Step Brothers: Bajaj Pulsar and KTM Duke

Blood runs thicker than water, they say. Engine oil runs even thicker, I say. Meet the new Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS, the latest hooligan to arrive from the Bajaj asylum. And on its first day out, it goes looking for trouble - namely, the KTM Duke 200, the reigning king of Hooligan Hill. Now, don’t let them hear you, but these two have a history and have more in common than they’d like to admit, with emotional baggage and bottled-up anger thrown into the mix. Just like a normal family, then.

They’re the children of an Indian father and Austrian mother (or the other way around, if you please), and no amount of counselling seems like it’s going to help; despite the fact that the reason they exist is because of each other. Bajaj needed a new Pulsar and KTM needed a small-capacity bike to boost sales. The rest was just a matter of logistics for the boardroom storks to schedule their visits. But you didn’t hear it from me.

Nonetheless, forget canny business strategy, platform sharing and similar boring stuff, and you’re left with two of the hottest motorcycles in India. It’s somehow apt that they share the same heart. More or less. But to say they couldn’t be more different is the understatement of the year.