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Year 2003. Brand Karizma came to existance. The specifications were good and promising considering India was still beginning to grow into performance bikes' culture.
The bike was a good looker and certainly a magnet for onlookers then. There was no bike that could unsettle it and it saw its share of glorifying days.
Then came the blow! Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTs-Fi. It made 19 bhp and was certainly a threat. Karizma was already more than a few years old. Hero Honda (now HMC) had to act fast.
Then HH announced an update to their flagship bike. Obviously, people were excited. But the updates were depressing to say the least. They added an 'R' sticker to the tank & headlamp assy and added a bottom cowl/fairing to the bike. This turned off many enthusiasts.
In the meanwhile, BAL ditched the Fi and reverted to carb for P220 and upped the ante with 21 bhp and labelled it as the 'Fastest Indian/Hunto'.
BAL almost killed the HH flagship product in terms of sales. The only saving grace for HH was the engine in the ZMA/R. It wouldn't just die.
2 more years down the line, Karizma ZMR was launched. It was a faired and supposed to be a more powerful version of the ZMA. People pinned their hopes with the upcoming ZMR and hoped for 21+ bhp AT LEAST! But the specs literally made Karizma loyalists into a mockery and laughing stock for the world.
The new bike was doomed to fail in the market with bikes like the new R15 which made almost as much power and P220 which was just way too powerful for the ZMA/ZMR.
But time heals. Slowly, it gained acceptance. The fairing to most is an ugly looking plastic, which I'd agree with; but it does its job really well.
Tires are skinny, but there are a few options. After all, RE and HH (now HMC) are the only ones not willing to adopt 17 inch wheels.
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Now, my story.
I got my ZMR on 09th January 2011. The ODO was 3 kms. I knew I'd be in Chennai in 20 days as I already had my offer letter in hand. But the waiting period for Pearl While ZMR was over 3 months in AnnaNagar which was near my to-be office in Ambattur. I didn't bother asking any other showroom. Head to my native showroom and they had few ZMRs of which one was white. You see, I come from an Industrial City (Bokaro Steel City) but performance bikes were until recently regarded as a taboo and only spoiled brats rode them.
So, all in all; I inquired for the bike and got the delivery in 2 hours with the PDI done by my dad. I got handle bar grips, seat cover, bike cover and 8L (
) petrol as complementary.
Took the insurance from the dealer himself and it cost me and my dad 99,868 rupees OTR.
Here's my first pic with the bike.
The bike was a good looker and certainly a magnet for onlookers then. There was no bike that could unsettle it and it saw its share of glorifying days.
Then came the blow! Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTs-Fi. It made 19 bhp and was certainly a threat. Karizma was already more than a few years old. Hero Honda (now HMC) had to act fast.
Then HH announced an update to their flagship bike. Obviously, people were excited. But the updates were depressing to say the least. They added an 'R' sticker to the tank & headlamp assy and added a bottom cowl/fairing to the bike. This turned off many enthusiasts.
In the meanwhile, BAL ditched the Fi and reverted to carb for P220 and upped the ante with 21 bhp and labelled it as the 'Fastest Indian/Hunto'.
BAL almost killed the HH flagship product in terms of sales. The only saving grace for HH was the engine in the ZMA/R. It wouldn't just die.
2 more years down the line, Karizma ZMR was launched. It was a faired and supposed to be a more powerful version of the ZMA. People pinned their hopes with the upcoming ZMR and hoped for 21+ bhp AT LEAST! But the specs literally made Karizma loyalists into a mockery and laughing stock for the world.
The new bike was doomed to fail in the market with bikes like the new R15 which made almost as much power and P220 which was just way too powerful for the ZMA/ZMR.
But time heals. Slowly, it gained acceptance. The fairing to most is an ugly looking plastic, which I'd agree with; but it does its job really well.
Tires are skinny, but there are a few options. After all, RE and HH (now HMC) are the only ones not willing to adopt 17 inch wheels.
-------------------------------
Now, my story.
I got my ZMR on 09th January 2011. The ODO was 3 kms. I knew I'd be in Chennai in 20 days as I already had my offer letter in hand. But the waiting period for Pearl While ZMR was over 3 months in AnnaNagar which was near my to-be office in Ambattur. I didn't bother asking any other showroom. Head to my native showroom and they had few ZMRs of which one was white. You see, I come from an Industrial City (Bokaro Steel City) but performance bikes were until recently regarded as a taboo and only spoiled brats rode them.
So, all in all; I inquired for the bike and got the delivery in 2 hours with the PDI done by my dad. I got handle bar grips, seat cover, bike cover and 8L (
) petrol as complementary.Took the insurance from the dealer himself and it cost me and my dad 99,868 rupees OTR.
Here's my first pic with the bike.
i guess this will be the 3rd time I am going to replace the rear disc pads.. and I have munched less road on my bike compared to you, but still 32000 kms is pretty decent for the daily commuting I do of just 7 kms per day 
... Bro if you want to take new ZMR who will you pick earlier model or the coming soon modelll... i dont know but i love this current ZMR model.. ... what you have to say
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