Bajaj called a few selected bikers from xbhp to showcase their newest initiative and brand ideology- pro biking and "Distinctly Ahead" respectively. Plus, it was the official All-India Launch of the Pulsar DTSFi 220 as well.
The brand new Pro Biking showroom at the Priya Complex is bang next to the Hero Honda showroom (which, btw, no one was even looking at!) and is impressive in comparison to any other showroom experience you might have ever had- bike or car.
The glass facade entices the passerbys with their pro-biking offerings hung from the ceiling in suspended animation- the dynamic impact it creates along with the interest that it evokes does the first bit- attract. Plus what will attract you is also someone sitting on the new pulsar offering just behind the hanging new pulsars actually "riding" it!! (yes!)
As one enters, a gleaming red Pulsar 220 draws your attention immediately and you cant help but get touchy feely with it! Just behind this machine (if you manage to tear yourself away from there after overpowering the urge to straddle it and zoom out of the showroom!) Bajaj has chosen to showcase the different technologies used in the machine- from the DTSFI (essentially DTSI with fuel injection), tubeless tyres, halogen vertically stacked lights, brand new exhaust system etc - I am sure we know about the DTSFi already! However, they should make it a little more viewer friendly with a kiosk or brief literature to help those who are not aware of what these things mean.
Now, if you manage to (I will tell you why "manage to") skip the glass door facing this 'technology display' you walk up a flight of glass stairs to a small lounge like area where they have three screens on which you can find out about the three big probiking offering from Bajaj- the Avenger, Pulsar 200 and the Pulsar 220. The computers hold good information about the bikes but I wish they had more stuff like the new awesome ad and other video about the bikes, how the bikes came from the drawing board to reality, the tests that it must have gone through, the people behind the bikes, biker clubs and option of even a mini game with the bike! Videos related to Bajaj or the bikes or responsible riding etc could also be shown on the big screen TV they have on the wall.
Now, after you walk back down and come to that glass door you managed to skip, enter it. And you will never want to leave! Its one noisy crowded room- noisy because you have two bikes running at their highest revs and crowded, because everyone wants to hop on the bikes! the Pulsar 200 and 220 stand side by side to each other on parallel dynos- each bike's performance measured by a small screen in front of them telling you how fast you went from 0 to 60 or covered 100 metres in or how much power you are using at any given point of time (bhp/ps and torque, both). The room is intoxicating - no, the fumes are safely expelled out of the room through a large tube attached to the exhaust- with the sounds of these powerful beasts and you on top of them. The fact that in a week or two, the Bajaj people will allow people to reach the highest possible revs on the bikes is surely going to get some adrenalin pumping- and one step closer to buying the bike! The only problem we felt was that there was too much vibrations at higher speeds because of the heavy 250 kg payload they put on the dyno while the bikes themselves are not supposed to carry more than 150-170 odd kgs.
After you reluctantly walk out of the showroom, you are tempted to capture yourself "flying" on a black 220 at the entrance of the showroom- yes, of those new machines hung out there for your viewing pleasure!
Once they get permission to use that long VV-VK stretch for test rides, I think it will be an awesome experience- to race those beasts on full power! Plus, we did wish that instead of those small screens on the dynos, something like a simulator would be good- but in any case, this is a first! There will exclusive probiking workshops as well which will only cater to these three bikes and other future high powered offerings.
With ProBiking Bajaj wants to not just sell but build relationships with its customers and herald a new era of biking and bikers. Hopefully, promoting responsible and mature biking is part of their plans! And their new philosophy "Distinctly Ahead" mainly echoes their ideology to compete with themselves and stay ahead!
Kudos!
The Pro Biking promotional short:
Want to watch that new Pulsar 220 ad i was talking about? First time anywhere in the public domain! (soon it will b everywhere!). Go ahead:
