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Re: Hero Honda Karizma ZMR
Welcome to the forum Sounak.
I've replied inline in bold.
Originally posted by sounakray
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Greetings everyone, from one of the newest member of the community! This is Sounak from Pune.
1. The extreme scarcity of this bike really concerns me! I know this is a superb bike and is of excellent quality, but why is it so rare on the streets if it's so good? Why does only 1 out of 7 Hero Moto Corp dealers in Pune have a ZMR ready for test ride? Why does it still have a 2-4 week of waiting period? Why do the salesmen appear so disinterested in this bike? If the sales is like this, I dread to imagine what would the after sales service be like! Are spare parts readily available? I've read stories of ZMR owners having to wait 2-3 months for certain parts.
Am I making a mistake by spending Rs. 1,15,200 on a 4 year old model that hasn't been a commercial success, and has poor A.S.S.?
Answer - Yes, ZMR wasn't a runaway success but we can't call it a flop model either. Suzuki's GS 150R is an awesome bike, but poor A.S.S has killed it too. Hero A.S.S is much better. ZMRs didn't sell because they were supposed to be upgraded versions of the ZMA and hence a major bump in power was expected and it failed here. The bike is good overall.
Most spares are available, but a few plastic parts take time to come upon ordering.
2. Given the above, should I consider some other model? If so, please suggest one. My requirements are:
A. Good riding comfort - I have a minor lowerback pain problem, and can't ride in hunched posture for long. So I need a bike with good suspension and good riding posture, that'll go well with my 6.1 ft, 94kg build .
B. Good performance - I've no intention of racing on my new bike (I'm 30, and past that age ), but I want to have adequate juice in my engine to make confident overtakes on highways, and to cruise in high speeds. It should be easy to drive in the city also.
C. Budget : (can be very painfully stretched to) max 1.5 lakh.
Answer - 2014 Karizma ZMR or maybe the new Pulsar 200 SS Fi (Fully faired model)
3. After the split with Honda, is HMC manufacturing their own engines? What engines do the present generation ZMR have? Honda's? Hero's? Hero + EBR's? The engine simply has "Hero" engraved on them. Should I be concerned if it's manufactured solely by Hero?
Answer - engines are still from Honda. HMC can use Honda tech till 2017. Even the new 2014 ZMR that produces 20 horses has the same Honda engine retuned by EBR.
4. Should I wait for the 2014 model? Will it be worth my while? What's the expected price? When will it be available? The HMC salesmen apparently have no idea about this (or they don't want to disclose).
Answer - I feel that the newer bike would be more VFM. I don't think they'd increase the prices by a big margin.
5. I know this is extremely controversial, but what would be the best break-in / running-in process for the ZMR? The company recommended process or Motoman's one? Motoman's points sound very logical and irrefutable to me, and I'm more inclined to follow his guidelines, unless anyone of you here recommend otherwise.
Answer - To each his own! Motoman's method maybe followed, but the engine would turn out a little hoarse when compared to conventionally run in ZMRs.
Moreover, in case of any mishap, you'd lose warranty on the engine if motoman method is followed!
6. Is the 5 year warranty any good, or just a marketing gimmick?
Answer - Its a good policy and not a gimmick at all. Moreover, it gives a reassurance that Hero knows that its engines can perform optimally for 5 years or more under any usage conditions.
7. What's with the vibration issue in the front fairing? I've read mixed reviews about it. Is it really a concern? The fairing felt pretty strong and solid on the bike I did my test drive on.
Answer - All faired bikes have this! Right from CBR 150R to the Ninja ZX 14R. Fairing is of good quality.
8. In my test drive, I just simply could not put the bike on neutral with the engine running! The gear would directly go from 1 to 2 and then 2 to 1, totally shipping the neutral position. With the engine off, I finally managed to put it on neutral by pushing the bike back and forth with the gears engaged. The sales guy said it's because it's a new engine and will be automatically sorted out with use. However I think it's total crap, for my unicorn's gear shifts were dead accurate from day one. Also I've read others complaining about this problem. Is it a general problem with ALL Karizmas? Does it really go away with use?
Answer - You'd learn to do it eventually. 9/10 newbies on a ZMR face this issue and eventually 6/10 owners learn to do it properly. Rest learn to live with it. Its not an issue with the bike, but the one riding it!
1. The extreme scarcity of this bike really concerns me! I know this is a superb bike and is of excellent quality, but why is it so rare on the streets if it's so good? Why does only 1 out of 7 Hero Moto Corp dealers in Pune have a ZMR ready for test ride? Why does it still have a 2-4 week of waiting period? Why do the salesmen appear so disinterested in this bike? If the sales is like this, I dread to imagine what would the after sales service be like! Are spare parts readily available? I've read stories of ZMR owners having to wait 2-3 months for certain parts.
Am I making a mistake by spending Rs. 1,15,200 on a 4 year old model that hasn't been a commercial success, and has poor A.S.S.?
Answer - Yes, ZMR wasn't a runaway success but we can't call it a flop model either. Suzuki's GS 150R is an awesome bike, but poor A.S.S has killed it too. Hero A.S.S is much better. ZMRs didn't sell because they were supposed to be upgraded versions of the ZMA and hence a major bump in power was expected and it failed here. The bike is good overall.
Most spares are available, but a few plastic parts take time to come upon ordering.
2. Given the above, should I consider some other model? If so, please suggest one. My requirements are:
A. Good riding comfort - I have a minor lowerback pain problem, and can't ride in hunched posture for long. So I need a bike with good suspension and good riding posture, that'll go well with my 6.1 ft, 94kg build
.B. Good performance - I've no intention of racing on my new bike (I'm 30, and past that age
), but I want to have adequate juice in my engine to make confident overtakes on highways, and to cruise in high speeds. It should be easy to drive in the city also.C. Budget : (can be very painfully stretched to) max 1.5 lakh.
Answer - 2014 Karizma ZMR or maybe the new Pulsar 200 SS Fi (Fully faired model)
3. After the split with Honda, is HMC manufacturing their own engines? What engines do the present generation ZMR have? Honda's? Hero's? Hero + EBR's? The engine simply has "Hero" engraved on them. Should I be concerned if it's manufactured solely by Hero?
Answer - engines are still from Honda. HMC can use Honda tech till 2017. Even the new 2014 ZMR that produces 20 horses has the same Honda engine retuned by EBR.
4. Should I wait for the 2014 model? Will it be worth my while? What's the expected price? When will it be available? The HMC salesmen apparently have no idea about this (or they don't want to disclose).
Answer - I feel that the newer bike would be more VFM. I don't think they'd increase the prices by a big margin.
5. I know this is extremely controversial, but what would be the best break-in / running-in process for the ZMR? The company recommended process or Motoman's one? Motoman's points sound very logical and irrefutable to me, and I'm more inclined to follow his guidelines, unless anyone of you here recommend otherwise.
Answer - To each his own! Motoman's method maybe followed, but the engine would turn out a little hoarse when compared to conventionally run in ZMRs.
Moreover, in case of any mishap, you'd lose warranty on the engine if motoman method is followed!
6. Is the 5 year warranty any good, or just a marketing gimmick?
Answer - Its a good policy and not a gimmick at all. Moreover, it gives a reassurance that Hero knows that its engines can perform optimally for 5 years or more under any usage conditions.
7. What's with the vibration issue in the front fairing? I've read mixed reviews about it. Is it really a concern? The fairing felt pretty strong and solid on the bike I did my test drive on.
Answer - All faired bikes have this! Right from CBR 150R to the Ninja ZX 14R. Fairing is of good quality.
8. In my test drive, I just simply could not put the bike on neutral with the engine running! The gear would directly go from 1 to 2 and then 2 to 1, totally shipping the neutral position. With the engine off, I finally managed to put it on neutral by pushing the bike back and forth with the gears engaged. The sales guy said it's because it's a new engine and will be automatically sorted out with use. However I think it's total crap, for my unicorn's gear shifts were dead accurate from day one. Also I've read others complaining about this problem. Is it a general problem with ALL Karizmas? Does it really go away with use?
Answer - You'd learn to do it eventually. 9/10 newbies on a ZMR face this issue and eventually 6/10 owners learn to do it properly. Rest learn to live with it. Its not an issue with the bike, but the one riding it!
I've replied inline in bold.
That I cud only probably apply some colour over it thats it. But, today it was like totally reversed. They use the same process as seen in 3M videos. 
Earlier, I was wondering something was amiss. Now I know what it was. I'm soooo sooooo happpyyyyy now man. The bike looks like out of showroom now. Scratches make ur bike look old. Believe me.
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