-->>Theres a Devil out there<<--. Review on Hero Honda Karizma

I still cant believe am coming back to mouthshut after a huge gap & that I own a Karizma...the most coolest and the hottest bike in the country!!!

The following are my confessions & experiences being a bike rider?

I downgraded from being a total, very avid 4wheel driver & now, to a Karizma owner. I term the Karizma, as the Mercedes of 2-wheelers on Indian roads, undoubtedly as wherever I have gone, be it night or day, be it college or pedestrian crossing, be it parking or driving at top speeds or moving across the city traffic or negotiating overtaking?heads have turned(its another thing that I still gaze at all those marvelous 4 wheelers on road!!), eyes have got fixed for those precious glimpses of this wonder & the biggest joy to me was & is whenever I drive past kids?they give a broad smile & those who recognize it, call out,?Kareezma? in unison!!

The fact that even pulsar riders have given me a brief look at times has been worth watching.

Whenever a halt at a signal means eyes n faces popping out of rickshaws n cabs & glares from even those sitting in their Skodas, Optras & even Mercs!! No wonder I miss my car-driving as 2-wheel driving according to me is nothing but cycling at top speeds with the exclusion of pedals, nothing else.

The decision of buying myself a Zma was very tough not because which bike to go for but I had all the money to buy either a Getz or a Xing.I have always been broadminded in taking family decisions coz I prefer driving together rather than driving with just one person while driving.

But this is the only bike to have fascinated me for such a long time as till now, no other bike interested me till the extent this did. Not a s-i-n-g-l-e one. Finally, I settled for the bike due to some very sheepish reasons. Am not a short hearted person & to feed my passion, I will definitely own a 4-wheeler as biking is something which naturally did come to me, but I don?t love it as much as one does for his car. Both are totally different worlds n passions n let them be as they are?

Now let me get on with the topic otherwise you all will not rate me better. Ever since July? 03(Karizma?s launch) or rather since Dhoom released (some even call the Zma as the Dhoom vali bike!!), became a hit, Hero Honda(HH) reduced the prices which is proving to be a gr8 decision as bookings are really going on very strong currently. Extremely well in fact. The toughest opposition(not the pulsar) which is gonna be the Unicorn is further gonna propel Honda & HH in manufacturing world-class products, esp. now for the huge Indian market. They truly are numero uno in the country, anytime?

By launching the Zma, HH is now in a totally different league as this is their most exciting launch ever. For very passionate speed enthusiasts, this is one bike which will make u forget others. No comparisons between the 180-Dtsi & this, as both are in different leagues altogether.

For people who are confused between buying these 2, I have learnt a very simple way of deciding?Pulsars have become very common, they give power & mileage, which are factors we Indians see strongly, whereas the Zma is distinguished altogether by its class looks, styling, ergonomy & a fine enough average of around 35-40. Not bad at all when you get heads turning & people appreciating.

The first thing when sighting the bike are it?s huge body(the design being largely fashioned on the likes of the Honda CBF600, Firestorm & even the Suzuki Bandit), a 223 cc engine which churns out a max of 17 bhp!! I expected & even people do expect that anything above 200cc should give around 19- 21 bhp, but this is the ?only? genuine point where the bike misses out. But anyways, this isn?t the only point on which u?ll wholly decide to buy a bike.. be it the Zma too..HH should have given either a twin cylinder engine to add to the robustness to the already muscular frame. Ah!! Anyway?

The bike takes off from the Ambition which also comes with the Advanced. Microprocessor. Ignition for better throttle response & CCVI for smooth, noisefree running & optimum power transmission. For this case, the pick up is really the best in its class. The muffler though a tad big goes good with the heat guard & its hugeness makes it look a bit more on the sporty type.

There are lots of things I would like to demand from it after riding umpteen no.of times on it, but better leave it as lovely as it is. The front fairing makes for half of the beautifully designed body & the trapezoidal lights do a neat job of illuminating.

The twin-christmas tail lights distinguish the bike from the current lot & the styling is more of the Corolla type. The paint quality is also the best as the best colors for this bike include the blazing red(which looks maroon at night) & yellow. HH should have provided the unicorn type dark blue color but its ok anyways?that?s why I call my Zma, ?The Red Devil.?

The mag wheels also do a gr8 job of giving a fantastic grip on both water n tarmac n so do the Mrf zappers. The mags n wheels should have been a bit more thicker as they look very spindly sometimes. The rear drum n the front disc go in very handy n braking is very efficient indeed. Again. The bike should have been equipped with rear disc brakes also, but chaddo again!!

The front suspension is a tad too soft & I strongly feel a thicker suspension( the Comet type) would have done an even better job. But nevertheless!!

Overall the suspension does a neat job of handling all the worse potholes with gr8 ease & one more area where this bike scores coz of its hugeness. Again after test riding the Unicorn I feel the Zma should have been mono-shocked & this is one more change worth implementing.

The digital meters & the entire display cluster are just awesome & it?s a sight to watch at night when they are brilliantly lit up. The seating position again is sporty, the rear seat being high & that?s why many shall agree driving alone rather than seating some behind.

I prefer it alone & if someone has to sit then be it my girlfriend who would just love the wind gushing thru her hair!!

Until the first service I was very worried so as to why the bike gave a lot of noise & so on?but after the first service & the engine tuning done my doubts cleared & it was for me a new Zma altogether as there was simply no noise, the acceleration became even smoother & obviously for any rider, it was a top of the world feeling.

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