[Aditya]

Hero MotoCorp is rumoured to have stopped production of its flagship motorcycles - the Karizma and Karizma ZMR due to poor sales.



The Karizma and Karizma ZMR have not been selling well over the past couple of years. The dealerships are reported to have a lot of bikes manufactured in 2014 in stock and are offering discounts to move them.

While the Karizma sold in good numbers over the years, the demand for the bike fell after rival manufacturers launched a number of more modern products that offered better performance and looks. Hero MotoCorp introduced an updated version of the Karizma in 2014. This bike was worked on by Eric Buell Racing, in which, Hero MotoCorp had acquired a stake. However, the looks of the new bike did not go down well with the public and the mechanical updates were not sufficient to help it challenge its rivals.

It is unclear whether Hero MotoCorp will launch an updated version of the Karizma or a replacement in the future. However, the company is expected to introduce the HX250R motorcycle in the market in the coming year.

Source: Drive Spark

[Vinodh_Gowda]

Hero Motors themselves are to be blamed for the situation they are in with respect to the iconic Karizma. During my college days, Karizma was looked up to as TO-HAVE bike and for all the right reasons - A good engine with an ability to tour and handsome looks. But the later iteration carried the hideous design and were flops which it truly deserved to be. First the CBZ and now this. This is inline with what Maruti did to the brand ZEN.

[The Great]

This was inevitable. Probably Hero Motocorp can write a book now.

"How to kill a flagship in 1 year successfully"

The Karizma brand had set high standards and was one of the first performance 4 stroke bikes to be offered to us. To many it was the super-bike of their generation.

The Erric Buell inspired design was a major flop and this is the main reason it flopped and it surely won several awards from all the biking fraternity for being the ugliest bike till date.

I really hope that Hero comes up with something stunning in place of this in Auto expo 2016. As no other manufacturer is offering anything in this segment except for Pulsar 220.

Till then RIP Karizma.

[girimajiananth]

There could be some hope if HMCL launches HX250R and the Hastur. Maybe killing ZMR was inevitable. Like how Toyota killed Qualis prior to launch of Innova even though Qualis had some time left in the market. HMCL is seems to be happy selling splendor and passion to the regualr commuter. I only wish they were as eager as Bajaj to make some good bikes.

[scorpian]

Hero themselves are to be blamed.
I have owned not one but two karizmas,my black 2005 beauty got robbed and i loved the bike so much that i purchased another karizma.

Karizma was "the bike to have" and damn reliable it was, having toured numerous places it had never let me down even once.

Sadly hero after parting with honda starting turning bad themselves with service centres going lethargic,parts availabilty being a issue which was never before, today getting panels of karizma is become difficult.

Although i have 2005 karizma in my garage which i havent ridden for past year to a niggling nerve issue i am definetly not parting with it, one day my son will thank me for it.

In goa about six months back the latest karizma were being offered at 25-30k discounts so bad was the movement of this bikes.Bikes were just piling up with dealerships out here with no buyers and after riding it i realised why, the bike is just so terrible in build quality so much vibrations.

The older karizma was a gem.

[ashwin.terminat]

No surprises here.

The Karizma looked downright ugly and was an eyesore. I really wonder what the designers were thinking when they destroyed the classy look of the old-gen Karizma. The hack and chop job didn't go down well with anyone who laid their eyes on the bike.

I remember standing at a HMCL showroom, when a customer was asking about the Karizma. He saw the new Karizma and then asked if they had the old one in stock, when they said no, he walked out. That in itself speaks volumes about how dreadful the refreshed Karizma looked.

The mechanical aspect of the bike had improved. Had HMCL even retained the looks of the old-gen Karizma with slight improvements, the bike would've done well.

All said and done, hope they launch the HX250R soon. Along with a capable tourer derived from the HX250R to replace the Karizma.

[navin_v8]

The erstwhile Hero Honda churned out some good motorcycles during the early and mid 2000's. Two such star models were owned by folks in my family. The models were none other than the first generation CBZ (TPFC Super Sprint) and Karizma R model. I believe Karizma was the first do it all model for regular Indian riders. It had the looks, was a good tourer, comfortable seats, Honda Silky Smooth engine, adequate power, beautiful instrument cluster, 18 inch wheels, etc. I scorned when Hero revamped the CBZ into what it is today, one iconic model lost. After a few years it was the turn of the second icon to undergo plastic surgery and a bad one at that, enter the all new Karizma. I saw the same thing happening to another iconic model. Sigh! I have a liking for both the CBZ and Karizma as I have rode them extensively. The first gen CBZ still adorns my bro-in-laws garage. while my cousin who owned the Karizma had sold it long back.

[puneeth2]

I has been a long time coming. If only they had given a bit more attention towards performance segment as they do on commuter segment. Old Karizma was a great bike back then, later the competition moved way ahead buy Hero stayed back and finally all they could give was a cosmetic makeover with minimum mechanical update to what should have been an iconic motorcycle. Older one at least looked better, the latter is nothing less than hideous.

Sometimes I wonder if Hero Motors even care about performance segment when they are doing good in Entry level commuter segment with frequent decal changes for bikes with Honda engines from 80s. Those countless 'Splendors'.

[kumarshah]

Originally Posted by puneeth2

I has been a long time coming. If only they had given a bit more attention towards performance segment as they do on commuter segment. Old Karizma was a great bike back then, later the competition moved way ahead buy Hero stayed back and finally all they could give was a cosmetic makeover with minimum mechanical update to what should have been an iconic motorcycle. Older one at least looked better, the latter is nothing less than hideous.

Sometimes I wonder if Hero Motors even care about performance segment when they are doing good in Entry level commuter segment with frequent decal changes for bikes with Honda engines from 80s. Those countless 'Splendors'.

They care about the segment, I am just at a loss on how they do their market research for redesigns. The same thing happened with CBZ, the redesign killed it.

The same thing will happen with the new Splendor Pro. The redesign of this model was also such a bone headed move.

[Aksthedreamer]

Sad to see such an iconic bike meet its fate in this way.
I still have my first gen Karizma, still as reliable as it was in 2004 when we brought her home. One of the best tourers that first gave a taste of performance to the bike lovers in India.
I feel they should not give up on it yet and try to bring back the R version with gadgetry updates to keep up with the competition, just like yamaha brought back the r15 version 1.

[dkaile]

Here's my 2004 Karizma, still running strong even after nearly 12 years.





Though it has just run 7k till now but what a bike.

[sagarpadaki]

Hero simply have to re-launch the first iteration model with a better tuned engine ,grippy tyres , revamped meter console and see it become a runaway success again.

They took a stable design, made it unstable and further made it so bad that the brand itself took the beating. The first gen Karizma is still such a looker. Compare it with its rival P220. The basic stable design has remained unaltered . Bajaj have made a lot of refinements to the base design and improved P220 over the years. Today P220 is the best niggle-free budget tourer one can buy without breaking the bank!

[mayank0782]

No Hero No !!!!

The name "Karizma" in itself has so much Aura and Persona around it.

The name that taught mere mortals like us to think over and above the regular wheels.

Well, when the ZMR was launched in 2009, I thought Hero Honda (erstwhile) missed a trick or two to give it a proper update. However, it was still able to live upto the brand name "Karizma".

But the 2014 launch saw everything going down the drain. Karizma died !

I am going to miss it !! Definitely so !!

Hope it comes back with a bang, soon. (highly unlikely).

Tribute : Mine and friend's Red ZMAs !! I am not going to let it go ever !!

[GTO]

I never knew the Karizma had such a fan following until I read the tourer thread. Must read for anyone interested in knowing more about it.

[raghu.bramha]

Good news to my ears. Sorry folks I loved the old "Karizma" when Hrithik used to endorse it. But 2014 model is just SAD. I was actually embarrassed to see our Indian motorcycling brand coming up with pathetic excuse for its flagship bike.
This 2014 bike might be the only bike I hate in all aspects. I want to give the HERO team piece of my mind -

1. It looks like the chassis was designed first and then given to EBR and then they came up with bits and pieces of their left over panels and spare parts. Oops! they realized they have actually mailed the scaled down version of the chassis itself.
2. I don't know if that headlight cluster is appropriate with respect to rest of the bike. It looks huge and rest of the bike is simply not up to it.
3. Ok so you fit that headlamp cluster and what happened with that tank??!! That tank looks more flatter than the old TVS Victor.
4. Why the long overhang in the back??!! It looks like the whole rear wheel and swing arm ended long ago but the rear seat is pushed way over it. I mean you can wheelie it just by sitting on the rear seat.
5. Why no mono shock?
6. Why you no design a proper rear tyre hugger?? Please don't say cost savings. NO.

All in all it was a good decision that they have decided to stop this abomination on two wheels. Let's hope they come up with some thing better next time and hope they don't fiddle with HX250 too much.