Will Bajaj launch CS400 or Spring a ‘Mystery Commuter’ Surprise on Feb 1?

When Royal Enfield announced earlier this month that Siddhartha Lal, CEO & MD of its parent company Eicher Motors Ltd, will hold a press conference on February 2, everybody began anticipating the event to be the launch of its eagerly-awaited adventure tourer motorcycle, the Himalayan. Within days of that announcement, another Indian motorcycle maker, Bajaj surprised us by announcing the launch of a new motorcycle on February 1, a day prior to the RE event. However, the latter did not reveal what this new motorcycle would be. 

A few days back, we had reported that Bajaj is launching its highest displacement motorcycle on February 1 - the Bajaj Pulsar CS 400, wherein CS stands for ‘Cruiser Sports’. There are rumours, though, that the Pune-based automaker might spring a surprise by launching its ‘Mystery Commuter’, which has already been spied many times. 

The upcoming Bajaj commuter appears to be a hybrid between the designs of the company’s two popular and polar-opposite model lines - the sporty Pulsar and Avenger cruiser. The front fascia of the motorcycle bears a Pulsar headlamp and fuel tank while the rear end looks closer to the newly-launched Avenger. While clear images are not out yet , we can only hazard a guess about its exact looks. 

From the spy images, it doesn’t seem to be a production-ready version due to its highly disagreeable design - the front and the rear end seem to be out of sync. If rumours are to be believed, the upcoming motorcycle will be marketed as Bajaj’s fresh commuter range and likely have a 125cc to 150cc engine. We expect it will be available in multiple variants in terms of engine capacity - the same strategy Bajaj has successfully employed in other motorcycles.

On the other hand, the Bajaj Pulsar CS400 is marketed as a powerful, reliable, easy to run and maintain machine that can be used for both leisure biking and long tours as well. The price of this first Indian ‘Cruiser Sports’ will be kept under 2 Lac. The motorcycle houses a 375cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder powerplant that is tuned to produce around 32.54bhp of power and 35Nm of torque. The engine will be coupled with a 6-speed gearbox.

Whereas, the RE Himalayan will attract the adventure sports bike enthusiasts of the nation. As per the revealed pictures, the bike is likely to share some of its components with RE Thunderbird and Continental GT. The company has already disclosed all the engine related information and bike will feature the twin cradle frame, which is being engineered in U.K by a chassis specialist Harris Performance. The bike houses newly developed 410cc, single cylinder, liquid cooled engine which is expected to produce around 28bhp and 32Nm and is coupled with a 5-speed transmission. If priced well, this 410cc adventure machine can bring a massive change in Indian two-wheeler industry. 

We are not sure whether Bajaj will launch the Pulsar CS400 or their ‘Mystery Motorcycle’ on February 1, but we are sure that it is part of the company’s strategy to unveil its products ahead of the biggest motoring show of the country, Auto Expo. Both Bajaj and the RE seem intent on crashing the Auto Expo party and hogging as much limelight as possible, as neither is participating in the Expo, in order to better utilise their funds for marketing their products. 

For the latest information on Bajaj’s event, stay tuned.