Kawasaki Rouser 200NS

The design of the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS, in its original form of Bajaj Pulsar 200NS, is almost eight years old now. However, it is the aggressiveness of the overall design language, in addition to the great color options, which make the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS still very much relevant and sporty.

At the front, the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS welcomes one with its aggressive-looking triangular headlamp unit, at the bottom of which sits the split position lamps, which are surrounded in a sleek black plastic finish. The lower edges of the headlamp get clear lens turn indicators mounted on them, while at the same time, the upper edge of the headlamp has a tiny visor that rounds off the front fascia of the motorcycle.

The side profile of the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS has an aggressive stance to it, and the muscularity of the motorcycle is explained in the best manner by its beefy looking fuel tank, with long knee recesses and large tank extensions at the farther ends. The perimeter frame is partially exposed very well, along with the bronze-finished engine, which gets a cowl in the fuel-injected version. 

While moving towards the bottom and rear, the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS continues its fine streak of sportiness, with the underbelly exhaust pipe and the slim and sleek tail section which sharply rises and ends with a pair of split pillion grab rails. A very tiny aluminium bracket is mounted on the tail section, which houses the license plate as well as clear lens turn indicators. Here, the rear tire has two subtle plastic huggers above it.

The Kawasaki Rouser 200NS gets fancy clip-on handlebars as well as a comprehensive part digital instrument console, the latter of which is a combination of an analog tachometer and a small LCD screen which shows speedometer, odometer, trip meters, clock, fuel gauge, and service indicator. The presence of backlit switchgear is one niche addition in this segment, adding much value to the motorcycle.

The Kawasaki Rouser 200NS has been equipped with decently good mechanical hardware, which makes it one of the sportiest motorcycles in its category. The Rouser 200NS gets conventional hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a fully adjustable monoshock at the rear, with the motorcycle sitting on a fine perimeter frame. With petal disc brakes and 17-inch wheels on both ends, the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS is a motorcycle with fine riding and braking dynamics.

The Kawasaki Rouser 200NS shares its four-stroke, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 199.5cc engine with the RS200, and here, this engine can be had in both carbureted as well as fuel injected versions. In both the guises, the engine produces maximum power and torque outputs of 24.2 PS and 18.6 Nm respectively, and the gearbox employed is a 6-speed unit.

While the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS gets a single-channel ABS back in its home country India, the Kawasaki Rouser 200NS does miss out on this crucial safety feature. Nevertheless, it gets the basics in the form of an engine kill switch as well as disc brakes on both the wheels.

The Kawasaki Rouser 200NS, with its Italian sporty design and decent levels of features, tries to attract the buyers of quarter-liter motorcycles with a great benefit of the cost it banks upon. The motorcycle has got a fine balance of engine and chassis, which makes the overall performance of the motorcycle match the sporty visual appeal of it.