raman sriharsha

Blasting past the back-roads in Haryana, I could sense the comfort and composed behaviour of a well-engineered motorcycle. Neatly tucked behind the visor of the new Karizma ZMR, there was no wind blast hitting the helmet and the relaxed yet sporty riding posture only added an inch on each side of the grin inside my helmet. There was something charming and telling about the new ZMR, especially after riding on a few broken roads it was evident that this bike can take it all, no matter what the riding conditions are.

The most striking change is the new multi-reflector headlight and incorporation of a full fairing a la superbike. The large state-of-the-art digital dials upfront are a welcome change over the old-school analogue instrument cluster seen on the earlier Karizma. The flashy part about the console is that the owner can feed a custom message of upto 60-odd characters in the right-hand side dial that will display the text each time the ignition is switched on.



Ergonomics
After almost half a day of riding, I noticed how easy and comfortable the ZMR felt, especially due to its seating geometry. The posture is tailor-made for long distance touring, which has always been the Karizma's forte and it also distinguishes the ZMR from its competition. The two-piece handlebars are raised for easy reach and the saddle/ foot-peg equation is well-matched for an effortless and pleasurable experience, which is suited for those with itchy feet. If we may call it that, this is India's first true-blue 'Grand Tourer'. Hero Honda has made no tall claims about its performance and the bike won't come in the sniffing distance of its competition like the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSi or the super-sport offering from Yamaha, the YZF-R15. But if you are charting a ride to Leh or planning a visit to the Southern coastal locales, the ZMR will be the most fitting set of two-wheels for stress-free mile-munching.

First Ride: Hero Honda Karizma ZMR

By: Varad More, Photography: Kunal Khadse 10 Oct 2009




The Ride
But what has been repeated for over three years, about how much we would love to see HH plonk a full-blown 250cc liquid-cooled DOHC motor inside the Karizma, reality remains that the new bike is still powered by the tried and tested 223cc air-cooled engine, that has been serving the old bike since 2003. However, on the ZMR there are a few new developments. The most crucial improvement is the inclusion of Honda's PGM-Fuel Injection system which has given the lazy power delivery of the old Karizma a solid boost in its new form, especially in the higher rev-range. And like they say, competition brings out the best in breed - Hero Honda has finally incorporated technologies like an oil-cooler, gas-charged rear suspension, rear disc brake and tubeless tyres, which have become a norm on most Indian performance motorcycles.

How will it run?
In the past four years, the sales of Hero Honda's premium products' consisting of its 150cc and above range of models has recorded triple growth rate with significant contribution from the Karizma-R. This growth rate has forced India's leading bike-maker to share its focus on the performance segment and the Karizma ZMR is the first indication of this welcome change in the company's outlook. Moving over its image of giving new sticker-jobs and new paint-schemes, this time Hero Honda has made considerable alterations to its flagship model, the Karizma. Only time can tell if the new ZMR will be able to shake off the big Pulsar from its perch, or not, but we can rest assured that it is now a good moment for Indian biker's to truly rejoice, as the battle of the biggies commences.






source--http://www.zigwheels.com/Reviews/First-Ride-Hero-Honda-Karizma-ZMR/Karizma_20091001-4-4

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2005-06 @ activa n ambition
2006-09 @ ambition
2010... @ yamaha R-15, new ACTIVA

biker REDEfined

Aryan

Topic Moved and Approved.

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...in search of that perfect world - My Travel Blog :)

livetoride

pics pics pics !

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Biking is the ultimate addiction, cocaine is just powder.

me is rossi

will look hot in BLACK!...Already Spidy's zma in mumbai is doin a 140!! with FI wonder wer will the odo point!

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Vikram.....

http://vikramDixit.blogspot.com...


sach kadwaa hota hai .. ;)

Wheel_Spin

Zigwheels is retarded. No offence to any zigwheels fans but they should start doing PR brochures and PR press/ad material rather than writing objective and neutral reviews.

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bprags

+1. If a company wants hype then they should hire ZigWheels for it, no need of any TV ADS.

thunderbird_m6

Have been to HH showroom in Somajiguda,HYD.. delivery period is around a month's time as informed by staff there. OD & Autocar India will only publish in next month's issue about full road-test & then we can make out about its performance... Also, tomorrow is the day when NINJA will be see day-light & also Bajaj is bringing one more Pulsar before this year-end.

So many things still to come :
* Honda is coming up with new version of Unicorn...
* U can't guess if Yamaha will heat up entire premium segment with speculated bigger 220+ FZ/Fazer in Auto-Expo in Jan'10.\
* Suzuki might land with GSX-150R to take on R15 in its first round of battle
* Again, Honda can bring CB150-R to take on r15 & gsx-150r.

Guys, hold all your moolah & don't rush anywhere bcoz... " PITCURE ABHI BAAKI HAI MERE DOST "

moeed

^^ So much to come up. Thanks for sharing the info!

Wheel_Spin

@thunderbird: If you think like that the "picture will hamesha be baki mere dost" & you bikeless! LMao!

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imranvl

So True Wheelspin --- I waited without a bike for almost 4 months--
In the meantine bought a Rx100 for a month aur 3.5k loss when i went to sell it m8....

Socha picture abhi baaki hai But picture chalu hone se pehle hi khatam.. he he