Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Thinking of selling my trusted partner..my Karizma R which I bought in Tambaram, Chennai in 2009 Nov. I call it Bucephalus and I have done countless long rides in this bike. The total odo reading is around 1 lakh kms. There is is absolutely no issues I am facing with the bike and I am happy to keep him for another decade. But I want to upgrade and I won't be able to keep 2 bikes together. I stay in a rented apartment in Bangalore and parking might be an issue for 2 bikes. Also I am not sure if I can do justice to the bike after I buy a new one. I am married from last 3 years and I know if I am not buying a new ride now, it will be difficult for me to do that in the future.

The steed still does a occasional 135-140 kmph(Without pillion) without breaking a sweat and a continuous 90-95 (With Pillion) whole day. There are nil vibrations in the bike, I have changed all the cracked plastic parts couple of years back and the rubbers are still have a lot of life left. I have upgraded with bigger Carb, High lift Cam, Uni free flow filter and I have the free flow exhaust with me which I am not using from last 1 year because of Bangalore Cops. Its been upgraded some 5-6 years back and I haven't faced any issues with the upgrades what so ever. I have been using Motul 300v full synthetic oil for last 80-90k kms and it runs butter smooth. I dont revv madly for long hours, try not to put too much strain on the engine and the result is effortless ride and low maintenance costs. But it does have regular wear and tear for which I spend an average of 1000-1500 in every 4-5 months.

I want some suggestions on

1. Should I sell it and buy a bigger capacity at all ? - Priorities are touring/pillion comfort, ABS, higher cruising speed, additional cylinder . Cant spend more than 3-3.5 lakhs though. I dont need a what bike advice because I will take a test ride if I have to buy and will decide whichever connects
2. How do I find a worthy buyer ? - I don't want to sell to someone who wont take care of the bike. Rather that selling it to a rookie, I will prefer to give it away to a cousin brother.
3. How much ₹ it will fetch me approximately? - I had spent around 20k on the performance upgrades.
4. Is there a way I can increase the power output further and improve the braking as well? - Somehow I feel the brakes are not apt for 90 kmph+ highway runs. Especially when you are 90+ kilos and ride with pillion and luggage. It was a lot better with Pirelli tyres though. Well...I was 70 kilos and didn't have a pillion those days

Any kind words from the experts would be highly appreciated!

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

change all the fuse placed under the seat,and the ones which are located beside the battery.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

My zma's trip meter is resetting automatically. What could be the reason? Clock is not getting reset and I haven't faced any problem with battery till now. What could be the reason?

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Probable Answers to ur queries
1.China made are worst , cant withstand/ seen during summer days . Go for rs200 or Duke's Leds

2.ZMR suspension is direct fit & somewhat good

3. My opinion, dont mess with electricals

4.zma is prone to rattles especially fibers , get them fixed with fiber welding & place rubber washers under bolts & screws

5.6.7.8. no first hand experience

we have our Zma owner's group , pm me if u want to join

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

I'm currently new to the forum & in need to restore my 2007 Karizma R to its formal glory.(kept it idle for a month rodents made a mess below the seat & damaged some wiring got it fixed from a regular shop).

Any suggestions regarding
1. Indicators to be replaced with led's.
2. Back suspension (wanna replace old one with good one)
3. Bigger Battery 9ah + .
4. Reducing some fibre vibrations.
5. Auxiliary LED lights
6. Crash Guard for mounting auxiliary lights( removing the engine cowl).
7. Packing the open areas below the back panels.
8. Fibre parts fixing for cracks

Any other suggestions??
Will be painting everything except all the fibre n petrol tank

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Will do it.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Don't add excess oil, just change to a higher grade. I believe Motul fork oils are of a higher grade as I remember users complaining that shifting to Motul had made their front end very stiff, but in your case I guess it might work better.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Wet grip is ok. Never had a fishtail on tarmac till now. Was using birla firemaxx and it used to lock every single time I press the brake lever with normal pressure in wet roads. The only time I lost grip after switching to sirac was on a slippery concrete while raining. That too when the tyre was brand new. I guess the tye is ok.
I didn't knew that about extension adapters. I asked the mechanic and some guys who has done it with yamaha rx. Nobody gave me any clue about this. I haven't experienced anything like that till now. Right now, the front suspension is a bit soft. The quantity of fork oil added was 160ml. Can I add a little more oil to make the suspension stiff?

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Extension adapters do cause flex on hard braking or off-roading, do keep an eye out for the same.

Do report on the wet grip, I've run on Sirac's a few years ago and the wet grip was dangerously scary, one tap of the brake and traction would go for a toss, same in the case of cornering, even minimal lean in the wet and you can feel the front end gradually give out.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

It is possible to increase fork height of every motorcycle. But be careful before doing this. Doing this will affect your bike's handling. Especially while cornering. I've increased just 1.2 inch and the results are good for me. I had a little shoulder and back pain after long rides and now it has gone. The perfect way of increasing fork height is changing to another bike's fork which is taller. But I've added extension inside the fork because buying whole forks are costly. The extension was available with my mechanic (he is an rx specialist and rx guys usually do this fork heightening here). Unicorn and karizma already have good riding posture. So I won't recommend highly altering it. There are guys who have increased fork height for more than three inches for offroading in xbhp. You can check that too. I'm just 5'7 so I cannot increase the height too much. The decision is yours but think thoroughly before it. In my case, I'm happy with it. And go to an experienced mechanic for this.

Sirac street costed me 2400 and extra 200 for making the wheel tubeless. 100 for the valve and 100 for labour. Tyre is a bit heavy and acceleration and top speed has took a hit. But the bike feels more planted at higher speeds and cornering also has become easy.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Is it possible to increase fork height of honda unicorn too??? And how much did michelin sirac cost?? I have got MRF zapper 110/90-18 on my unicorn

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

My ride.
Fork height increased
Crash guard of hornet 160
Front tyre mrf zapper kurve f 90/90-18
Rear tyre michelin sirac street 110/90-18
Led headlight.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Hello guys!
I am Divyanshu new to xbhp, owns a Karizma 2005 (which is under process of engine rebuilding) based out in Dehradun.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Hi Akheel,

The problem might not be with your tires... as harsh as this sounds it could be your braking. This may sound entirely controversial but in reality all tires behave similarly on a wet road. If you want to improve your wet tarmac riding skills you have to focus and understand where your tire no matter what brand finds grip and never leave that center line. Don't waste money on new tires, Instead read and try to apply riding techniques and most fishtailing can be caught and corrected (as I'm sure you did) Things like that happen and don't let it scare you into thinking changing tires will bring more confidence. Only riding more and overcoming your obstacles can.

Stay in a higher gear
Brake slow and always in a straight line.
Around a corner in the wet imagine the bike as always perpendicular to the road. never try to lean it. (Don't worry you'll still corner fast)
Always always maintain the contact patch and 'feel' the center line of your front.
Losing the rear can mostly be saved, try never to lose your front.
Practice loads of off-road riding when possible. It will build confidence and help you correct jerky impulses.
Take it easy.. we've all been there.
Cheers and happy riding.

- 13 years on the Karizma. Fast in the dry, faster in the wet, fastest when I'm off road. Tires owned - Stock, Pirelli Sports Demon (best for grip), Dunlop Monster (worst), Michelin T-63 (best rear tire), Michelin Siracs (not too bad in my opinion)

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I removed my chain cover in 2006 and have never looked back since. Chain cover is only there to contain that blasted chain noise in my opinion. It's pretty useless. Ridden more than 1,00,000 without a cover. No issues .. just regularly oil it. You can use Motul chain lube but that is extra slick so go easy on it. Extra lubrication will loosen the chain.
Also tried the O-ring chain retorfitted from the P220 (two chains joined to make one as it is short) .. was okay but the extra weight is not worth the hassle or cost. Stay stock .. it's all good. Just regularly clean and oil it.

Re: Karizma/Karizma R Ownership Experience

Be careful when working on carb. Don't use so much force to tight afr screw. It will damage the carb. After fully closing it, 3.5 turns anti clockwise is perfect for zma.