Well technically you missed the chance of owning two of the best bikes out there within your budget and of course they are Duke 200/CBR250. But, of course you liked ZMR, enjoy your ride.

Karizma might not be the fastest Indian bike but still it has more then decent enough power for Indian roads & still its quicker then many other bikes on roads even after so many years but then main thing which it can do better than any of its competitor is "touring", it still is no doubt one of the best sports tourer available in the country & ZMR took it one step further with a most important tech according to me for high altitude locations i.e Closed loop FI,few other features are helpful too while touring..

given an another chance I personally will go for ZMR again..or might go for CBR250 that's it, there's no other product which can replace a bike like ZMA/ZMR..

There's no doubt that R15 is a great machine but they both have different kind of byers..i mean how can you tour on R15 like a ZMA or How can you score smashing time laps on ZMA like R15..they both are VERY different products & if a buyer has to buy a bike for touring then it'll be a foolish decision to choose a sports bike like R15 over a sports tourer like ZMA/ZMR..

According to me Karizma is an overall package which might not over-shine its competitor on any perimeter but still it has power,touring capabilities,reliability,looks(which are subjective though,i love how ZMR look as well I still love ZMA-R),good FE in an improved Karizma & every other ingredient which a biker want from a bike like it..

Karizma HAS its charm in the heart of its lovers..though even we are sad to see how Hero is treating a bike like legendary Karizma..

to summarize all - Karizma is Rahul Dravid among Indian Bikes..few other bikes may exceed it in "numbers/digits" but still its reliable & dependable as "The Wall"

@Payeng,

This was an option between Yes or No so why so much discussion and not a Poll????

The problem in India is that there is a lack of segmentation in terms of a bike's utility and everything comes down to pricing.. You see a sports model, a street naked and a tourer, everything in the same price bracket and people start comparing them..And that is where they lose the plot.

Yes, the karizma is outdated but it does it's job well and Im sure no one denies that. Brand wars aside, it was a brilliant product which lost out due to Heros priorities..

Very well said Srini. People are comparing ZMR, Pulsar 200NS, R15 but all are different bikes,
Karizma ZMR - Sports Tourer
Pulsar 200 Naked Sports - Sports Street Fighter
YZF R15 - Sports Track Utility.

It depends on what kind of bike the rider wants. Pricing aside, comparing 3 bikes having different utility is just disrespecting all of them.

Touring Bike..??

The Karizma was/has never ever sold/positioned as a "Touring" bike by Hero.

The touring capabilities of the Karizma was actually "discovered" by enthusiasts like xBhpians.. That too just because the Karizma had good low end torque compared to other bikes (barring the Royal Enfields). But now the CBR250R beats it on the Torque scale.


Since its launch in 2003 Hero has always positioned/sold the Karizma as a "PREMIUM" bike. The Karizma R even till date carries the "Premium Sports" tag on the bike and the Karizma ZMR is positioned as.. well.. "Above All".

Therefore never mind the Track/Street/Touring capabilites of a bikes/bikes, it is the PREMIUM Sheen that is wearing off the Karizma R/ZMR.

The problem in India is that there is a lack of segmentation in terms of a bike's utility and everything comes down to pricing.. You see a sports model, a street naked and a tourer, everything in the same price bracket and people start comparing them..And that is where they lose the plot.

Yes, the karizma is outdated but it does it's job well and Im sure no one denies that. Brand wars aside, it was a brilliant product which lost out due to Heros priorities..

But now the CBR250R (actually positioned as a Sports Touring bike which but I don't quite agree.. but still..)

The problem in India is not that people start comparing bikes w.r.t. pricing. The problem here is that the Manufacturers think that India is filled with dumb people who wouldn't understand it if they made segments amongst the motorcycles.

Well, I have a newsflash for these *super smart* manufacturers. Cars were segmented a long time back and now nobody compares a Vento 1.6 to a Indigo CS even though, the former (Hatchback) priced higher than the latter (sedan) The segments overlap each other in terms of pricing but still everyone is clear on what not to compare with what.

Who positioned it? Its a sports bike & marketed as Sport Quarter for One World; someone who like or against the bike added that touring word to it!!!

But now the CBR250R ([I]actually positioned as a Sports Touring bike which but I don't quite agree

but lets not drag that to this thread

Well, I have a newsflash for these *super smart* manufacturers. Cars were segmented a long time back and now nobody compares a Vento 1.6 to a Indigo CS even though, the former (Hatchback) priced higher than the latter (sedan) The segments overlap each other in terms of pricing but still everyone is clear on what not to compare with what.