Vipin, I guess the new P220 can do all of above, except for the refinement. As said by santosh, we have to move on. The P220 got all the goodies with punchy performance.

I strongly wish there will not be any quality issues as was the case with initial lots of P200 and P220. Better wait for the real time reviews of it.

Guess, the Zma has grown more older with the launch of the new P220.

Seriously and sadly, it is time for the Zma to go. High time it gets a serious upgrade.

Definitely the P220's seat (its wider, firmer and comfortable on long rides) for the Last Point (why ignore it..?).

Ravi : It's always better to wait for some time, test drive, read reviews and then decide, but dhariya sounds to be in 'urgent' mode. I can't guess how New P220 will be and normally I don't believe mags in totality. So just suggested Zma, which is a proven bike and fits dhariya's needs as well..... am I wrong ?

Vipin, you are not wrong in suggesting Zma. You are right that it is better to wait for real time reviews to establish the reliability of new p220. But, because the new P220 shares almost 99% with the older FI 220, I guess there will not be any quality issues.

Let the thread starter decide based on inputs.

You said it..

With almost two years of work on our 220 Fi's, the 2009 P220 DTSi shouldn't really have much problems with with quality issues.
Let the thread starter decide finally

both the bikes are amazing in their own aspect.

Zma positives - bullet proof engine- keeps running for ages, super refinement, handles well, very comfortable for touring,looks pretty good.seats are very comfortable for the rider and the pillion

Zma Negatives - ridiculously expensive spares - disk pads cost 2300 rs...clutch plates - 1200 rs and the list is endless , let us face it ...the bike does not give hassles but when it does be prepared to pay through your noes.less powerful than the 220, poor lights(very important for touring - for me at least),poor fuel efficiency - keep it above 100 expect it to return close to 32 or maybe less.wobbles when you have heavy crosswinds and this is a turnoff for any tourer.no rear brakes and the braking is not good.tyres are not tubeless.spars are hard to find especially when you tour and you are in a non metropolitan.Huge Speedo error

220 Positives - good reliable engine,torque anywhere at any speed at any time twist the throttle and you have power.excellent headlight beam.good looks - looks on par or better than a zma(looks are subjective).exclusivity(fewer 220's on the roads), better top speed,better tyres - tubeless 120 , better braking - rear disks, the FI version of the 220 had some issues (first few batches)which was sorted in the later batches and the carb version will perform like any other pulsar if not better.pulsars are smooth - (I had one and anyone who has ridden mine can vouch ) - it is only the refinement factor that matters but the bike should be better than the previous 220.spares are cheap and easy to find - get it T any bajaj service center(in case of an emergency most of the Pulsar 150's parts will fit - I guess).handles very well on straights even at high speeds.fuel efficiency is expected to be better but - cannot say anything before testing it.

220 negatives - engine refinement not on par with the Zma but is good .engine lie is not as good as the Hondas but not bad.not as comfi as a Zma but not bad here as well.not a track bike and will not perform to the expected level - get an R15 if you want to enjoy riding on the track.I just hope no beta testing is done with the first batches and Bajaj will give us a reliable bike.Speedometer is far more accurate than the Zma - this might mean you will not be able to touch the 140 + figure which you can on a Zma(huge speedo error).

All these comments are from my own opinion and I ride a yellow Zma.Ask me if I will opt a Zma now - I will because of the refinement and the comfort but the choice is yours.

Nice review there Steve, pretty well put and easy to understand and will be helpful for the prospective buyers.

bro,u have waited for the new 220 for 2 mnths..why not wait for some more time,test the bike and by that time the bikes will be out and u can test both the zma and the 220 carb,but i guess zma very very badly needs an upgrade(not cosmetic) cause it's been arnd for ages...

THE RED LINED POINTS: I DONT AGREE with them...
I ride a ZMA too & never experiancd such stuff...
I tour every often & ride above 100 almost all the time & gets an average of around 40-42 kmpl.
Bike had never wobbled exceptionally in crosswinds & Normally every bike wobbles at high crosswinds.
Exclusivity: Pulsars got none. NO offence to anyone, but a common man can only distinguish 220 from other Ps only coz of that front fairing. Only we pros can tell rest of the difference. And in Mumbai, I see more 220s than ZMAs.

Rest of the points, I Agree whole heartedly

@DHAIRYA: I ride a ZMA n no big problems, except the above stated ones by Steve.
Its really good for touring but even I'd suggest P220 2009...

FYI , Fi never had any reliability issues ....

@dhairya : If you plan to do long tours with a pillion then avoid the 220 carb and buy the zma , if you plan to tour alone then there is no other option except 220 carb.

@Dhairya: One small point I would like to mention here is that, if you plan to take your bike to higher altitudes (read 3000 metres and above), then the P220 Fi makes sense as the Fi unit takes care of "altitude problems". That's a BIG benefit of the P220 DTS-Fi.

Apart from that, the newest P220 makes sense in every other way, the biggest of all being the tremendous Value For Money (VFM).

I actually managed to get a short test ride on the new 220DTSi yesterday from the AMD PBK. After testing the 220Fi a couple of times earlier, I have to say this new version is pretty good. (Yes, I've been looking at buying a new bike for a long time.)

From my short ride:
- Low RPM pull is quite good, though maybe not as good as an Fi
- Handling does seem a bit more composed, even with a pillion
- The engine generally sounds more relaxed (always thought that the FI sounded a little choked.)
- Engine refinement in the really low RPMs isn't as good as the Fi, but a little higher on the RPMs and it smooths out enough to be good.
- Once pushed into the higher RPMs it really comes to life, unfortunately no space to make a good high speed run.

Reliability should not be an issue, the older 220Fi has been through a long history of fixes and seems to have come to decent/good reliability. I have no doubt Bajaj has tried to keep this machine as reliable or better. (Carb would probably be a benefit here, since there's less electricals to bother with.) Ofcourse, ZMA originating from Honda will have great reliability, but again that can differ for everyone.

Fuel efficiency is indeed a doubt. But from what I have learned I think it should not be far behind the 220Fi or the ZMA. And ofcourse, everyone will tell you that FE depends a lot on the rider. And I don't think 220Fi or ZMA deliver extremely good FE anyway.

Just my little experience with this machine.

Your four points:
- Touring = new P220 carb offers good speeds for cruising and comfortable ride. Zma a proven good tourer
- Reliability = P220 offers the best headlights in business for saving time in nightrides and tubeless tyres offers better peace of mind @high speeds. Zma for its trusted and torquey powermill.
- Performance = New 220 carb
- Handling = New 220 carb

The new 220 would be an excellent buy.. Then somebody posted about a new Karizma to be launched in news section..
Hmmm.. so if you can wait , you could see what HH have to offer in competition

40-42kmpl while touring at speeds 100 and above
i have never got this kind of figure in my 64K kms of ownership of my zma unless i ride@50-60km\hr

and yes strong cross winds do affect zma's stability or as a matter of fact any bike.

After reading through Zigwheels and Pune Bunny article on New P220 even i vote for it--Go for it looking at that price its a bargain.



what i never liked about the P220 was it's compound eye bugg look--i mean for a moment just look at it--"Horrible", but then looks is subjective -different people have different opinion.

They could have spared some time and changed its look to make it distinctive.

also i am still sceptical abt it's handling after all those changes--i rode a P220 2007 of my friend gave him back in 5min, Guess i am have been spoiled after being used to R15, it does have raw power and punch. and good straight line speed but how well it does on ghats can't say..

I know how it behaves but dont' wanna compare--once again subjective if u can manage best for you.


Touring
Reliability -- Bajaj & reliability what is that
Performance - Yes full points raw power
Handling - Woh kya hota hai for Bajaj instead put [Mileage kitna hai this tag goes well with bajaj]


final verdict: Go for it coz that's the best for that price there is and that's where bajaj is best.