Ethanol powered Bajaj Pulsar NS160 showcased

Bajaj showcased two alternate fuel two-wheelers at the India Bio-Energy & Tech (IBET) Expo 2024. The first was the newly launched Freedom 125, a CNG-powered motorcycle. But, the second was a bike we hadn’t seen before: an ethanol-powered Pulsar NS160.

To be precise, this is a flex-fuel motorcycle that can run on 100 percent ethanol but also on a mix of petrol and ethanol in different ratios. Bajaj has already had a long presence in South American countries like Brazil, where ethanol is widely used and promoted by the local government. Bajaj already sells E27-compliant motorcycles in Brazil (petrol with up to 27 percent blended ethanol). However, this is the first time the company has revealed an E100 motorcycle.

There are no other details available about the motorcycle, but the base engine hardware is likely to be the same as the current NS160, which uses an oil-cooled single cylinder engine. Output figures in the E20-compliant model sold in India are 17.2hp and 14.6Nm, although the E100 bike might be slightly different.

The major changes will involve hardware modifications to the fuel tank and supply system to manage the corrosive nature of ethanol. Additionally, the engine management system will be updated to deal with the varying ratios of the ethanol blend.

Ethanol is a more affordable fuel than petrol and it has emissions benefits as well. The Indian government has been keen on making ethanol-blended fuels mainstream for some time now, and this is Bajaj Auto’s way of demonstrating that it is ready for when that happens.