adabass

Hi,

I have returned from abroad after a long time and lost a little bit on the bike scene in India. I am in a dilemna and looking for help from experts here. I am 6'2" and a 86 kg chap. I want bike which is stable, safe, quick, comfortable and low maintenance. I will also have a pillion ride most of the time. Budget is not more than 1.2/1.3 L.

I am leaning a little bit on Karizma ZMR but the long wait is making me think about other options. Does a R15 suit my requirements? Is it big enough for me to sit comfortably? What about P220?

I am getting a 2009 Pulsar 200 for 60k and a 2006 Karizma with 25k km for 50 k - are these good deals? What would be a good deal on these kind of bikes?

Aryan

Topic Approved.

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abhichotu.abhi

You have a healthy budget so leave the 2nd hand bikes, instead buy a new one.
Considering you coming from abroad, I have only advice for you is buy either HH or Yamaha because the Bajaj bikes have a bit little or more niggles sooner or after. Thus, you would not love the maintanence part of bajaj.

In hh vs Yamaha , i think best buy is HH ZMR as it is well proven for years both for touring and commuter.

Above are my personal thoughts. I didnot mean to offend bajaj or anyother product.

kurtrules

Forget quick and safe. I will explian why. Because I am 6'2 as well.

The R-15 would be too small for a man that big.

The P-220 F's fairing would obstuct the knee recess, simply because your knee would overlap the fairing and thus would make it very uncomfortable riding it

And surprisingly, the ZMA (not ZMR) is void of any such difficulties.

Go for a test ride, and see which suits you, you would understand my point.

Also, I donot mean that people that tall donot ride R-15s and 220s.

Having said that, if I were say 5'10, I would pick the R-15 eyes closed

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wamsey

You maynot feel comfortable in R15 with your physique. I am 6'1 around 75 Kg; I didn't feel comfortable on riding it. So that brings down to New ZMR. But the waiting period is > 2 months for this. Take a test ride and you can make your call.

Are you considering only Sport bike models here? Just wanted to know your take on Royal Enfield - New UCE Classic 350, which is 1.1L on road, only if you are interested. New engines of RE are to be of low maintenance type.

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vipin_s

1. For your height R15 will be a little uncomfy compared to ZMR, I would still suggest you a test drive of both ZMR and R15 to gauge your comfort.
2. ZMR is best bet among the three, P220 has issues/niggles, do read ownership experiences.
3. New bike will give peaceful ownership, avoid IInd hand as your budget is 1+lac

neo88

I was too stuck in the same confusion, between ZMR & R15. I have selected ZMR.

You cannot compare ZMR & R15. both are too good and they are build for different outputs all together. See what is you need, test drive both of them and select the best you feel you are fit for.

Probably you will find it difficult to get a test ride of ZMR and waiting too is between 2-4 months depending on colour.

Between this 2 bikes i am sure you will get more confused once you go more deep into it. Most of the site have thier comparison including Xbhp, see those, get feedbacks and suggestions from owners, test drive & decide on your own. This is what I followed during selection process. By the way I got great help from Xbhp members to come to a conclusion.

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adabass

Thanks for a lot for sharing your experience. I actually sat on a R15 and yes, my knee did overlap the fairing. However, as it was a sunday, didnt get a test ride. You said ZMA is void of such difficulty. Did you mean to say that ZMR has such difficulties also?

Not considering REs because solely because of their high maintenance and bulky city driving. I love REs, if it was not for their impracticality.

kurtrules

I did not comment on the ZMR as I have not ridden the ZMR and hence not qualified to comment. I'll tell you what, ride both the ZMA and the ZMR for some kilometres and see which suits you the most. If test rides are not available, take a friend's.

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aargee

Welcome back to Mother India.

I hope the above are your requirements. I'll list down the common features/pros & cons with both the bikes, see which ones are most important & narrow down your choice of bikes.

IMO, forget the bajaj products & any second hand as your budget exceeds the second hand market. That leaves ZMR & R15. IMO, both are good bikes delivering almost the same performance, but with technology, R15 rocks. The delta framebox & if you're a rev lover you can rev all way upto 10K & availability of daytona racing kits with R15 makes it superior. The dynamic design of R15 will leave you illusioned for more speed though you're at top speed & has more "sports" engineering into it.

The downside of R15, yes you (really) need to learn how to sit with R15 which you don't need to with ZMR & BTW, the rear suspension is smooth with ZMR.

However, the maneuverability, handling & cornering of ZMR is no way matched to R15.

Acceleration wise, ZMR is quicker than R15 that for the first few seconds, what I mean is, you feel the real torque in R15 only on mid to high revs & this is for any gear & not restricted to 1st, but in ZMR it is immediate on any gear.

If you look into more of touring than city, then ZMR is best & consider R15 if you love to rev your bike often.

Looking at the nitty gritty stuffs, the R15's open chain will force you to lubricate the chain often compared to the closed chain in ZMR.

Last but not the least, if you don't expect some refinement & look for some best gear ratios, not so power, then you have an alternate competitor - RTR180.

Good Luck with your choice