 1.71 lakh and Rs 1.83 lakh. Pulsar 250 trunks out to be the most affordable in this space with prices of Rs 1.38 lakh and Rs 1.40 lakh for the naked version and semi-faired version respectively.