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The ZMA I would say is your best bet. Bang for buck

Karizma is good but CBR is best.... Go for Red CBR C-ABS version

Depends upon your budget.
Most bang for buck tourer is the ZMA, but there are trade offs. No ABS, no fancy meter console, skinny tires, sloppy rear brakes (drum brakes), poor headlamps (can better this though).
All of this you get within 95k OTR.

Add 1 more lakh and you get a CBR ABS. Trade offs - lesser mileage, a little higher maintenance cost w.r.t ZMA.

Bullets have the most comfy seats and riding position, but they require maintenance every now and then. They've improved quite a lot in quality over the years, but still its a long way to go.

Just as a query, how come Avenger is not on this list ? Any particular negatives which is preventing it ...

Nothing in particular, but the rear portion of the seat is very narrow. Its not well suited for pillion riders. Hence, I excluded that off the list.
(Since the TS needs a bike for city + highway use and might have a pillion with him sooner or later.)

I wonder why the Pulsar 220F wasn't discussed. Just because the 200NS has launched now? Aren't the Karizma/Electra *technically* older models than even the Pulsar 220F ?

Anyways, many many Pulsar 220 owners (including me) have found it supremely comfortable, fast and reliable on our innumerable highway runs. It also offers fatter tyres, excellent highway cruise speeds, best in class lighting, better wind protection than a Naked bike (like Electra/200NS), excellent ride comfort regardless of terrain, acceptable handling and excellent high speed stability. The pillion seat is also not bad.

Given the no. of trade-offs listed by Divya Sharan, I still don't see the 220F a bad option at all.

p220F is a very good option, i had this machine for 2 years and it never disappointed me, i still miss my 220,
This bike is very much fun riding on highways and on city roads.
Its just that this machine is being over shadowed by high marketing(/teen focus) of Duke and 200ns, But 220 still doesn't feel dated. Though zma can feel dated at times with the equipment level.

Pick the Zma / 220, both are excellent tourers.. I'd recommend 220 though for the +ves mentioned above

i feel Karizma R looks better than its ZMA counterpart (esp. the rear part) and about 220F, i've heard that bajaj engines are not meant for a long-life relationship.
finally, about 250r i guess its riding position is not that comfortable like Karizma(and yes, i've to think about another 1 lac. )

i currently own a CBF Stunner and i love it (till i hit the highway..). i wouldn't have gone for a upgrade if it was 150cc something but due to lack of power i have recently been thinking about moving on to Karizma R

I dont see the Zma as a "bang for your buck" option as of today. Neither style quotient wise(refer to mayanks post above), nor cost efficient wise(read costly spares) or day to day riding cost wise. I ride a Zma since the past 7 years and today I'm switching over to the 220f. Reason? Pls refer antz.bin's post above. All the right reasons! But all said and done, the Zma is a good bike too and I really enjoy it even today

Hi

I have also been using the Bajaj Pulsar 220F for two years now, and beet me as far as performance is considered its a great bike. It is ment to rule the streets and the highways.

But certainly the bajaj engine seems to be a bit on the lower side as far as quality is considered. So as allready mentioned above in some post, if you are looking for a long term relationship bike, this is not the one for you.

Now coming to Hero motorcorp, well to me the older Karizma is far better than its new version the ZMR. But at the same time the older one comes with less technology and more importantly, drum brakes at the back.

Now coming to the bullet. I have driven it a lot of times , both the classic 500, 350 and the thunderbird, but let me tell you unless and until you are a hardcore royal enfiled fan you would not want to go for it. Yes the ride feels steady and is good for long runs. But certainly this bike is not for the city roads.

And here comes the big one - The CBR 250R. My first opinion about this bike is- if you have the extra money to get this , go for it. CBR to me appears one of the best bikes for both the highways and the city. the performance is superb as well as the comfort levels are very high. SO certainly CBR is the winner but it comes at a high cost though not to forget.

If you want to make a specification wise comparison of the above bikes you can do it here.