Tripping the light fantastic with Rajiv Bajaj

If I had to say that the term Mr Biking rests well and perfectly on the able shoulders of Rajiv Bajaj, it would only be his detractors who would murmur under their breath but agree to this statement with their silence sounding loud in affirmation.

The Pulsar range has been Rajiv's creation right through and this machine came in at a time when the eponymous firm was almost on its last legs and about to go under the weight of its archaic scooters well past their sell-by dates. That he fought within and changed the company's product mix is something that posterity will recall for all time but that is another story altogether.

It is not that Rajiv is a reticent man but just that he prefers the company of doers and is happiest when he is planning, strategizing, or simply conceptualizing newer ways and means to push the motorcycling mantra across the spectrum. He is clearly fixated on the fact that leaving Honda and Yamaha as the only two top Japanese brands capable of churning out small capacity motorcycle designs, he is arming Bajaj Auto to rival these two in not just technological terms but also in processes, systems and more importantly in getting the job done even more efficiently and at a lower cost proposition.

Discussing the new Pulsar LS, I asked Rajiv how the new bike would be looked at and received in the market and he was clear about where he wanted the Pulsar brand to progress. "We are clearly of the opinion that we think first of the strategy and then the product," he told me a couple of days before ZigWheels got the chance to get astride the baby Pulsar first. "To bring excitement even lower down the scale but without diluting any brand strengths was what prompted us to make this Light Sports bike and I am sure that it will carry on the Pulsar family's successful run. In fact our product and brand differentiation is at the core of our marketing and product planning efforts and we didn't want to do something half-hearted and end up with a Stunner type of vehicle."

And sure enough one just can't but agree that there are no half-measures with the all-new baby Pulsar. Pint-sized it might be in make-up but when it comes to delivering performance it is truly the epitome of the lion-heart!