Query approved.

Better parts availability and good SC are major aspects of concern after purchasing a bike. For touring the manufacturers SC and parts availability of particular bike is a major issue across different places\cities. IMO, the P220 has the best among the three after-sales spare parts and service availability. For a ZMA or ZMR be it a 10 Rs or a 100 Rs part you will have to wait over a decade to get the part delivered and fitted into your bike.

My bet: Pulsar 220 Dts-i F.

Karizma without any doubt is the most comfortable bike in india for touring
The bike is very relaxed and have a smooth engine that can do long distance touring much easier and enjoyable..

I have completed 25 K in my Karizma , done plenty of long distant rides
tried all bikes except ninja and i can clearly tell you that no other bike gave so much comfort for long distance ride as Karizma.

It may not be as fast as P220 , it may not be as sharp as R15 but for
a long distance touring Karizma all the way ..

I suggest you to buy Karizma - R instead of ZMR due to the huge fairing which will be a problem in cross winds and bad terrains . Buy some good riding gear for the rest of money ..

If budget is not a problem wait till diwali Honda may launch a 250 cc .
also have a look at Mahindra mojo . I belive mojo will be a good touring bike for indian condition with Fi , Radiator , high ground clearance , 6 gears ,26 bhp and very good torq , monoshock , great tyres and absence of fairing

Not only for u, but for all, "ZMA-R" is the BEST touring bike (if you can be happy with its FE and the looks)

Dont go for Pulsar 220 dtsi.... its not worth it... go for karizma....

What is the cost of ownership of a Karizma or ZMR especially in the long run?

I have seen Pulsars becoming expensive to own as time goes by (I own one myself as do some of my friends & all of us concur on this point).

So does a ZMR or a Karizma turn out to be cheaper or more expensive? (not considering crashes, damages to the bike etc). Just considering normal everyday usage + touring.

I Own a 220 Dtsi And it is very costly to maintain plus the bike gives out at high speeds it just dies, I have been stranded in the middle of nowwhere many tyms and serious have lost it and cursed my bike so many times.. I would rather say that hero Honda Zmr or Zma are infinity times better choice in terms of reliability and quality.....

after 4 years with my pulsar 180... converted to a p-200 I realised :

"Quality should not be a choice but a compulsion when you are buying a new bike"

Believe me the current generation pulsar can NEVER live upto that.
Hope that helps.

ChEers
me is rossi

Nothing of that sort has ever happened to me in my 14 months and 18.5k km of ownership. And It ain't costly to maintain either.

7 days back I came back from my 8 day 3k km long South India tour and the only problem I faced was the rattles considering the pathetic state of affairs of roads in South India especially NH17.

Never on my tour did give me a FE of <35 (It was 40.xx most of the times, 35.xx while cruising at a constant 110+).
The lighting on a P220 is unmatched (Considering sometimes night rides are unavoidable).
I could easily do 900km on the last day without any butt / back ache.
The stock MRF tyres are grippy, wide and perform well in the wet. The braking is adequate enough considering the P220 has the 2nd best 100-0 timing after Apache 180 amongst all Indian made bikes(Sometimes on tour you do need to stop real fast).
And lets not even start to talk about the top / comfortable cruising speeds managed on a P220.
According to me, If you are on an Indian road with the intent of touring, you are better off on a Pulsar 220 DTSi F than any other vehicle amongst the current crop.

No offends to any Karizma R / ZMR / R15 / P220 S / Bull / Any other bike owners.

@TS: I was refraining from posting on this thread all day but could not hold myself back now. But, there are already threads in this section which will help you on this particular query.





P.S.: I keep the Ninja and Mojo out of any such recommendations due to obvious + different + known to all reasons.

agreed to antz here.

any bike amongst zmr,zma(obviously costly to maintain) or 220 is good enough for touring.

heck I have toured 50 k kms on an r15 without any issues whatsoever.(by that I mean either to the bike or to the rider) so whoever says that it is meant for only track is absolutely wrong.

so depends a lot upon you whenever you choose

I am very much inclined towards the ZMR (love the fact that the P220 is a cheap ass bike but its a BAJAJ ).

The problem is I couldn't get a Test drive of the ZMR at Fort Point (Mahim) . So cannot decide really as yet

Karizma
R or Zmr ...u decide

I can comment on ZMA-R and p220 as I have ridden both

ZMA-R is the tourer which handles better and has a refined engine compared to P220 but what it lacks is the torque of P220 and the growl. A normal tourer can throw ZMA on the twisties more easily compared to P220 due to the weight factor and some more features. On a dead straight highway,fastest Indian should be ahead

Top end really doesn't matter...On Indian conditions both can do speeds 100-110kmph which are more than enough over serious distances of touring.

ZMA-R is more civilized whereas P220 aggressive design.

I agree if you ride ZMA-R and P220 side by over short distances, one might feel ZMA to be slightly on the dull side compared to the way a P220 pulls in each gear with a growl and the seating position( its not faster by a mile or anything,its just the way each of the bike puts down its power-P220 has more bang than ZMA-R)

But once distances increase and roads conditions change( In touring,one will come across all kinds of roads),the suspension set-up on the ZMA-R is ideal for Indian roads whereas its on the stiffer side on the P220 which might cause fatigue sooner.

Brakes on ZMA-R and P220 are more or less good or rather more good in P220( if the set-up is right) and good in ZMA( nissin ...mauh )too

The only biggest advantage P220 has over the ZMA is the Headlight Nothing presently on Indian road can match its throw or looks. Zma's stock 35/35 is useless/scary on night ride at speeds over 70kmph. One normally switches to 60/55 which is a big improvement over the stock as the reflector on ZMA is one of the best but not as good as P220.

If u expect mileage to be in the forties on the highway, U can extract similar figures from both. In the city may be P220 gives slightly better mileage say 40 compared to 35-38 on a ZMA...Again nothing phenominal

Now the question is what are ur preferences. if its P220 , then go ahead (easy available cheaper spares no big issues,fastest Indian,headlight)

If you like ZMA, then go for ZMR , it pretty much does everything slightly better than the ZMA (except accel which is slow marginally). Better equipment, better brakes (both Nissin ... Mauh),better mileage,refinement.

Dude Even i want to purchase a ZMR, Kuch idea hai kitna waiting hai...? please lemme know