Nissin is the word, Nissan is a manufacturer which specialises in automobiles,

I am really really glad to see my xBhp maturing,

i have a feb '07 zma-R, and now i want to change, but 220's service(PBK) is a good 400 kms round trip away and with the kind of problem one can face(my cousin had to transport it due to some probles to the PBK),

had everything been hunky dory with 220, i would have, though 220 is faster,

waiting priod

Seems like no dealer in Bangalore has the zma stock. Everyone is quoting minimum wait period of 15 days. I called up the dealer in Tumkur (hometown) to check with him. He has the bike ready. But again a red one. Not sure what to do. Will be taking a test ride of P220 today. Still confused

Regards,

Krishna

Isn't that what you did the last time also, I think you bought your ZMA from Tumkur even then!

Have a ride of the 220, see if you like it over the ZMA...then decide.

Btw, whats the waiting period for the 220?

Praful,

The p220 waiting period is 10 days. Also, my new requirement is that to travel safely in wet/dry days on Hosur Road since I will be working in shifts. It was really scary to apply rear brakes on zma in wet, no wonder i changed my front brakepads at 12k kms. Does the p220 behaves the same way? Now, commuting on Hosur road will take priority along with weekend touring.

Regards,

Krishna

Welcome to the club mate. I paid up for a black Zma on the 16th of February.
Haven't got her yet

I can't describe the kind of restlessness ive been enduring since the past couple of weeks...
P.S : Prakash Motors is expecting 4 black Zma's soon (Whenever that's gonna be). Im gonna be picking one for myself.
You can get one from the remaining three I reject

But, I heard Prakash motors sucks in servicing, is it true? Sai motors did a good servicing for my previous zma if not the best.

No compulsion that you've gotta get your bike serviced from the dealer whom you've bought the bike from
Im gonna be giving my Zma to Nikhi Motors for servicing. IIRC, They got good reviews from some xBhpians...

Braking is very good on the P220. Peace of mind = Zma. Just put your money down on the bike you like and feel comfortable with. You are worrying too much. Coming to the stability in dry/wet conditions and the crazy uneven medians on Hosur Road, nothing to beat the venerable Bullet clan. The bottomline is, your riding ability matters, especially on Hosur Road where there is alsolute chaos 24x7. Bluntly putting it, both the bikes will serve you as well as you ride them.

Cheers,

Jay

Well rightly said.....instead of taking someone else's advice blindly....choose something you are comfortable with...

IMO and this is what I experienced...
The ZMA has a beautifully progressive front brake, where as the 220 has a more bitey kind. The rear brakes on the ZMA is practically useless, and on the 220 well it varies, my rear's are almost as good as the fronts.

Tyres play a huge deal in providing grip, both the ZMA and the 220 have tyres that are very dry oriented and not very good in wet conditions. As long as the tyre is new (>10K kms) the grips is slightly better than the ZMA in wet. So if you jam the rears on the 220 in wet you can definitely expect a scary experience.

About disc pads, well nothing like nissin...but yes the 220 pads hardly cost 1/8th of the ZMA pads!

I've commuted on Hosur road during the rains last year. Did not face any issues with regards to braking or grip. But then Hosur road is a killer road...nothing can be predicted.

You can try out my 220 after you have TD'ed a new one at the showroom to get a feel of what a 30K+ 220 feels like!

Could you substantiate your claim that the ZMAs rear brakes are useless? Why? I say they are more than adequate and do the job they are meant to do with aplomb.

I say the ZMA has the best set of brakes in the business, brakes that are progressive and provide feel. Some might believe that the front disc doesn't provide enough stopping power during a panic stop - but stop the bike does, well in time.

If the bike is skidding a lot, that is a function of the rider skill and the quality/condition of the rear tyre.

^^^ the ZMA's front disc is very good and is almost enough... use the rear only for mildly extra stopping power... any harder on that, the tail is ready to spin... blame it on what ever!

Better stop comparing the abilities of P220 and Karizma at micro level. Braking of both the bikes are really good. They never put you in a panic situation. May be the charactersitcs are a bit different.

Praful, what would you like, a Mutton biriyani or Chicken Biriyani??

@Praful : Spank yourself for all the OTing
@nirvan : Praful is one of the only people who wholeheartedly criticises his own bike for all the shortcomings
Read the P220 Ownership thread and you'll get the drift mate !

@Krishna : I got my Zma yesterday. 4 Black Zma's landed at Prakash Motors yesterday. All four of em were sold within a couple of hours time. You're in for a wait of two weeks atleast for a Black Zma.
But buddy.. Its worth the wait if you're smitten by the Honda

P.S : There was a lone Yellow Zma which had arrived alongwith the black ones'. There are 11 Red ones' which are all '08 model bikes.
The Yellow bike was instrumental in giving me several second thoughts on my choice of color. But black won in the end !

^^^ I have always felt that when u start comparing these two bikes it will raise controversies....

Coming back to the point the guy who started this thread Mr.devanur has already ridden ZMA for 15K so i believe he knows a ZMA inside out.
He just wanted to know how reliable is 220 is(this from his first post).
IMO : If you take care of your 220, it will take care of you !
I have done 20K on my 220 never ever did it stall in middle of the road.You just need to maintain ur 220.

As for the matter with ZMA its the most trusted bike "fill it, ride it types" .The main reason behind this being it simple mechanical Bike, NO ECU, Fuel Injection ..... and bajaj has brought this tech for first time so just like any new S/W its bound to have issues/bugs but alot was resloved in last 1.5 yrs so newer batches are alot better, in terms of small issues like rear disc noise n all.

Ultimately it depends on what is individual requirement.
PPl here who own a 220 almost spend atleast 2 days a month at PBK SC. and trust me , for most of us its not frustrating we just love to take care of our bikes.
And the sheer thrill/pleasure we get riding it is not explainable.


So bottom line is.
If you love to take care of your ride, go for 220.
for others its ZMA .

PS:NO offence meant to anybody . I respect both the bikes !