My perspective of Mumbai has always been skewed by the edges of the windows in a Meru cab. Fly in, take a cab, cover the event and fly back has been my experience of Mumbai, every single time. When Ford India lent us their newest car, charted out a route that covered the Bandra Worli Sea Link and weirdly enough, the narrow by lanes of Bandra I wasn’t really surprised that I was spending as much time soaking up the sights as I did trying to get a feel for the new Figo.

Bright Yellow and Kinetic Blue : reason enough to sway your buying decision?

New Styling

Oh, the new Figo! Clad in pretty yellow, there she was, standing on the cobblestone driveway of the Trident Hotel in BKC. As most first trysts go, I soaked in the flawless radiance of the Bright Yellow Figo, unable to point out any single line or surface that was out of place. The new Figo is definitely a looker, and the new colours : Bright Yellow and Kinetic Blue, should push more of these out of the showroom and onto the road.

The design brief seems to have been ‘muscular, dynamic, strong and proud’ and the grille manages to do just that. The hexagonal contour of the grille is more reminiscent of the EcoSport rather than the older Figo and seems to be a laid back interpretation of the new generation Kinetic Design language we’ve seen on the Ford Evos Concept. The chrome finisher on the grille on either side of the bold Ford logo, is available only on the ZXI and Titanium models and adds a sense of finesse to the front end.

The redesigned head lamps go well with the new hexagonal grille. While the headlamps do contribute to the attitude of the Figo, they also benefit from the increased reflective surface area. Ford says, the visibility has improved by at least 20%. The difference is obvious in high beam and less so with low beam. However, having driven the Figo through the night in Mumbai, we can tell you, the illumination is best in class.

We’re glad Ford decided to sharpen up the rear tail lamps. The ‘christmas tree’ rear tail lamps were walking out the hall of style just as the Figo was being launched. While the tail lamps still stretch half way across the height of the hatch, the interchanged positions of the indicators and the rear stop lights seems to have made a difference.

The inverted ‘C’s add texture to the rear tail lamp..

New Ford Figo Kinetic Blue Bright Yellow Rear Tail Lamps 12

The inverted ‘C’s add texture to the rear tail lamp. The C’s themeselves are composed of a number of parallel lines laid along the C. We like it, nice job Ford! Not unlike the previous Figo, the new Figo’s tail lamp also has some stylized ‘compartments’ which are empty and non functional, but add a beautiful 3 Dimensional feel to the entire ensemble.

New Ford Figo Kinetic Blue Bright Yellow Rear Tail Lamps 04

New Ford Figo Kinetic Blue Bright Yellow Rear Tail Lamps 14

..butch yet sophisticated alloys..

The new alloys are stunning and add to the character of the car. They are butch yet sophisticated enough to warrant your attention. The fog lamps have also been reworked and get the Ford Focus treatment with a slightly stretched back inset around the lamp itself.

New Interiors

colour blocking for the seat fabric..

I have to admit, I was never a fan of the Clay Red dashboard/instrument panel. You could tell it was a last minute ploy to inject ‘zing’ into a car that was otherwise very ‘ordinary’ looking. I’ve seen enough Figos on the road to acknowledge that it did work to an extent and people did after all take to the Clay Red. Ford now has opted for a more sedate and in my opinion, more lovable ‘Riviera Blue’ for its instrument panel. While it was hard to spot the difference at night, our morning shoot brought out the color in all its glory.

The other new addition to the interiors of the Ford Figo would be the steering column mounted audio controls. More famous in the Focus and Fiesta models sold abroad, as well as in most Renaults, steering column mounted controls can be unsettling at first, and dare we say, are more comfortable than conventional steering mounted controls. One would think it’s about the positioning of the controls but I’d attribute it more to the feel from a chunky, tangible piece of plastic with good tactile feedback as opposed to fiddly buttons on the wheel.

The seat fabric on the Figo has always been applauded by the automotive media and the new Figo keeps up the tradition. The seat fabric is new, with improved aesthetics. Ford says ‘colour blocking’, a technique used in the fashion industry has now been used by the folks at the Ford Design Studios to design the seats. Colour blocking essentially is all about using solid colors in minimalist patterns while making bold statements to complete the ensemble.

Improved lumbar support and a new headrest design has increased comfort levels in the Figo. A 154cc compressor runs the air conditioning unit in the Figo and makes its one of the fastest cooling cars in its category.

70% of customers opted to have Bluetooth Connectivity in their Figo, a number unheard of in this segment, in this market

Performance

New Ford Figo, Kinetic Blue, Bright Yellow : Engine 01

We drove the petrol Figo powered by Ford’s 1.2 litre DOHC Duratec engine, which was not unlike its predecessor, peppy and satisfyingly rev happy. Ford says the petrol as well as the diesel engines have been worked upon to improve engine performance for better acceleration and sharper throttle response. We would have to drive the older Figo and the new one back to back to discern any difference. The engine was a gem in most driving scenarios including the narrow by lanes of Bandra as well the Bandra Worli Sea Link. The engineers from Ford suggested the difference would be more obvious in the diesel mill, which is the 1.4 litre Duratorq. These guys were involved in various stages of the development including testing, of the new Figo and attest to the diesel mill’s fantastic drive-ability in the slow moving traffic that perennially hounds the highway on which the Ford Chennai plant is located.

As with most Fords, the gear shift on the Figo is fantastic. Ford says changes have been made to reduce effort required to shift gears.The gearshifts are slick and each shift slots in perfectly. Again, as with most Fords, the suspension manages to find the perfect balance, bestowing the car with good handling prowess as well as this confounding ability to absorb bumps and potholes with ease.

Results of engine calibration more obvious in the 1.4 litre Duratorq diesel..

New Ford Figo Bright Yellow Red Mumbai 04

Mumbai & Bollywood

A Night Drive to remember..

The folks at Ford who masterminded the event deserve a couple of lines of appreciation here. Ford wanted the media to experience the 20% improved visibility with the increased reflective surface of the headlamps and hence, the midnight drive. While we did do that, we also noticed the drive was charted out with phenomenal attention to detail. The Bollywood themed drive took us through various landmarks that you would associate with some memorable moments from Bollywood over the years. The poster shown on the left with all the movies and the places, is up for grabs, all you have to do is drop a comment saying you want the poster and then wait for us to get in touch with you for your address. The drive was flagged off from BKC by Mr. Boneham. Starting out on roads recently scorched by Lewis Hamilton set the proper tone for the entire drive. The route was a mix of different driving scenarios, we traversed the narrow lanes of Bandra as well as the smooth, flat and impressive Bandra Worli Sea Link. The 60 km drive was ultimately, fulfilling.

Verdict

As face lifts go, this happens to be one of the best. Working within the constraints of an existing model, sticking to the principles of Kinetic Design, yet finally putting a car in the showroom that must be perceived as a refreshed take on an established, much loved automobile is no mean feat. The new Figo manages to do just that. The new shades of Bright Yellow and Kinetic Blue are a clever move on Ford’s part. The Bright Yellow seems to be trending this season and is more unisex than other intense colours. Blue on a Ford has always been reserved for their flagship sedans, be it the Aquarius Blue on the Fiesta 1.6 S or the Kinetic Blue on the new Fiesta. Clothing the new Figo in Kinetic Blue adds just a little more aspirational value to a car that prides on the fact the a majority of its customers are youthful first time car buyers.

We doubt existing customers of the Figo have enough reasons to warrant an upgrade to the new Figo, but new customers should be flocking to the showrooms already. While the other changes to the engine, transmission, the interiors should definitely give the Figo brownie points, we think the new Ford Figo will continue to sell for the same reason it has always sold so well. Unquestionable bang for your buck. The appreciable rear legroom, boot space and fantastic ride & handling should keep the competition worried a while longer. Oh, add to the list the new colours too.

Disclosure : Ford India invited Riot Engine for the new Figo media drive. They covered all the related expenses.

There are these moments in life when you have your jaws on the ground but aren’t really sure what you are amazed about. I had one such moment when I saw the video embedded below. Do I fold over double and drop to the ground at the beauty of the sculpted fuel tank on the Diesella motorized bicycle? Or do I gawk at brand Nokia on the tyres and come to terms with my ignorance?

Nokia made tyres, electric cables and gas masks?

The Nokia Corporation started as a conglomerate formed in 1967 as the result of a merger between Finnish Rubber Works, Finnish Cable Works and the Nokia Company. This was the period when Nokia – the name that of actually a small town in Finland – was making bicycle and car tyres, electric cables, machinery for power generators, the M61 gas mask for the Finnish Army in addition to a number of other things. It was in the late 1980s that the tyre business split off into ‘Nokian Tyres’, a company now famed for its winter tyres, with their most recent achievement being that of setting the World’s Fastest On Ice record with a speed of 331.61 km/h in an Audi shod with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 studded tyres.

Lest we put off the purists, we should point out that ‘motorized bicycle’ might be a ‘loose’ term. These machines are better known as bicycles with auxiliary engines and thus ‘Auxiliary Cycles’. Diesella, a manufacturer based out of Kolding in Denmark was famed for its revolutionary engine introduced in the late 1940s, that could be mounted on any bicycle. These engines were fondly referred to by the press as “Den revolutionerende lilleput Cyklemotor” or “The revolutionary Lilliputian Cycle Engine“.

The engine positions and transmission mechanisms varied with each brand of auxiliary cycles. The Diesella had an engine mounted in the inverted position, on the luggage carrier! Power was transmitted to the rear wheels by means of steel rollers. Thanks to the really tall height of the seats, these cycles of this type came to be known as a ‘røvskubber‘ meaning bum pusher, or simply a ‘skubber‘ meaning pusher. The centre of gravity for such cycles was high and before you start wondering about the effects on handling, remember there was the more basic issue of putting the cycle on its stand.

The Diesella had an engine mounted in the inverted position..

Back to the beautiful fuel tank, it would seem the fuel tanks were not made by Diesella itself, but by ‘Brdr. Petersen’ a company that was also known as BP Toys. Yes, a toy maker! Three brothers Svend Aage – Thorkild – and Christian Petersen started out with Brdr. Petersen making some charming toy cars, motorcycles and tractors. While the toy business did fantastically for a period of time, with big names like BP, the London based energy company commissioning BP Toys for scale models of a BP Tanker, BP Petrol Pump and a BP Truck carrying bottles made of wood.

By 1950, the firm was looking to other profitable ventures and soon ended up being a supplier of fuel tanks for Diesella. After the initial batch of 10000 tanks, which were so good, the company is said to have expanded its workforce to 10-12 employees who welded the tanks throughout the day unto the late 1960s.

Sources

1. Jonathan Henning via MNB

2. Lene Bøgh Sorensen What a fantastic image of the Diesella tank

3. veteranknallert.dk Should be your first destination for any info on all things to do with auxiliary bicycle.

UPDATE Click here to read our First Drive Report of the new Figo!

Ford has unveiled the face lift Figo in two new colours ‘Kinetic Blue’ and ‘Bright Yellow’ and we like what we see! Building on the principles of Kinetic Design, Ford has further enhanced the lines on the Figo. A new-look front fascia with a hexagonal grill and redesigned headlamps injects fresh life into the Figo. The headlamps is not just aesthetic. Addressing the customers need for better illumination, Ford has increased the reflective area for better throw of light. Ford says the New Figo also has improved engine calibration to deliver higher acceleration during first few seconds resulting in better pick up. Shifting gears requires less effort.

The most prominent interior design change would be the new ‘Riviera Blue’ instrument panel. New Double Bulb weather strips on doors further reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels inside the cabin.

Steering column mounted radio controls look fantastic, and the entire unit is shared with that on the European spec Ford Fiesta Mk6 and the older US spec Focus ST. The new steering column mounted audio controls are available only on the ZXI and Titanium variants.

Ford also points the seating comfort has improved with lumbar support and head rest adjustment. New 14” alloy wheels on the Titanium variant and wheel covers have also been redesigned for a sportier look. Watch this space as we bring you a First Drive report soon.

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Engine & Gearbox
Ride & Handling
Ergonomics
Instrument Console
Electricals
Design
Verdict
Comments

Turn the key into ignition, thumb the starter, twist the throttle, pop the clutch, hit the tarmac, wring the throttle, up-shift, wring the throttle, up-shift, wring the throttle, up-shift, brake, blip throttle, downshift, take the corner, wring the throttle hard, ride on leaving the engine notes to play catch up with you and repeat until you’re so exhausted you can no longer hold on to the handlebars. That, is the only way to ride the new Pulsar 200 NS.

When you finally get off the motorcycle, you feel this intense buzz inside that makes you wonder if this is adrenaline and if so much of it is good for you. You also realize that you’ve been riding faster than you normally would and that you’ve been working the gears hard. That isn’t to say that the 200 NS cannot trundle along at sedate speeds in a not so optimum higher gear, it’s just that it would be a waste of potential. The 200 NS’ triple spark, 4 valve single cylinder water cooled engine is the most fantastic piece of machinery to wear the Bajaj badge that calls for an extra pair of eyes, one for the road and the other to feast on how quickly the needle shoots across the little white bars on the tachometer dial.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. A new power plant in a new chassis and what less can one expect? Blistering performance coupled with the kind of maturity I simply cannot come to terms with. It wasn’t so long ago we had the brute of a Pulsar 220 DTs-Fi on the market and a number of things have happened since then and bang – we have a fresh-as-the-first-light-after-a-rainy-night motorcycle that has been engineered ground up.

This newfound Road Runner-ish ability to rev to the red line really fast had us dredging out the technical specifications..

‘It kind of creeps like a teenage boy outside a girls dormitory…’

Triple Spark

The ‘flame front’, which is the leading edge of the flame that starts from the spark plug and propagates through the air-fuel mixture, has to reach the entire volume of the cylinder to ensure complete combustion, in the short span of time reserved for combustion in the cylinder. To put things in perspective, at 2500 rpm the piston takes around 1/80th of a second to execute the power stroke and at 6000rpm its takes less than 1/200th of a second!

Manufacturers have employed various methods to ensure this happens. The first step would be to use a four valve setup which allows the spark plug to be positioned bang in the centre allowing for a symmetric flame front path that has to travel equal distance in any direction. ‘Swirl’ing the mixture as its enters the cylinder through the inlet is one of the other methods to improve the combustion at the cost of turbulence. ‘Squishing’ the mixture towards the centre, nearer the spark plug, is another method to ensure complete combustion.

Alfa Romeo, one of the pioneers of twin spark plug setup, preferred using the twin plug setup over the much more expensive four valve design in their cars like the Alfa Romeo 75, 155 and 164 in the late ’80s. More recently the Honda Jazz i-DSI used a twin spark setup.

The flame front during combustion of a leaner fuel mixture has a slower propagation rate than a richer mixture. A twin/triple spark overcomes this limitation ensuring better combustion with leaner mixtures leading to better fuel efficiency and cleaner emissions.

Bajaj has used a pent roof design for the cylinder head, which allows for larger valve area. In addition slight squish bands have been designed in to improve combustion. The DTs-i design beats the point of having a pent roof design with four valves, and the choice to have a central plug would have been the most obvious one. The additional slave plugs should give the benefits that DTS-i tech has given Pulsars of the later half of the decade. Triple spark technology should be most effective at part load conditions when it will ensure optimum combustion. Bajaj says combustion in a triple spark engine is 27% faster than a twin spark and 50% faster than a single spark engine.

Was a third spark plug really necessary or could there have been alternate methods, like the multi-spark ignition with one plug per cylinder in the Ferrari F12 berlinetta, is a topic that will always be debated.

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS engine on display at the unveiling

Two plugs here..

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS engine on display at the unveiling : Top View

..and one more here

Six Speed Gearbox

Engine & Gearbox

The 200 NS mill is fueled through the 33 venturi UCD33 UCAL carburettor, larger than the carb on the Pulsar 220 DTs-i, the fastest Indian. Of the carburettored motorcycles in the country now, the 200 NS has to be the most delightful to do the blip-downshift routine on. Putting aside the sense of accomplishment every time you pull it off successfully the momentarily orgasmic (we’ll come back to this again) notes from the exhaust when you blip the throttle are reason enough to do it, every single time. This newfound Road Runner-ish ability to rev to the red line really fast had us dredging out the technical specifications of previous Pulsars. While a spec to spec comparo would be largely irrelevant we can tell you this engine is short stroked compared every previous iteration of the Pulsar, including the 135 LS.

Four valves in place of two have the benefit of being physically lighter and smaller. 4 valves also result in a larger valve curtain area resulting in increased flow of air/fuel mixture and improved evacuation of exhaust gases. 4 valves are also what make good high revving power plants.

Engines can be either oversquare, square or undersquare depending on their bore:stroke ratio. The Pulsar 200 NS has a bore: stroke of 1.46 which falls in the oversquare territory. Oversquare engines are said to be far more reliable, more hurried, and good at making power at the higher rpms and not so good with low down torque. There is also the other camp that says while this may have been true before a decade or two, these assumptions are largely irrelevant now thanks to the advancement in engine design.

After time spent with the 200 NS we are not sure where we stand on the undersquare vs oversquare debate. The 200 NS revs lightning quick, makes its peak power of 23.52 PS @ 9500 rpm and maximum torque of 18.3 Nm @ 8000 rpm and also has a healthy mid range. While she could pull comfortably from as low as 28 kph in 6th gear, which assures us of good low end torque, getting her off the line from standstill was not something I could get comfortable with. A fast start is ok; you have your revs pinned at 4k rpm, pop the clutch and off you go. In everyday situations where you have Uncle, Aunty and their kid on the generic beige coloured scooter alongside you at the traffic lights, you really do not want to give them a reason to label all bikers as maniacs. In this scenario, when you feed in the throttle and let out the clutch you cannot help but feel slightly uneasy at least until you hit 3000 odd revs. The NS moves, no doubt about that but it doesn’t do it with confidence. While I’ve been trying to put this in words over the last three days, I stumbled upon Chris Harris’ Living With the McLaren MP4-12C video where he has the perfect analogy. ‘It kind of creeps like a teenage boy outside a girls dormitory…’. Past the four thousand rpm mark, I have to admit I lost all hope in mankind, realized people will judge me anyway, and wrung the throttle to the stop. Uncle and Aunty might have labelled me a maniac, but the kid surely must have had a smile plastered on his face! Scouts ‘Good Deed for the day’ complete!

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design : Cylinder Head with the UCD33 Carburettor

When the Pulsar 200 NS gets going, it gets going. The revs climb quickly and the limiter doesn’t kick in until 11,000 rpm and that’s more than what the distant cousin KTM Duke 200 can do! There is no discernible mechanical difference from when the crankshaft is spinning at 4k rpm or at 11k rpm. The vibration, if you notice any, remains consistent through out, but the noise from the exhaust rises in increments in tandem with the rise in the revs.

Unless you are getting on the 200 NS from a Duke 200 or a wild child two stroke from yesteryear, you’d be shocked at how fast you are astride the NS. The 200 NS can hit 90 in the blink of an eye and is only a little slower hitting the 110, 120 kph mark. I bet you all the crisp notes in my wallet that your guess-timate of how fast you can hit 80 on the 200 NS would be completely off the mark. She’s just that quick. It doesn’t help that there’s no drama characteristic of all Pulsars getting to the ton. If the 220 DTs-Fi was Hulk, the 200 NS would be a stealthy, efficient, scarily quick Ninja, only clad in leather!

Now back to the bit where I said momentarily orgasmic notes, well, the 200 NS cannot hold a candle to the 220s and the last gen 200 in the aural stimulation department. As Shumi once pointed out, any bike sounds good when you blip the throttle when downshifting, and the 200 NS lives up to the statement. The rest of the time though, the Ninja like stealth and speed is what will grab the edges of your lips and drag them all the way to your ears, not the exhaust note.

combustion in a triple spark engine is 27% faster than a twin spark..

You will have trouble finding the choke unless you know what you are looking for. The choke is a metal plate on the left side of the motorcycle, in place of the usual pull-push knob we seen on previous Pulsars. On the 200 NS you pull the choke, and then tap it back into place.

We weren’t paying any attention to the gearbox until a friend popped the question of whether good as that on his FZ. I realized that the NS gearbox is so good at what it does, that I had been completely oblivious to its presence. If you’ve owned a Pulsar you know the gearshift becomes noticeably rougher with each passing hour, when you ride nonstop. Riders have bypassed this problem experimenting with different engine oils. Some found the sweet spot with the Motul 5100T some with the Motul 300V and some seem to be having just enough fun with the Castrol (before Bajaj brought out its Bajaj DTS-i 10000) from the barrell at Probiking.

The 200 NS we believe will have no such issues. The gearbox is slick, finding neutral is easy and we did not experience any false neutrals during our week long stint with the NS. Clutchless up-shifting is a breeze, the cogs fall in line like hot knife through butter, pardon us for the cliche. Downshifting is smooth, but you might have issues letting out the clutch smoothly. Downshifting on the NS works best when you blip the throttle, and slot the lower cog, a technique we sincerely suggest you work on.

Ride & Handling

The steel perimeter frame on the Pulsar 200 NS has thrice the lateral stiffness than the double down tube on the Pulsar 220, and the rectangular section swingarm has a lateral stiffness that is 50% more than that of the 220.

Ride quality on the Pulsars has never been anything less than fantastic, and the 200 NS is no exception. The 200 NS flies through pot holes with abandon. The 220 and the 200 though had marginally better ride quality a price we pay for the fantastic handling on the 200 NS. I strongly believe we would have been waxing eloquent if we had taken the 200 NS to the track, something we intend to do soon.

The Pulsar 200 NS’ suspension is firmer than all previous gen Pulsars put together. The NS is easy to tip into corners, planted enough to inspire confidence in the rider and undeniably, looks good while taking those corners. Anybody who has ridden previous Pulsars will tell you the family’s strength is straight line stability and the weakness, the bull headed stubbornness to change direction. The 200 NS will change all that. The 200 NS is quite flickable and changes direction as any modern day motorcycle should. Unfortunately, what’s also changed is the straight line stability. The 200 NS is as good as its peers on the market today at holding the straight line, but when you compare it to its older siblings, you wonder if it’s just as good.

You would think the new found agility and lackluster straight line stability would be courtesy of the shortened wheelbase, as we have seen astride the Apache RTRs. Surprisingly, no. The 200 NS has a wheelbase longer than the 220 by 13mm and stands at 1363mm! The engineers at Bajaj have mastered the black magic of chassis design and have played with the rake and trail to achieve the balance.

Having sworn loyalty to the fantastic soft rubber on the recent MRF Nylogrips, we found it hard to be convinced by the capability of the Eurogrips shod on the 200 NS. A vast majority of riders should be comfortable with the Eurogrips, noticing no discernible requirement for better rubber. The enthusiasts who feel the need for something better will swap their tyres once they have stripped the current rubber of its chicken strips and treads.

The Perimeter Frame

The perimeter frame, better known to us the twin spar frame is a huge leap for Bajaj from the double cradle downtubes the company has used for years now. We thought a little history, and tech talk were in order.

The GP Kobas built by Antonio Cobas, Image Source

The twin spar, believe it or not, was born out of the need to accommodate larger engines when the common steel backbone frames required too many adds-ons to hold the engine. Antonio Cobas is considered to be the father of current day twin spar frames when he built the first twin beam aluminium frame housing a 250 Rotax engine for the Grand Prix.

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A twin spar frame provides easy access to the spark plugs, and carburettor, a big advantage in racing. The twin spar is also easier and less expensive to design, engineer and manufacture compared to say an equivalent trellis frame. The perimeter frame has allowed Bajaj to use the space around the engine efficiently, packaging the exhaust in that space, not a possibility with the double down tube frame.

Not unlike you, we were also wondering if Bajaj could have taken things a notch further and used aluminium in place of steel for the frame. While the weight savings would have been substantial, it would have driven the costs up. Steel has a higher fatigue strength than aluminium, meaning longer life. In addition aluminium does not have a ‘true endurance limit‘ meaning, regardless of the amplitude of stress, if aluminium is subject to enough stress cycles, it will suffer fatigue failure. Engineers have to take this into account and design the frame to ensure it has a substantial life span. All this would drive the expenses in only one direction-up.

The Yamaha R15 uses a steel deltabox, while the bigger siblings use aluminium.

The 200 NS flies through pot holes with abandon

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS : Rectangular Section Swingarm

Rectangular Section Swingarm, (Above) Steel Perimeter Frame

Petal disc with Bybre Calipers (Above) Eurogrip Tyres

when you countersteer the NS into a corner, it feels just right..

Unobtrusive saree guard

Ergonomics

The saddle height on the 200 NS is slightly higher but not so much as to be uncomfortable for most riders. The saddle height is perfect when you’re on the move giving you a fantastic perch on the 200 NS. The mirrors provide optimum views unlike the 220, but the we noticed a slight distortion at the edges of the mirror which was disconcerting on the move. Cost cutting?

Cold air from the front passes through the radiator, over the jacketed cylinder and the now considerably warm air flows out through the functional air vents on the side panel which are positioned just slightly below your thighs. Not an issue you will notice most of the time, but caught in really bad traffic jams, you might just decide it to be the most opportune moment to thank your denims.

The handlebars are a joy to hold on to. The feeling is most intense when you countersteer the NS into a corner, it feels just right. The handlebars are still clip ons, but are designed to be idiot proof and will not have amateurs throwing their body weight on their wrists. The grips of the handlebar are of optimum length, with not too long bar end weights, and are also soft enough that you won’t have callused skin on your thumb, if you ride without gloves.

The pass switch is a bit of a reach when you have your thumb on the horn, which is most of the time, at least in the city. The indicator is of the push to cancel type, and could have been slightly larger. The switch is perfect when you ride without gloves, but put your gloves on and you do not get enough feedback and you have to look down at the console to see if the indicators have been activated. We also did not like the fact that Bajaj’s ‘current’ flagship did not come with self cancelling indicators, a luxury cannot live without once you get used to it.

The Mode and Set buttons on the console are also slightly hard to operate requiring a bit too much pressure.

The side stand is of the most perfect dimensions you can imagine and putting it down while still in the saddle is something you’ll do with style. You do not get the main stand as standard, it is an optional extra.

Instrument Console

The Pulsar gets a clock in the instrument console, finally. The console is a simple, stylish affair with just the most essential info on display.

The newer addition is also the service reminder icon that pops up at 450km for the first service and subsequently for every additional 5000 kms. The service reminder icon can be reset by the rider too.

The Coolant Temperature Indicator blinks when the coolant temperature rises above 115 °C something that never happened when we were crawling through traffic. The Low Oil Pressure indicator of course, blinks when you need to top up the engine oil.

There’s also the new Side Stand indicator which won’t stop you from cranking the engine, but will glow in danger red to indicate that the side stand needs to be put up.

A gimmicky Bajaj logo glows Blue all the time, our only ( yes, only) complaint being it should have been a lighter shade to reflect the actual Bajaj blue.

The chrome ringed orange light at the top is dual functional as with previous Pulsars. It glows when you are whipping the engine beyond the 10,000 rpm or when your fuel level drops to reserve. Of the 12L tank capacity, reserve on the Pulsar 200 NS is about 2.4L of which 0.2L is not usable, preventing air lock we believe.

Electricals

At the unveiling of the 200 NS in Mumbai, Bajaj suggested the headlamps would be 35W, surprisingly though, by the time the NS was rolling off the assembly line, the headlamps were swapped for 55W units. Full DC electricals mean the illumination is constant regardless of the throttle position. The beam spreads out and the intensity is uniform. The high beam is fairly functional.

The Pulsar 200 NS uses a totally sealed VLRA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) battery which is compact compared to conventional lead acid batteries. The VLRA unit does not require top ups, there is no chance of electrolyte spillage and more importantly it can be mounted at any angle. Bajaj in its quest for the most compact package decided to use the space underseat and the mounting surface is slightly inclined, and a conventional battery would have posed the risk of spillage if mounted on such surface.

The miserable single horn makes you want to push the bike into a pond and wait for the electricals to die and the horn to croak to death. The pitiful horn goes ‘beep’ and people do not grasp the reality of the situation that it is this screaming monster clothed in Blue that just rolled up behind them that’s making the noise. A better twin horn setup as an optional extra at least, Bajaj?

For those of you who have been worried about the low slung exhaust and its effectiveness after a wade through the flooded roads of our metros during the monsoons, here’s some assurance.

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS : 55W Headlamp at Night

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS : 55W Headlamp at Dusk

Colors Available

In addition to the Blue we tested the 200 NS also comes in Yellow, Black and Red. You might want to drop by the Bajaj showroom before selecting your colour as the Black and Yellow have a slightly different finish.

Design

Hard to believe that the signature Pulsar tank has been around for ten years now. Designers at Bajaj were given a clean slate this time, without having to work their design around the signature tank. The actual tank is now hidden underneath the layers of plastic panels. The plastic surface around the tank should put off riders who prefer magnetic tank bags but shouldn’t be a deterrent considering you have suction based bags available.

The forward crouched stance is accentuated by the tight packaging of the engine in the perimeter frame. The Pulsar 200 NS is not unlike a crouching predator with all the muscles tense, in a feral display of the potential for strength, or in our case, performance.

The pilot lamps, which are now a signature design characteristic for Pulsars have been shrunk, narrowed, and positioned just beneath the actual headlamp. The headlamp is a strong design element that distinguishes this Pulsar from the previous generations, yet bears resemblance to a number of other bigger naked bikes.

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design Sketches : Headlamp, Taillamp

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design : Rear footpeg

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design : Number plate

not unlike a crouching predator..

More Design Images Hide

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design Sketch : Engine Cover

Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS Design Sketch : Key, Instrument Console

Is the NS worth the sticker price?

Verdict

There hasn’t been a motorcycle in the country that has had to carry unwanted baggage like the Pulsar has had to. Ask any misinformed motorcyclist to review any Pulsar and he will put down the negatives as ‘handling’ and ‘reliability’ regardless of whether he is penning the review before or after riding the bike. While it is fair to say that the Pulsars of yesterday lack the endurance and the handling required to put in lap after lap consistently at the race track, it is ridiculous to say the handling wasn’t good enough for the street or the highway. Legions of Pulsar Maniacs who have delighted us with their weekend stints at Lavasa should stand testament to this.

The new Pulsar 200 NS is the addition to Bajaj’s arsenal that will set the record straight in the handling department. The 200 NS beneath all the extremely styled complex surfaces and lines is a very mature motorcycle engineered to be fantastic, regardless of what you throw at it.

Is the 200 NS worth the sticker price? We think so. A shared bottom end with the KTM Duke 200, better fuel efficiency than the Duke 200, build, fit and finish like we’ve never seen on a Pulsar before and fantastic all round capability characteristic of Pulsars, make the 200 NS a worthy expenditure.

I do feel a pang of sadness though, when I realize that future generations of Pulsar owners will no longer do the chicken dance, or conduct week long seminars on engine oil grades and JASO rating. They will not have the need to find innovative ways to put to use double sided tape or delve into the depths of the mechanics of brake calipers and disc pads. When you ride a Pulsar you do manly stuff like standing up for your Pulsar when she’s just seconds slower than a lower displacement Apache RTR or decades old Karizma on the track, a privilege that shall be denied to Pulsar 200 NS owners. The new Pulsar 200 NS is just that good.

Review by : Pradeep Mohan

It has been a while since I last contributed anything to Riot Engine and that has mostly been due to the fact that I was out of the country for a very long time. In the meanwhile a number of developments have taken place in the automotive world but for now I am interested specifically in the murky happenings of the MotoGP world. I am self confessed fan of all things automotive but I am very, very partial to two wheelers and more importantly to two wheeler racing even though like all good motorsport enthusiasts I will watch any form of motor racing. No not any form, I mean if someone were to conceive of a lawnmower racing championship, that would not interest me, most definitely. But closer to reality, I am not too thrilled by go kart races though they are the foundation of all racers of the future and all that but I will watch them when they have made it to proper cars as racers. But I digress. This is all about the one form of racing that has always been the closest to my heart. MotoGP. When I was young and when there was no internet and when there was only Doordarshan and when there were only news magazines or specialist magazines dedicated to the gossip of tinsel town, news about motorsport was very, very hard to come by. In those days I think some motorsport enthusiasts travelled abroad and bought various magazines such as Car and Driver, Motorcyclist, Cycle World etc and once they finished reading them they sold them to second hand magazine sellers. Inconceivable in this day and age but very much the reality just about 20-25 years ago. That is when automotive and motorsport enthusiasts regularly visited the second hand magazine sellers and begged them to keep any of those magazines if they came by and in order to meet the prices quoted by the sellers we had to go home and cajole our parents and if that did not work we threw tantrums and when even that did not work just threatened our parents that we would leave the house and runaway. It was in this way that people like me (and there were many) collected and treasured motorsport and automotive magazines and sometimes they would be a few years old. Then there would be the occasional film like Turbotime which we all watched everyday for all the days that the movie showed in cinema halls.

Eddie Lawson on a Yamaha YZR 500

Kenny Roberts Sr or King Kenny also on a Yamaha YZR 500 but with a different livery

In this situation of deprivation, information that we hunted for and procured made us feel very proud of ourselves. Many of us broke up into camps and started supporting different drivers or riders and different constructors of cars and bikes. So there was this time when a friend and I argued about who was better; King Kenny Roberts or Eddie Lawson? Yamaha or Honda? Little did we realize that we were arguing about people whose careers were over (Roberts) or were in the process of getting over (Lawson and Wayne Gardner). Then Star TV happened and brought Prime Sports along with it and showed MotoGP races live. That was every young man’s wet dream come true. As we watched Eddie Lawson and Wayne Gardner fighting with younger rivals or when we saw Wayne Rainey (still my all time great hero) fight injury to defeat an up and coming Mick Doohan, the saliva just drooled and dribbled. Lo and behold finally we were in a position to see the real and the full monty.

Wayne Gardner on the Rothmans liveried Honda NSR 500

The 1990s will be, for people like me, the ultimate period in MotoGP history. Wayne Gardner was still around though on his last legs as was Eddie Lawson, and there was the great rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz (the only rider who really gave Suzuki a place under the sun, even ahead of the great Barry Sheene) and the emergence of new talent like that of Doohan. Commentary was all about how the Yamaha was sapping more power since it had twin cranks and the Honda had only one. Then there was all the talk of shift from the screamer (even firing order in cylinders) to the Big Bang engines (uneven firing order). Then Wayne Rainey in order to make sure that he would get his fourth consecutive world title rode like hell only to fall (an innocent looking low side compared to the more spectacular high sides) at Misano and become paralysed chest downwards. With the loss of his great rival, Revvin Kevin lost interest and retired and that left Doohan as king and he reigned uninterrupted for 5 years. But those five years were all not very happy.

Doohan was riding for the Rothman Cigarette sponsored Honda team and with the ban on tobacco advertising due to kick in factories scurried in different direction in search of new sponsors.

Mick Doohan on the Rothmans Honda when he was second only to the great Wayne Rainey

Honda found the Spanish oil giant Repsol, a partnership that continues till today. But Repsol wanted a Spanish rider in the Honda factory team and therefore Doohan found himself in the company of one Alex Criville. Most people don’t remember the man simply because he was nothing great. He did not do anything particularly well; except for one thing. He could stick to the tail of Mick Doohan like a rail car would to the locomotive and after a while Criville was able to overtake the locomotive every once in a while and win a race, something that incensed Doohan.

Doohan had a very capable crew chief Jeremy Burgess who had trained under the legendary Erv Kanemoto who was a tuner and crew chief par excellence. Doohan and Burgess formed a tag time and pressured Honda into allowing them to take on new challenges. So the screamer engine was back for Mick Doohan and Michelin was forced to make tyres that not everybody could use. Doohan liked challenges and loved meeting them and in the process immensely enjoyed grinding his opposition into the dust.

But Criville was made of sterner stuff and every new challenge and difficulty that Doohan decided to take on drove him closer and closer to accidents. Doohan crashed at Assen and lost the ability to move his foot up and down, but undeterred he made Honda give him a bike that had the clutch and the brake for the rear wheel on the left side of his handle bar. This crash was followed by a spate of crashes and finally Doohan looked like a robot who had been put together a la Frankenstein. And when the body could not longer keep up with the spirit, he called a day. But the Doohan era is important, for here was one man who made up for the mediocrity of the rest of the field in order to throw new challenges to himself and the audience always wanted to know what was next. There was only one little thing that Doohan did not do. And that is ride for Yamaha, despite Wayne Rainey trying to coax him to do so many times. Doohan never tried a bike other than the Honda much as Rainey never tried any bike other than the Yamaha in MotoGP (he did ride for Kawasaki in the AMA Championship) and Kevin Schwantz only flew the Suzuki flag. The interesting thing is that while all these were racing together it was not just rider vs rider but also brand of motorcycle vs another brand of motorcycle. With the disappearance of the Americans from the grid, this changed.

MotoGP increasingly looked at the 125cc and 250cc riders to graduate to the 500cc class and this meant that the championship was becoming increasing European and Spanish and Italian at that. The Rainey’s, the Schwantz’s and the Doohan’s came from Superbikes, from four strokes to two strokes. MotoGP began to lose its sheen as it turned more and more Spanish and Italian and in the 125cc and the 250cc classes even the factories were Italian with the exception of Honda. This increasingly European MotoGP started to look less and less convincing as a World Championship and that is when Honda the king of motorcycle racing played its master card. It forced the FIM and the promoters Dorna to scrap the 500cc two stroke class and asked for the creation of a new four stroke MotoGP class. It also took pains to bring in riders from the USA (a very important market for Honda) and that is how Nicky Hayden ended up in MotoGP. MotoGP going four stroke also attracted newer players such as Ducati and Kawasaki and once again there were attempts to bring riders from the USA, Japan, New Zealand and Australia to give MotoGP a truly global face.

The introduction of the four stroke class was excitement in itself. There was talk of different configuration of engines and Honda created a V5 while Suzuki created a V4 and Yamaha and Kawasaki created in line four cylindered engines. Talks about the firing order were once again resumed and there was chatter among fans of cross plane crank Big Bang versions of the four stroke engines and their advantages over the regular screamer engines. In addition slipper clutches were introduced and there was plenty to talk about and it looked as if MotoGP was on its way to glory. Then Bridgestone decided to challenge the supremacy of Michelin and new war became part of MotoGP. Apart from the traditional three of Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki newer factories in the form of Kawasaki, Ducati and Aprilia also joined the series.

Hopkins on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR 800cc

Along with Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards, John Hopkins also stepped into MotoGP from Superbikes. Casey Stoner, Gary McCoy from Australia, Akira Yanagawa and Daijiro Kato from Japan joined the Italians and Spaniards. Aprilia was racing a three cylindered bike.

Kenny Roberts was building his own V5 engine with the help of Tom Walkinshaw racing that had expertise from the Arrows team in Formula1 and the motorcycle was called the Proton KR V5 and Kurtis Roberts did the initial testing and riding.

It was a story that should have gone very well. It should have made MotoGP the most enduring and loved of all motorsports if not of all sports itself. Valentino Rossi emerged as tremendous character with oodles of talent and spontaneous sense of fun to celebrate his ever increasing number of victories. Yamaha that had not one a race in years, leave alone a championship poached the charismatic Rossi who had inherited Mick Doohan’s old Honda team from Honda. And history was made. Rossi became the first ever rider to win two consecutive races on two different makes of machinery having won the last race of 2004 on a Honda RC211V and the first race of 2005 on a Yamaha M1. He transformed Yamaha into a world championship winning team.

It was all hunky dory till for some strange reason Dorna decided to emulate Formula1 and cut the engine capacity from 990cc to 800cc.

Thus began the most secretive phase of MotoGP where factories invested billions of dollars in electronics (now how strange is that) to make the 800cc’s go fast. More electronics also meant that the role of the rider and his style began to count for less and suddenly from being a vibrant championship MotoGP became some kind of a game played by robots. Then came the economic recession of 2008.

By now Aprilia had left citing financial reasons. Post 2008 Kawasaki left citing the same financial reasons. The argument was that it made no sense to invest zillions of dollars in electronics that would be of no use on road going motorcycles. Sponsorships began to dry up. KTM finally never made into the MotoGP category. Michelin left MotoGP leaving only Bridgestone to provide control tyres for qualifying and racing. Honda, the richest factory threw tonnes of money into electronics and Yamaha matched somehow. But Suzuki fell way short and decided to pull the plug. The once green and lush championship now became a barren brown landscape. Riders on the grid dwindled to such embarrassing numbers that one only had to start a race to score points. The racing was listless, with riders becoming precision tools that operated this high tech electronic supported machinery. Ideally the brands racing here should have been Sony, Aiwa, Akai, Samsung, LG, Whirlpool etc. The mechanical part simply seemed to be irrelevant. The tyres even more so.

Dorna then tries to boost the championship by introducing the CRT concept (read another article for that which was published on Riot Engine sometime ago) and the dumbing down of the championship was now complete. Valentino Rossi was made to go to a floundering Ducati (Stoner was the only rider of consequence when it came to wins on the Ducati which otherwise destroyed the careers of many a GP rider) to keep the marque in the championship. Otherwise it was going to be a two horse race. Rossi’s Ducati move must be the most disastrous one ever made by any rider. Prior to Rossi the only rider who won world championships on different makes of motorcycles was Eddie Lawson who did this on a Yamaha and a Honda. He even gave the fledgeling Cagiva their first ever victory.

Rossi was considered to be a genius who would resurrect Ducati and also the careers of many other riders who were riding Ducatis. All that turned out to be complete rubbish with Valentino Rossi looking like a neophyte rider trying to learn how to ride a motorcycle. Meanwhile Yamaha brought Ben Spies from the USA and from World Superbikes and he did well enough in the rookie year on the Tech3 Yamaha and in his second year he even won a race. Stoner moved to Honda and decimated his opposition with only Jorge Lorenzo showing some ability to resist Stoner’s all conquering ability. Thus ended 2011 with some fourteen bikes on the grid.

Then commenced the 2012 season. The home made CRT bikes were in a class of their own. Some of them were so slow that they looked like street legal 250cc bikes. The grid may have been boosted in number terms but as a show it was no go. Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess spent more and more Marlboro and Ducati money to slower and slower.

Then came the bombshell. A whining and kicking Casey Stoner announced that he would retire at the end of the 2012 season. He cited reasons ranging from badly behaved fans through partisan marshalls and horrible press corps to lousy and egoistic competitors like Rossi. Did this make a difference? Not really. If a flower drops of from a tree that is in full bloom no one notices. Similarly if a flower drops from a tree where there are only three it still does not matter. As if this was not enough Ben Spies also has said that he is leaving Yamaha at the end of the year and probably MotoGP as well. So the grid can boast of two or three talented riders.

Speculation is rife that Rossi is likely to crawl on his knees back to Yamaha for 2013 and that means that Ducati could lose its Marlboro money. If it happens then what? Will Ducati leave too? It is not inconceivable. There has been a whole load of brouhaha about Audi acquiring Ducati and how that will change the fortunes of the latter. Let us face it, Audi does not know how to make motorcycles and that is why they bought Ducati. So what is Ducati going to learn from Audi? Make diesel engine bikes and race them endurance series? Audi is a part of the Volkswagen group that does not enter into cutting edge technology based racing. It is therefore a matter of time before Audi will ask Ducati to stop racing or if it feels generous it may ask Ducati to race in World Superbikes since winning there can translate into selling bikes. The further slowing down of the world economy means that the return to spending mega bucks for racing is practically impossible.

Now there is World Superbikes series that races motorcycles that are meant for the street but are pretty cutting edge in their own way and fast. Involvement in this series could mean that ROI is better and the benefits more calculable. Already the series boasts of more manufacturers than MotoGP. And as the President of FMSCI, Mr. Vicky Chandok said rather tellingly that it is much cheaper to host World Superbike races than MotoGP when he was asked as to why the Buddh International Circuit has chosen to first host World Superbikes over MotoGP. So if all these are factored in it looks like the future of MotoGP is not exactly glowing. Worryingly still it seems that neither Dorna nor the FIM seem to have any concrete ideas about the way and means of resurrecting the premier series. If this is the way things go, then is it possible that at some point Bridgepoint the owner of Dorna (promoters of MotoGP) and Infront (promoters of World Superbike) could be forced to choose one of the two series to run. Will they choose MotoGP over World Superbikes? Not if the scenario persists the way it is now. Is it then possible that it is curtains for MotoGP? Maybe not in the near future but in the slightly distant future a definite possibility.

Mahindra flew us down to Mumbai to test their latest offering, the new Rodeo RZ. The first monsoons had washed the city in the morning, the results being very slippery roads. But the rains had just stopped by the time my flight landed in Mumbai, and for brief moments even the sun shone brightly. All this meant that by the time I got to the black Rodeo RZ, the roads had dried up well, and the rain showed no signs of a return. I put on my riding jacket, helmet and riding gloves and got on the Black Rodeo RZ. The film city, as the name suggests, is a place where movie makers come to shoot and is a place that is always hustle and bustle with activity. And this day was not going to be an exception and there was a shoot going on right outside the event venue and I had to gently wade through it all, till I reached the open roads. That done, I opened the taps on the Rodeo RZ and was delighted with the responsiveness of the engine. It felt eager and urgent to get going and that’s a good thing in an engine!

The Rodeo RZ has the 125 CC ‘Z Series’ engine. This is of course, the same 125cc mill used in the Duro DZ we reviewed last year. The Rodeo RZ too boasts of increased power and an improved fuel consumption, thanks to the new Dual Curve Ignition System. The engine packs 6 KW, or roughly 8 bhp at 7000 rpm and maximum torque of 9 Nm at 5500 rpm. The Rodeo RZ has best in class acceleration claims Mahindra, faster than even the Suzuki Swish. The ARAI certified fuel efficiency figure is 59.38 KMPL, but Mahindra also gives us another figure, around 53 kpl, under the Indian Driving Cycle. The top speed of the scooter has been reduced from 91 kph to 80 kph, but the scooter gets to the 80 kph in no time at all. Overtaking slower moving vehicles on the roads should not be a problem in the Rodeo RZ.

The other change in the RZ is the ride height, which has been increased to a class leading 154 mm. I took the scooter on some pretty bad terrain, strewn with huge boulders and the under side was never scratched. The handling of the scooter is exceptional. It does feel very composed even at high speeds and it does take the corners very well. The suspension has been optimally setup to make sure that the pot holes that are in their millions on our roads can be dealt with. A normal Indian pot hole strewn road couldn’t be found inside the Film City, but there were quite a few bumps and holes on the roads and here, the suspension did its job beautifully.

The jolts were not transmitted entirely to you, and you could hardly feel the bumps. The Rodeo RZ has the perfect balance of sporty handling and a comfortable ride. Then comes the business of stopping the vehicle. The brakes on the Rodeo RZ are superb. The Rodeo does not have disc brakes, even as an option, but honestly, the drum brakes are just adequate. The only situation where you would miss the disc brakes is when you hit the brakes hard from 70 kph. Make no mistake, the brakes aren’t bad, in fact, even when you brake so hard, the vehicle is still stable, but you do cover a lot of distance before you come to a stop. The drums brakes cannot match the discs in terms of quickness of stopping. But for your average use, these brakes are brilliant.

The Rodeo RZ has a fully digital speedometer, which includes a tachometer, tripmeter, acceleration timer, odometer, speedometer, overspeed alarm, fuel gauge, clock and a side stand buzzer. What the overspeed alarm does is change the back light on the speedometer to red, when you go past 60 kph. And the side stand buzzer is an interesting addition to the features list. The buzzer goes off if you turn on the ignition, without putting up your side stand. This is particularly useful, as many do forget to put up the side stand, and a side stand warning light is mostly ignored, but a buzzer makes sure you don’t ignore it. The scooter also features a MP3/Mobile phone charger.

Convenient fuel filler, mobile phone charger and the works. Mahindra Rodeo still one of the most feature loaded scooters on the market

The 4-in-1 Anti theft key can also be used to open the fuel filler cap. Also the back end of the key can be used to close the key hole itself.

The Rodeo RZ also has a best-in-class 22 litres of under seat storage space, which is also illuminated. But still, the storage space could not fit my full faced helmet, which was a bit disappointing. But the space seems quite adequate for the commuter helmets that were presented by Mahindra.

Styling of the Rodeo RZ is not that much different to the Rodeo. But the design tweaks make you feel like there is a flow to the design, like the design is more complete, somehow. The Rodeo RZ has an option of seven colors, the new additions being Mystique Violet, Electric Green and Flame Orange.

Practical hook for your shopping bags

Mahindra says it plans to launch this product within the next couple of weeks, but still hasn’t revealed anything about its pricing. If you are in the market for a sporty scooter, that’s comfortable, cool, fuel efficient, feature laden and fun, look no further. The Rodeo RZ is your answer. It does what you expect of a scooter, and then some more!

“Today, we have lost a legend in Ford Motor Company’s history, and my family and I have lost a dear friend. Carroll Shelby is one of the most recognized names in performance car history, and he’s been successful at everything he’s done. Whether helping Ford dominate the 1960s racing scene or building some of the most famous Mustangs, his enthusiasm and passion for great automobiles over six decades has truly inspired everyone who worked with him. He was a great innovator whose legend at Ford never will be forgotten. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.” said Edsel B. Ford II, member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company and great-grandson of Henry Ford.

Way back when we used to game for the fun of gaming, when using cheat codes wasn’t uncool, ‘how do you turn this on‘ was a much loved phrase when playing Microsoft’s Age of Empires II. That was the cheat code that spawned the massively violent AC Cobra in the game. I remember my brother and I using this code often to spawn hordes of these cars just to listen to the looped snippet of the roar of the car. I’m not really sure if that was even the actual roar of a V8, but it sure did make my childhood that much better.

Carroll Shelby at the wheel of a new Cobra production car in 1963, 1962 Shelby Cobra

Shelby’s first Ford derivatives were the legendary Cobras and Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s. In 1962, Shelby used a Ford powered engine in his second ever race. This car was the first mockup for the Cobra, an AC Ace 260 Roadster powered by the Ford V8 that would soon become the Shelby Cobra. Shelby-American begins operations in Venice, California.The Cobra production begins. By January 1963 he had homologated the car under the FIA’s GT Group III class, and that month a Cobra won its first race, beating a field of Corvette Stingrays at Riverside in California. The Cobra had a one-ton weight advantage over the Corvette.

Carroll Shelby with the 3 Cobra roadsters that would win the 1963 USRRC Manufacturer's Championship in 1963, Posing with his new 1964 production Cobra and his new Cobra race car

In August 1964 Ford had asked Carroll Shelby to develop a street-legal, high-performance Mustang to compete against Corvette in SCCA B-production road racing. By September, California-based Shelby-American had completed the first Mustang GT350.

1965 Shelby Mustang GT350, 1966 Shelby GT350H

The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 was a fastback production model with a functional scoop in its fiberglass hood and 306 horsepower from its 289-cubic-inch V8 – an increase of 35 horsepower over the stock engine. Suspension upgrades included a larger front stabilizer bar, Koni shocks and rear traction bars, along with race-ready features. It sold for $4,000, and was instantly recognizable by its Wimbledon White paint and blue GT350 side stripes.

For 1966 the GT350 came in white, red, black, green and blue, and Hertz purchased nearly 1,000 special GT350H weekend “rent-a-racers.” In 1967 Shelby Mustangs sported unique fiberglass bodywork that extended the front end with an aggressive dual scoop and finished the trunk lid with an integrated spoiler.

In January 1965 Ford hired Shelby to lend his expertise to the GT40 campaign. Ford had already participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the previous year, but none of the three cars that started finished. Shelby swapped the engine for the more reliable 7-liter stock car engine in what would come to be known as the Ford GT40 Mark II. It proved considerably faster than the Mark I, and in just two seasons became a strong contender.In 1966 the GT40 began a domination of endurance car racing that would last for four years. In 1967 Ford and Shelby-American win Le Mans, again in the GT40 Mark IV.

Caroll Shelby with the race winning Ford Mark IV in 1967

In 1967 the new GT500, was unveiled with a big-block V8 making 355 horsepower. More than 2,000 of those 428-cubic-inch Mustangs were delivered that first model year. In 1968 the name ‘Cobra’ was first officially used on a Shelby Mustang, and that year a convertible bodystyle became available as well. Although the Shelby Cobra GT350 was essentially unchanged, later GT500s were powered by the new Cobra Jet 428 engine and thus became GT500KR – for King of the Road.

For 1969, the penultimate year of the Shelby Mustang, engine choices included the optional 351 Ram Air, and the bodywork incorporated a total of nine scoops – five on the hood, one at the front of each fender and one on each quarter panel. In 1970, due to slowing sales, the final Shelby Mustangs built for 1969 were updated to 1970 spec and sold. This was also the year when Shelby and Ford ended their racing agreement.

While on a West Coast testing trip, Neil Hannemann shows one of the first Ford GT prototypes to Carroll Shelby - one of his racing heroes and mentors.

The years spent at Chrysler

When Lee Iacocca, known for engineering the Mustang moved to Chrysler, Carrol Shelby went with him. He started with a Dodge Charger 2.2 to bring to the market the 1982 Dodge Shelby Charger. An aggressive front fascia with lip spoiler, lower body-side sills, large 15-inch aluminum wheels with wide Goodyear Eagle GT tires, heavy-duty shocks, sport springs, one-piece rear-quarter window, color-keyed bucket seats with Carroll Shelbys famed CS logo, center floor console and repositioned brake and accelerator pedals for heel-toe shifting. Under the hood, the 2.2-liter engine featured a higher compression ratio, wider cam, free-flow exhaust system and an optimized engine controller good for 13 more horsepower (107 compared to 94) and 10 more lb-ft of torque (127 compared to 117). Finishing off this special model was Carroll Shelbys race colors: silver exterior paint with blue accent decals or blue exterior paint with silver accent decals.

For the 1985 model year, the Dodge Shelby Turbo Charger featured more athletic exterior styling, multi-port fuel injection, low-restriction performance exhaust and the availability of a 2.2-liter turbocharged engine with 7.5 psi of boost. The Dodge Charger 2.2 also received more power as its 2.2-liter normally aspirated four-cylinder was boosted to 110 horsepower.

The last year of the hatchback-based Dodge Charger was the 1987 model year. Similar to the five-door Dodge Omni GLHS models (Goes Like Hell, Some-more); Carroll Shelby purchased the last 1,000 Dodge Turbo Chargers and converted them into Dodge Shelby Charger GLHS models. These final front-wheel-drive models delivered 175 horsepower, 175 lb-ft of torque and performed 0-to-60 mph runs in less than 7 seconds.

Back with Ford

After nearly three decades, Ford and Shelby came together in March 2001 when Ford invited Shelby on board to consult on a new GT40 Concept. In March 2002 Ford green-lighted production of the Ford GT. In April 2003 Shelby collaborated on a concept car that would pay homage to the original Shelby Cobra. The car was unveiled at the 2004 NAIAS at Detroit.

Ford worked Shelby again in 2004 to give us the modern Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept at Pebble Beach.

Shelby GR-1 Concept

In 2008, Carroll Shelby’s 85th birthday was marked by the first 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR to roll off the production line. The King of the Road was good for 540 horsepower and was limited to 1000 units. Carroll Shelby’s last collaboration with Ford was on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500, which produces 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful production V8 engine in the world. In January, Shelby’s one-of-one racetrack durability car was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona for $350,000.

Working with SVT engineers at Sebring and the Arizona Proving Grounds, at times he drove for more than eight hours – at the ripe old age of 88. He was having so much fun, he didn’t want to stop.

The Racing Years

Carroll Shelby was a designer, engineer and before all that, a racing driver. He was nearly 30 years old before he entered his first car race – a quarter-mile drag meet in 1952. The hot rod he drove to the finish line that day was powered by a Ford V8.

Carroll Shelby may have started late, but in just two years into his driving career, Aston Martin racing manager John Wyer recruited him to co-drive a DB3 at Sebring. Within months, as Ford puts it, ‘the chicken farmer from Texas was bumping elbows and trading paint’ with the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and Paul Frère. Driving an Aston Martin DBR1 with Roy Salvadori, he won Europe’s prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959.

Shelby won 16 American and international speed records in a specially smoothed and supercharged Austin Healey 100S and competed in the 1958 and 1959 seasons of Formula One, behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F and then an Aston Martin DBR4-250 reports TopGear.

An ailing heart that troubled Shelby since he was seven put and end to an otherwise stunning racing career. At this point in his life, began the relationship with Ford.

The Future

Likewise, Shelby isn’t planning on doing any more licensing of his name to any manufacturer other than Ford in his lifetime. “I hope to die with Ford,” he said to TopGear. “I am not looking anywhere else.”

TopGear

The legends went as he wished. What happens to the marque that is Shelby? Shelby American Inc. headquartered in Las Vegas continues to produce the 289 and 427 Cobras and also manufactures around 500 Shelby Mustangs a year. You can also have your Mustang customized by Shelby, do consider the 800bhp Super Snake option for the Shelby GT500! Shelby will work on the engine, bodywork and the chassis to give your car the treatment worthy of the badge ‘Shelby’.

You and I owe this legend much of what we’ve come to love about cars, a list that would include but not be limited to throaty earth shattering bellows from exhausts of muscle cars, striped lines of blue on white and other combinations that make the cars intention clearer than clear and the ‘Cobra’ badge, a symbol that stands tall over most others in the automotive world simply for the awe it inspires in every enthusiast. RIP Carroll Shelby.

Well the MotoGP season of 2012 has only just begun and along with it the silly season too. Normally it takes half of the races to be complete before the silly season kicks in but this time around it has started much ahead thanks to the complete lack of performance of the star of MotoGP who goes by the name of Valentino Rossi. Everyone has all but written off Rossi at Ducati since the raft of changes that he is supposed to have suggested to make him and the Ducati competitive have come a cropper. The year 2012 is also unique because at the end of the year all major riders will have contracts that will have expired and already the process of getting riders to commit to fresh contracts has begun in earnest.

Honda has said that it would prefer to have its present riders on for the next two years. Pedrosa will gladly commit but Casey Stoner it seems is hedging. Stoner has time and again declared that he is not willing to compete on street legal machinery and has said that the concept of CRT dilutes the prototype racing that MotoGP is supposed to be. He has also said that he has no interest in a series that has fewer prototypes and more CRT machines. Rumours circulating in the MotoGP paddock suggest that Stoner wants only a one year contract and does not want to commit to 2014 since that maybe the year when standard spec ECUs with rev limiters and other performance inhibitors are likely to come in. Stoner is the Kimi Raikonnen of MotoGP, liking only the racing part and being completely abhorrent of any activities that his sponsors may want him to undertake. He is also a family man who has expressed time and again that he is not chasing any records and that he wants to be more at home pursuing farming and his other hobbies such as hunting with bow and arrow and fishing. Stoner is also a known fan of the V8 Super Car series that runs mainly in Australia and many expect him to ultimately become a part of that series since that will keep him in his home country for most of the time. Now the question is will Stoner quit at the end of this year or next? Honda has only said that they have placed an offer in front of Stoner and it is now upto him to decide.

In case Stoner does not sign (which we think is highly unlikely) Honda has said that it will pursue Jorge Lorenzo. Shuhei Nakamoto of the HRC has made it clear categorically that there is no question of HRC entertaining Valentino Rossi as their rider. Nakamoto has pointedly said that while Rossi left Honda he did so saying that it is the rider and not the machinery that is more important. Rossi has subsequently published this in his book, and Nakamoto has publicly thrown the gauntlet now saying that the time has come for Rossi to make his comments count and start winning on the Ducati. He however said that the usual HRC policy is to leave rider choice to their satellite teams and has said that if the satellite teams choose to have Rossi then it is a different matter. Interestingly enough both satellite teams that run Honda machinery are Italian, one being run by Fausto Gresini and the other by Lucio Cecchinello. Despite Nakamoto’s assertions one doubts if the satellite teams can defy the might of HRC and sign Rossi against Honda’s wishes. The other question is also about Rossi himself accepting a despecced satellite machine, for that would not bring him back to winning ways.

Jorge Lorenzo has already said that if the motorcycle is good enough his first choice will be the Yamaha and he also said that he would like to end his career at Yamaha, if all was right there. This is reminiscent of one Valentino Rossi who said very similar things before switching to Ducati with disastrous consequences. However, if for whatever reasons it does not work out with Yamaha for Lorenzo he is likely to go to Honda, but for next year even this is a most unlikely scenario. Lin Jarvis, the boss of Yamaha racing while not being as candid as Nakamoto, has nevertheless hinted that Valentino Rossi would not be welcome in the factory Yamaha team. But the situation at Yamaha is not as wonderful as it is at Honda. Other than Lorenzo, the other Yamaha riders at present are not going too well. This is especially true of Ben Spies whose first two races this season are imminently forgettable and the second one being embarrassing for the American rider. Andrea Dovizioso has not done anything wonderful though to his credit it must be said that he is returning from injury and is on Yamaha machinery for the first time and he was not too bad in the second race. Cal Crutchlow though seems to be coming into his own. However, it is all too early in the season to write someone off, but Valentino Rossi seems to have burnt his bridges with both manufacturers and his relationship with the third is not working. Definitely Valentino Rossi stands where no one would like to stand and it is now upto him to make himself count at Ducati, unless of course, he can somehow persuade the other Italian manufacturer Aprilia to come into MotoGP from next year on.

Meanwhile, aside from the silly season the confrontation between Dorna and the MSMA is becoming less and less hostile with both sides agreeing to see reason. The MSMA wants to introduce the single motorcycle per rider rule from next year on and bring down leasing costs drastically to keep Dorna happy. They are also happy with the idea that each factory will supply motorcycles to four riders and that the rest can be CRT machines, something that Dorna wants to boost numbers. For its side Dorna is supposed to have agreed to let the factories run their equipment without rev limiters for next season deferring the introduction of a spec ECU to 2014 at the earliest. Some clarity regarding the rules is likely to emerge by the middle of this year but one expect to see continuity rather than change being the norm. What is interesting is that no one is yet talking about introduction of different engines from different manufacturers into the Moto 2 class. It could be that keeping in view the close racing in the class, the introduction of different engines is being deferred. All in all, some interesting prospects for next year rules and riders wise and let us see which way things move. It should all unravel during the course of the year.

The Driving Skills for Life program from Ford varies with location. While the program in the US is geared to equip teen drivers with the necessary driving skills for safe driving, the one we experienced – DSFL Snack Program – focuses on Safe, Economical and Eco-Friendly driving. The program was conducted at the Ford India plant in Maraimalainagar, Chennai.

That is how the instructors grab your attention during the theory sessions. A difference of 5kph can result in that drastic a difference in braking distance. It takes a video like this to grab people’s attention and tell them 65 kph is just not the same as 60 kph.

The other most important thing taught at DSFL is the 3 second rule. Maintain a safe three-second distance from the vehicle in front of you. There is no fixed ‘safe distance’ since it varies with different speeds of the car, instead it is recommended to follow the car ahead of you at a safe ‘three-second’ distance. How do you establish the three second distance? Pick a stationary point on the road, a lamp post, sign board or a tree, when the car in front of you passes it, you should be able to count to 3 before you pass the same object. Ford also recommends that if the weather is bad and visibility is low, increase the time interval to 6 seconds.

After having witnessed the traffic in India, Kirkby agrees that maintaining the three second rule in the city is nearly impossible, but that doesn’t mean this rule is ineffective here. On the highways, the three second rule makes fantastic sense. Experienced drivers already practice this rule but know it simply as the ‘safe distance’. For the learning driver, the three second rule clearly defines what the ‘safe distance’ is. In the city limits when the traffic isn’t so bad and average speeds are slightly higher, the three second rule can help.

A summary of all the points taught during the theory session of the DSFL Snack Program is available at DrivingFord.in

After the theory session was over, we were driven to the Ford Test Track in Figos and Fiestas. The sun which was surprisingly shy for an April day, was hiding behind the clouds all the morning and just as we headed to the track, decided to show its face, in all its glory! We were in one of the all new the Fiestas, the Ambiente edition to be precise and the trip was a short one to the track, but since Ford has a 15 Kmph speed limit inside the factory limits, the journey to the track seemed to take forever!

After about 10 minutes we reached the track and Nick and Derek were ready to go. The first demonstration was about braking. We were to be shown the stopping distance of a Figo with ABS, from 60 kph to a standstill, and without reaction time, because the braking point was already known.

We were asked to choose a position by the side of the track where we thought the car would stop from 60 kph to 0. After everyone had taken their positions, Nick started from the far end of the track built up speed to 60 Kph and kept it there. As soon as he reached the braking point, he hit the brakes as hard as he could and stopped within a few feet from the braking point, without any real drama, which was an advertisement clearly demonstrating the benefits of ABS.

Then Nick was to repeat the same experiment at 120 kph and we were similarly asked to take positions on the side of the track where we thought he would stop. And when that was done, Nick started again and built up the speed to 120 kph, and slammed the brakes at the braking point. And this time there was drama as the car struggled to slow itself down from 120 kph to 0. And Nick stopped the car in time and barely avoided going off the track. The same driver, the same car, but still when speeds were increased, it covered a lot of ground before it eventually stopped. Twice the speed, and the braking distance more than triples! And this was in a situation when the driver actually knew where the braking point was. In an everyday situation, what with your traffic, and your distractions and your reaction time, things could have been very different.So the message is clear. It is always safe to keep the speed down as much as possible because we never know what is gonna happen on the road ahead and we need to be able to stop in time.

Karthik M, Road tester for Riot Engine and Nick Osborne, Advanced Driving Institute at the Ford DSFL Program in Chennai

After Nick had finished his demonstration, two volunteers were asked for from the people present to have a go at this and see what it feels like to slam the brakes on a car from 60 kph. I was one of the volunteers and so I got into the Figo and lined up at the starting point. I built the speed up to 60 and held it there steadily until I reached the braking point, and pressed my foot har don the brake pedal. The car came to a halt without much drama.

I have had a few scary moments in my car, when I have had to brake unexpectedly. And most of the times it would be alright, but sometimes, the front wheels tend to lock up, the car being a Honda City Vtec, without ABS. And I can tell you, the advantages of having ABS system in the car is a blessing! When the front wheels lock up, you are not actually stopping, but you still travel some distance until the laws of physics decide you have had enough and make you stop. Having an ABS system fitted to your car would avoid the front wheel lock up, and you will stop sooner.

After this exercise, Nick and Derek would now show why it is important to have a reasonable gap between yourself and the car in front.

Derek would first set off and Nick would follow 1 second later on a different lane and they would both come at a steady 60 kph and start braking at the braking point on the track and Nick would brake as soon as he saw the brake lights of Derek’s car. When they reached the braking point they both braked and Nick’s car was almost paralel to Derek’s car. If they had been traveling in the same lane, they would most definitely have had a crash.

1 second distance, the car behind the lead would have ploughed into the one at front if they were in the same lane

Derek and Nick then said they would repeat the same experiment with distances of 2 and 3 seconds. And in the experiment where Nick followed Derek 2 seconds later, they would still have collided if they had been on the same lane.

(L to R): 2 second distance, contact is still not avoided, but with the 3 second distance, the cars stop a couple of feet apart

But in the experiment where Nick left 3 seconds later, he had plenty of time to react and therefore he stopped well ahead of Derek and they would not have collided even if they had been on the same lane.

So DSFL always suggests that you maintain a 3 second gap to the car in front of you to allow time for your reaction and avoid crashing into it, in case of an emergency stop.

Mr. Krishna has been with Piaggio since June 2011 and is gung ho about the potential of the Vespa in India.

Rifle through the pages of Mr. Krishna’s career and you’ll see the Vespa is in safe hands. Krishna has been instrumental in TVS’ re-entry into the premium motorcycle segment with the ‘Apache’ brand. He was also instrumental in the relaunch of the Scooty (Scooty Pep) supported with fresh consumer insights, communication and strong marketing programs.

Will Piaggio export vehicles from the Baramati plant

No, we do not have any such plans for now.

Do you have a dealer in Hyderabad?( My Ed made me do this. He couldn’t find a dealership in Hyderabad, so he pulled rank and made me ask this question.)

Of course we do! ( Piaggio has three dealerships in AP – Hyderbad, Vijayawada and Secunderabad).

Need to find your local Vespa dealer? We suggest you finish reading this article and then head to Vespa India Store Locator.

Which other player in the market do you consider competition for Vespa?

None. The Vespa is being positioned as a ‘lifestyle product’ and we have no intention to go head on with other scooter manufacturers.

There were more colours shown at the 2012 Auto Expo that seem to be missing from the current lineup?

We might launch other colours in the future.

Will the new engine be manufactured in India and exported to other growth markets?

No.

Why was there a need for a new engine?

The Indian consumer has a number of demands. In addition to good looks, fuel efficiency is also a priority. The 3 valve 125cc engine offers the best mileage. The Indian consumer also demands the engine have good acceleration. The new engine ticks all these boxes.

Can you talk to us about your marketing strategy for the Vespa

We will be having a number of lifestyle events. There is also the Vespa club. We are also exploring options through digital media. You might have seen our website onceuponavespa.com that lets you play a game with the grand prize being a visit to the Vespa Museum in Italy.

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The Racing Years

The Future