Raghava, go ahead with Karizma. It suits you better. FZ is nimble in traffic due to its light weight, but karizma is not a bad one. Once you get command (which you would get in a week, or if you r a good learner a day), you would zip through the traffic.

Karizma is most comfortable for all kinds of riding.

all the Karizma owners & Honda fanboys forcing this guy for the ZMA...

Raghav, did u try both the bikes yourself?

Every bike does every task... but does certain tasks with greater ease. Ease is something personal and hence you have to feel it. Pls go ahead, drive the bikes in the conditions you want and decide for yourself.

When you want to RIP your bike often you cant resist the Karizma cause FZ is sluggish

@Raghav: My personal opinion - If I was the one choosing between the Karizma and the FZ, I would've gone ahead and bought the FZ with my eyes closed. That butch, naked styling just takes my heart away each time I see an FZ on the road. Ofcourse, if it would've been just a wee bit more powerful, it would've been phenomenal.

But nonetheless, I seriously don't think it's power would be a bottleneck when touring. I mean I am sure it can cruise between 80-90km/hr. all day long. And seriously speaking, that's enough for me to both enjoy the ride as well as the vistas around me.

So, if you want my suggestion - go for the FZ-16. Ofcourse the Karizma has a 200cc+ mill and all the extra supposed goodies that comes with such a machine, but then again like Pulsars, Karizmas abound on our roads (ofcourse Pulsars win hands down when it comes to "popularity" among the masses).

All said and done, go and get an FZ, it sure is 'Lord of the Streets'.

P.S: Karizma wouldn't really have been on my list anyways. It would've been a fierce competition between the FZ and the FZ! I would've been more confused regarding which colour to choose!

Since you're gonna use it 90% of the time in the city, I would say FZ hands down. Yamaha quality-it will last years if you take good care of it. Another reason is Karizma being a very old product.
P.S. If the touring bug bites you, you can always get a machine specifically for touring later on!

Try to take back to back test rides of both the bikes. Then you should know which one u like. If still confused between the two then flip a coin Which ever you buy u will get used to it and will enjoy.
Though i got ZMA i still enjoy riding my CBZ around the town

ppl who complain about FZ rear seat have not even sat on them or have too huge surface area i am 88kg and my frnds with over 100kg and big belly's sat on the back seat and no complain, my GF loves the heightened seat.

If u have too big surface area get a scooter rather lol

It is very clear. Test ride both back to back and select the one you like. Listen to your heart and not head.

If you want power, go for Karizma. If you want to save money, and you want only a city bike, go ahead with FZ. Mind you, the reliability of the FZ is not yet established.

ok, loads of pointers and advice and some need analysis queries.
First things first.
I'm 5'10', weigh 70 kgs.
I'm not that good with bikes, because i don't own any yet, but have been riding since i was 16 n hav ridden frndz' bikes a lot, maybe done > 2K kms cumulative (mostly on caliber, discovers, pulsars, unicorn, and even kinetic marvel :P)

I'm a pretty fast learner

I was busy with my work schedules for the past few days , so couldn't follow this thread since my last post.
As soon as I got a lil free time today, i test drove zma and fz (and R15) back to back. To come back and read that you guys had suggested d same just brought a smile to my face that my thought process is going fine.


This time while testing zma, i asked the guy to take me through a crowded route, (inner lanes of patparganj in e.delhi if some1 can relate to). I found weaving through traffic a tad difficult. I felt the bike was quite heavy as well. The sales person told me kerb wt was 170 kgs (HH online has it = 150kg !?).. Again, to read the exact same feedback from xBhpians here now, is just reaffirming my faith in my judgment.

Went onto FZ test drive,and particularly checked its high speed performance. Low end was gr8. shifting to 3rd gear from the 1st, it could still manage good pickup.
But it's very true that FZ loses all its sheen after 75 kmph.
but i could handle inner lanes, traffic more easily at moderate speeds and i even found cornering to be far more superior at 3rd gear speeds.

I also tested R15 again. I found out from the sales guy that the bike had been tweaked to reduce/cut throttle after a certain rpm as ppl had skidded/crashed during test drives . So this time asked the mechanic to de-tweak the throttle, he said it's not possible.


Sad, that I haven't experienced the true power of R15 yet. I drove my frndz R15 once in Bombay , but it was a new one - in bed in period, and my frnd strictly made me ride under 40

(insane, who'll buy an R15 based on a detuned test drive! ppl who've the money to spend on just d looks of a bike I guess )

Aryan, I was like you in December. Lurrrrvved the FZ. Was thinking of either Black or Red. :P

Black is the colour, n it'll be... (let it be a suspense till i post pics of my new bike. waiting for another month end, another salary :P )

ok again some1 help me in case this should be a new thread.

honda and yamaha showrooms are side by side in NOIDA. So after yamaha t/ds , i visited the honda showroom for info on new models.

After much grilling, i found out that
Honda is launching CBR series in India
not before April
in 4 variants as of now
125, 150, 225 and 1000 cc's.
Service training has started for new models, it seems.

That is all the sales mgr was willing to reveal. No details about pricing, but he estimated and 150 will cost around 1.6 L


Disclaimer :-P :I don't know how much of this is true.

That was the exact price when I converted Indonasian price for the CBR150R ... I posted that a while back on some other thread. So there is a good possibility of this price.

April is too late for me .. .. and with this price I am giving up on Honda

Hi Buddy....

Went through whole conversation...I am not a new guy who will guess something...First of all don't go for the look...otherwise someone will get impressed by the quote written at the back of kinetic blaze "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN"...sad to know that u don't trust Pulsar...I understand sometimes popularity creates doubt against something...I have ridden all broooms they claim in the market...and as per me no machine is available which performs better than Pulsar 180...ask me I went up to Ooty in 3rd gear with my friend...I m not skinny(5.11ft-94kg) neither my friend(5.6ft-78kg). Nobody will risk to go on that way during night with Karizma...it focus the light in different direction than your handle rotation(everybody knows)...and please dont bet me on performance...90% it depends upon u, how you maintain your partner...how you treat is really important...Please go through the spec in detail see the torque produced by the bikes if u r really concerned about the pick-up. One simple question does the fibers around a bike(of no use) impress so much??. See the bikes they use for mountain riding...why they are so naked?? In India the options for aerodynamic structure analysis is very less and expensive...HH just made the look to impress Indian customer and thats it...I was just crazy about Bullet since my childhood...I used to ride my uncle's bullet when I was 16...but when I went to purchase one thing was very clear to me..."I deserve the best"...so u are my frnd.

But at the end of the day it's your money.Hope it will not confuse you but will help u to pick the better machine...go broom...Rajiv

pt taken dude. in fact you missed out on my statement that I'm NOT impressed by zma's looks, and rather like the naked FZ a lot better.

so the very fact i'm considering zma is not at all for its looks.

i'm not sure about the bike not throwing light in the handlebar's direction... i don't intend to go biking on winding mountain roads anyways

and i'm pretty certain i'm gonna keep the bike I buy for quite a long time, love it, ride it and race it till either one of us dies :-) .

so i've been warned about pulsars that they are just not for long term ownership.

Raghav,

I'm considering this single statement of yours. Now, why don't you look at the Bullets. You can keep em for life and can teach your children riding on them. How about that? And coming to racing, you can eat up FZs and if ridden well, ZMAs too at the traffic light GPs. Pssst, the LB500 is big, fast and very endearing.

Cheers,
Jay

There goes JayP hard-selling the 500LB again
@Raghav : Mate.. The Zma seems like a no-brainer if you ask me. The fixed-headlight issue as pointed out by someone seems like a very childish reason to stay away from the Zma/P220/R15
If the R15 or the Bull falls within budget, you oughta consider them seriously over the Zma. A TD at that stage will help you in taking that final step

Cheers..!!