Come October and Pulsar will hit the roads in a new avatar as Bajaj Auto becomes the first Indian two-wheeler company to adopt a twin spark plug in its engine.

Initially, the Pulsar 180cc will feature the new engine before it finds its way into the Pulsar 150cc.

Auto analysts believe the technology will rev up the engine from 15 bhp to 16 bhp and fuel efficiency by around 10 per cent.

The price of the new Pulsar will be revised upwards by around Rs 2,000.

"The new technology will ensure better internal combustion which in turn will reduce fuel wastage. It will be a more powerful bike which will also give the added benefit of improved fuel efficiency," R L Ravichandran, vice-president, marketing and business development, said.

The new engine has been developed entirely in-house.

The Pulsar, which sold 50,000 units earlier this month, enjoys nearly 70 per cent share of premium bike market.

The bike also engineered Bajaj's ascent to the number two position in the motorcycle market since its foray in the early 1990's.

Since 1997-98, Bajaj has been making efforts to shrug off its image as a scooter maker. In 2002-03, motorcycles accounted for nearly 75 per cent of the domestic two-wheeler market with Bajaj holding a 23 per cent market share.

Bajaj launched the Wind 125 in the executive bike segment last month to strengthen its position in what is essentially the largest and fastest growing motorcycle segment.