The Guys:

Technocrat (owner of the Stock Karizma)
Pawan (Owner of the Stock Pulsar 220 DTSFi) &
Vivek (Owner of the Modified Karizma with Bigger Jets and Performance Air Filters)




Technocrat's (Owner of the Stock Karizma) review:

Although the title says P220 vs. ZMA, this is more of a review of the P220. I have compared it with ZMA wherever felt necessary.

Here's my unbiased view.


Overview

The Bike looks good & it’s stunning. It feels big when you sit on it, infact it gives you a big Bike feel the moment you sit on it, mainly due to the clip-ons & slightly backwards footrests. BAL as again has got a winner here, the fit & finish levels are very good infact much better than HH or for that matter ZMA. The digital Speedometer console looks great & the self test looks charming The first things that you notice are missing choke lever, fuel knob & a new pass beam switch along with the backlit switch panel & of course the LCD Digital console.


The Riding experience

My biggest worry was since this Bike doesn’t have kick starter how good would the self be & am glad to say that the self starter lived up to its expectation. The Bike starts very smoothly & almost effortlessly.

The gear shift is smooth & precise but still doesn’t not slot like CBZ\ZMA, some like it some don’t. I was fine with it as I had used this type of shift on my pulsar 180, but yes this one was better than the one on mine. Not a leap change in the gear shift but nevertheless a good one. Those who like slotting gears may still crib but I was happy with it as I had no false neutrals & no wrong gears.

The engine is smooth really smooth & the Bike picks up really sweetly, the exhaust note is nice but whether one likes it or not may differ from person to person. Once revved up the Bike gets the typical pulsar vibes near tank & fairing though they are minimal but can still be felt on the knee touching the fairing near tank. These vibrations come around 70kph & above.

Just like its smaller siblings (other Pulsars) the Rear View Mirrors on P220 become useless at these speeds as they vibrate so much that you cant make out what you see in the mirrors but since you cant see much anyways its not much of a problem. Oh, that reminds me that did I tell you guys that the Rear View Mirrors are absolutely useless especially if you are wearing a minimalist riding gear, reminds me of classic Pulsars which had stylish mirrors but very poor visibility with respect to the ones sported by DTSI versions, Yeah BAL did it again.

The Bike picks up really well on roll-ons, the most amazing thing was that even at 5th gear the Bike picked up at 25kph, though it pinked a bit but still picked up without any jerks.


Riding Comfort

I found the suspension to be a little stiffer than the ZMA while Pawan felt otherwise. The roads had no bad patches so cant say about how they would feel under bad road conditions.

The Bike has very sporty feel to it. The seats have good support & it holds you well. The Bike is really good if you want to ride it fast (which of course you would). I rode the P220 for around 10-15 kms & my right shoulder started to pain, does it make it really bad for long riding ?? To answer this, it reminds of the first two days when I had bought my 180 DTSi (which was my first Bike ever) & when my arms pained like hell for two complete days. So it’s just a matter of getting used to. So does this make the P220 a good tourer..?? Or to say will it be more comfortable than a ZMA for long rides ?? In my humble opinion with a guy of my height (am 5’10”) NO. Although the engine is really refined with enough power to take long stretches effortlessly the riding posture is not what you would want for such long rides. Having said that it’s still a matter of personal choice.


All those who got disappointed here’s another way to look at it. Those who are shorter in height may find the Bike to be better than the ZMA for riding comfort since they wont face the issue which taller guys like me faced i.e. crouched position & knees touching the fairing. So I think it can be safely put that it would be more comfy for shorter people that taller people for long rides.


Handling

I took the P220 on ghats & on straights; the Bike has really good handling when compared to the smaller pulsars especially because of the better swing arm & the riding posture & not to forget wider tubeless tires. The Bike is very eager to lean when compared to previous Pulsars. So is this the new Handling champion ?? Sadly No, here where I hated BAL the most, they have actually ruined a great handling Bike into a non handling one, the reason ?? The stupid main stand. I am very sure (infact the mains stand scrapes at slightest of the lean) confidant that if the main stand is removed the Bike will be an awesome handler.

Ok just before somone shouts that he has taken curves without scraping the stand, I will like to make it clear that the stand scraping happens when you are taking tight twisties uphill or downhill i.e. it won’t affect much on straights but then you only need the leaning aspect on such twisties


Braking

Full marks here no comments it simply rules here Excellent braking supported by a wide profile rear as well as front tire(Yes the front tire is broader too )


Headlights

10 out of 10 or may be 11 out of 10. The lights everywhere including the headlights are superb. Let it be tail lamps or the LCD or the backlit switches



Drag Results

Frankly speaking the drags which we had were very amateurish & should be taken only as indicative & not as a proof because:

Result 1: P220 VS My ZMA

P220 won on 2 runs


Result 2: P220 vs. Modded ZMA (Vivek’s)

ZMA won 3 times
[P220 won once when Vivek rode the P220 & Pawan rode the ZMA]



Conclusion

Well am no journalist & this isn’t any magazine so I am really not sure what to post as a conclusion or verdict, rather I would put it as answers to commonly asked Questions.

Q1: Is the P220 worth buying its price?
A1: Yes the P220 is a very good piece of machinery.

Q2: Is it better than ZMA?
A2: This is still debatable, while the engine is more powerful & has more torque than the ZMA, it still has niggling issues like poor Rear View Mirrors & vibrations at higher revs which the ZMA lacks, Also the handling though very good is marred by the stupid stand which I believe can be fixed. [In the end one has to decide his priorities & go for it]

Q3: Should I trade my ZMA for the P220
A3: Unless you want to go for all the gadgetry & that extra power NO. Remember the slightly modified ZMA beats it in the unofficial drag