Jithu

If the Karizma is in a good condition it is a good deal but the main problem is that the bike is now 7 years old and many of the engine parts may be due for replacements. Then in that case you may end up in spending around 10 K for spares as the parts of karizma are very costly . so wi ill tell the thigns you should do before making a purchase

Things you can check without riding

1. Check for the condition of tyres. Front tyre cost around 800 and rear around 1200 so if the tyres are not good you have to spend minimum 2K rupees on that (plus tubes will cost you 250-300 each )

2. Check the Battery condition . If the Horn is loud enough and Bike is starting easily on self then the battery will be fine . Check if the trip meter and time(displayed) is getting reset when you try to self start the bike. If yes it indicates that the battery is weak. It may cost you 1500 Rs. If he is installed any security alarms or additional Horn or 55 W bulb the battery may become weak eventually(bulbs till 55 W can be used directly without using relay , it will drain the battery only if we keep it on when engine is off or try to self start by keeping the headlight switch on ) . Check all the electricals are working fine. Headlights , passlight , DIm , Bright ,indicators, Odo meter , trip meter .

3. Check the Joints of all the plastic body parts. Most of the Karizmas plastic joints will break if they fall . SO check the plastic parts outside and joints for any damages. Remove the seat and check the Joints of the tail plastic part. Check the front mudguard for Cracks. In most of the Karizmas the front mudguard will be cracked due to the fork action . Front mudguard will cost you 800 RS so check if it is ok to use for at least 6 months.
Plastic parts of KArizma is costly so check all the plastic parts well .


4. Ask the owner whether he had done any modifications to the engine or any other things. If the bike had been running with K & N airfilter and Up jetted (or nay one of them ) the engine life will be much lesser than normal KArizma . Better avoid such bike if you are planning to keep it for more than 1 year. The smoothneess and relaibilty will be gone for a toss of he had done modifications like K&N , upjetting , using NiTro , Rebored engine etc. But modifications like upgrading to Iridium spark plugs ,doing Sproketting will not do any harm to engine and in fact there will be a good upgrades for the bike.

5. IF he have Service book or any other bills related to bike check those things . Check whether they serviced the bike regularly and which all parts are changed recently . If battery is changed recently ask for warranty card. If the bike is less than 2 years and 30 K kms done you can claim warranty of you have service book and other sales receipts. Ask for the mileage as it will give an approximate idea at the engine condition .Karizma should give a mileage from 32-40 depends on riding style

Papers to be checked :

5. Ask for RC book , Insurance , Tax receipt , Pollution certificate .
Regarding RC book ensure that the person who is selling the bike and RC owner are same. Normally i have observed that people will buy a single owner bike and they will not change the RC book to their name and they will use the bike for say 1 year and after that they will sell the bike saying they are the first owner . They will give you the sale letter signed by the first RC owner and will claim he is my uncle/friend and i am selling this bike on behalf of him . Stay away from these kind of persons. Inist of seign and talkign with the Original RC owner. If there is any issues in that it will be a second owner bike (even though the RC book have only 1 owner).
Check the RC book whether the bike is having any Loan at present. If it is havign a loan ask the current owner to close it and give clearance form from the corresponding bank. If it is indicated that the loan is closed in RC book then no problems.
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Regarding insurance :Check the end date of insurance and ensure that it is not expired.Check for the amount for which he insured the bike . If the amount he insured will be maximum amount you will get if somethings happen to the bike so check that amount. Some times the insurance will be only third party. (means if your bike is stolen or met an accident you will not get a single rupee but the person who got injured in the accident will get money from your insurance company )

Check the tax receipt is there (even if he dont have that its not a big deal bcz tax paid for 15 years wil be marked in RC book)

Check and ensure that the pollution certificate didtn expired(again this is also not a big deal as it will cost you only 50 Rs to take a new one)

If the registration is form other state ask for NOC (you need this to change the registration ).

When you pay for the bike ensure that he is giving you Form 29 and insurance transfer form signed. You need this to transfer the bike to your name. If the loan on the bike is still not closed ask the current owner to pay the remaining amount (if any ) and close the loan and hand over the clearance form from bank saying the loan is closed.






Things to be checked by riding the bike

Now ask the owner to let you drive the bike. Please not that never test drive KArizma inside city . You will not able to idnetify its problems if any.
If possible ask that person to meet you beside any open highway. Now take the bike to Highway .

1. Switch on the engine . Listen to the engine sound. Raise the throttle and see if there is any noises coming from engine or Body parts.
Now take it now highway and ride it slowly (without helmet) Check whether any sounds coming from engine or Chain . If there is nay sound coming from chain it should be adjusted (in worst case you have to change the entire chain set -850 Rs) .Now put on Helmet and try to accelerate.
A good condition karizma can easily touch 120 km/hour(without pillion and without any cross winds in a straight road). You will know the real condition of a KArizma only if you push it above 100 . If the bike is struggling to touch 120 without any cross winds somethign will be wrong.
The reason may be clutch plates , loose chain , airfilter or even tyres.
If it easily touches 120 the bike is in good condition . it can tocuh up to 130-135 if all conditions are favorable( you may have to crocuh to attain this in a second hand karizma . If you have a pillion rider it will be a little difficult). Now Check the brakes. Ensure that the Disc brake is working fine. The Disc itself cost you more than 1000 and diskc pads karizma original will cot you above 2.5 k (you can use RTR pads without any problem , it is cheap also ). Check for any wobbling issues or fork bend.

Now after the riding the engine will be hot enough to check the exhaust smoke. Now put it in nutral and raise the throttle. Check for the nature of exhaust output. If it is having noticeable WHite or BLack smoke the engine condition is not good. You may have to do the engine work by replacing damaged pistons and all and it is very costly .




Things to be done after you got the bike

Paper work : Go to a RTO agent give the RC book , Form 29 singed by the previous owner and your address proof(and loan clearance form if the bike is having any loan and NOC if the bike is from another state). They may charge you around 500 Rs. If loan closing is there they may ask for more.
If you dont have a address proof in the state in which you want to register the bike they will charge extra for putting up an affidavit

You should transfer the insurance to your name. It can be done only after the RC book changed to your name . Its better to go to the insurance company directly with the bike and show them RC book , old insurance and insurance transfer from signed by previous owner. They will transfer insurance to your name within 10 minutes and may charge you 50 Rs .


Engine works :
If the tyres are not good it is alwasy safer to change tyre before you start ti use th ebike. Regarding tyre , for good top end and good acceleration it is always better to use stock size tyres. If you want a better tyre go for Michelin M 45 . it is a really good tyre which offers nice grip and you need not remove chain cover and there will not be any decrease in top speed or mileage or acceleration .

Other than changing damaged parts it is always better to

1. Change the engine oil - cost you around 200 (if it is mineral)
2. Change Spark Plug -170 Rs
3. Change air filter - 200
4. Lubricate and adjust chain , change the fork oils, Clean the carburetor(after this use only good fuel like shell) - comes with general service -200

so you should put see a minimum 1000 Rs work in the bike after taking it .(other than changing damaged parts).




All the best.

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