My heart beat. Review on Hero Honda Karizma

Hi people. I wanted to replace my Nova 135 [Pass it over to my brother], and buy a bike because I will be 18 soon and I can get licence for a bike and also my Mom has promised my brother my Nova if he scores well in his exams...althought the exams are not over..he is very optimistic that he will score well .....

So I started thinking which one to go for THE PRICE correction of Karizma TO Rs 70,000[ex-showroom hyderabad] gave me a chance think about this beautiful machine.. so I requested a test drive not from HH show room but from one of my friend's in my Colony, who owns a Zma froml last 8 months.. And ' pongal '' holidays were here so it was the right time to test the bike.

As I am not very familiar with drivin such a heavy bike[I mean to say such powerful bike]..so we took it on a drive on NH 5 which passes from vijayawada. As it is always empty....I found it so good to drive but I didn't take it above 60 kmph as I am afraid to do so [honestly]!

Lets get to the technical aspects

1: Engine: 223cc , Single cylinder, Air cooled engine

2: Max power :16.8 bhp@7000rpm, MAX torque 1.84Kgm@6000rpm

3: Wheel base: 1355mm [unicorn's is 1340mm]

4: weight: 150kg

5: Perfomance: 0-60 4.4 sec's [but the company claim's 3. something]..we tested it using stop watch it may be wrong but we got this figure with 91 octane petrol and a warm engine...Top speed 122 kmph[claimed by some auto mag's and Company claims 125kmph] but my pal went up to 110kmph..he is scared taking it above that!

6: Mileage> my pal gets 35-39 kmpl in daily use [I mean to say in city driving condidition's] but mileage depends upon individual driving style also..some guys claim 45kmpl but I think that figure is a bit over exaggerated. ................................................................................
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Engine: It revs smoothly ..it is not equiqed with twin spark plugs or lots of ignition timing maps...but it still perfoms well ..but it is a bit under powered for its engine capacity only 16.8 bhp or round it off to 17bhp for 223 cc is a bit less.....The HH guys De-tuned the engine. So that it is more reliable and long lasting.... I BET ON my gf that if HH guys tune the engine and make few changes it will defnetly make atleast 20-22bhp

Lights& electricals: The dials if the karizma are very good ..I MY FRIEND'D BIKE THERE IS NO DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER...he didn't like it so he took the one with normal dails [ some people on this site complaint that digital speedo is not good and gets screwed easily] but you still can opt for normal dials...the head light is very good ..but I still like the head light to move with the handle ..blinkers are very good too....hazard lamps are present..i love the tail lamp it looks cool in the night.....

Body: The body is made of good quality plastic and the side panels are borrowed from CBZ....Fuel tank looks a bit like the one on the cbz... the over all finish is very good

Suspension: I doesn't boast mono-shock like the Unicorn ...i like the karizma's ride quality more than unicorn's ride quality..to test it's suspension I took it on some bad Earthed roads ..and it absorbs even the worst of poth holes very well.

I think this bike has got the best ride quality in it's segment...

LEG GUARD MISSING!!!!..THERE ISNT ANY SORT OF LEG GUARD..so mistakely if you drop your bike the fairing may get damaged....but in case of an accident the fairing may crack..you can't fit leg guard

Wheels & Brakes: I love the five- spoke alloy wheels..they look cool on the RED color Zma ...but my friend's is silver one..the brakes are 270mm brembo disk in the front and 140mm drum's on the back wheel.[I think so]

Looks :looks kill ..this bike is onehell of ahead-turner.where ever you go people look at it especially the chicks love it!! if you stop at a traffic signal even the guy in Mercedes starts looking at you...this bike looks some what odd and special...go for the one in red

when I drove it is very stable on highways and Who says this bike is a high way bike..it is a pleasure to drive even in the city

HANDLES SO WELL.. BUT your height should be atleast ' 5.7' to sit comfortably on it[ Remember this is not a discover]..I am 5.9 and I am comfortable with it.... people who buy this bike usually don't care about the mileage but still it gives adecent mileage of 35-39 in city driving condidtion's ..I dont know whether this will go down after some years..........but I know a guy who bought this bike just after it's launched and if you ask him he says it still gives him 33-35kmpl.......... this bike looks new after even 2 yrs of driving the guy who bought two years ago and drove 25,000kms on it... And the bike looks so new ...[he must have maintained it regularly ]

CONCLUSION: this is a bike which feel's Bigger & Faster than it is... and gives you a status symbol like a mercedes.... I like the pulsar 180dtsi with alloy wheels e.t.c...but many people critisise bajaj products that they age faster....but karizma I bet will last atleast 5-6yrs or 1,00,000 kms without any problems.....

But if you are a Bajaj fan and like to get a bit more mileage..then go for the new pulsar......I will wait some time to see Unicorn's perfomance after 2 to 3 services and then I will decide between unicorn and zma pls do rate and comment on my review they are welcome

Pros : looks , styling, engine

Cons: mileage [may be] ,power

cheers

Dharani ..........

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Now a days I see many members who don''t rate the review after they have read it..that I think is a very bad manners...so pls do rate my review and appreciate me to write better and better.