[balenopower]

The problem was there since the day i bought the bike...

[egangsta]

Had a ZMA for more then 2 years, never had any problems with the bike, except with the rearmost panel. Sold the bike to a friend who is using it daily and still no issues..

[kuttapan]

Sankar, having been used to the Bullet, you will find the Karizma's problems(even if you face some) very easy to deal with.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Sankar, having been used to the Bullet, you will find the Karizma's problems(even if you face some) very easy to deal with.

Hondas are reliable than RE and Sankar has a modded RE which needs more attention.

This is from my experience when we were at Bangy

[sriramv.iyer]

Sankar:
I have not driven an Apache, but I was planning to buy one, since you were planning to buy it! [Seeing your earlier posts, I could trust you to buy only a great bike for yourself!]

Btw, I had a Karizma for almost 4 years, and I sold it off to my friend, who still uses it for his daily commute to office and tennis courts.

The engine is brilliant and very refined. The low-end torque is fun and you can simply zip ahead of people if you are stuck in the front of the line in a traffic signal. You'll see cars and other bikes far away in your RVM! We now have faster bikes and cars in India (since last 4 years), but whatever I have told is still true.

The bike never troubled me - Brakes were much better than my previous Fiero, (and better than the pulsars (my friends') that I rode) - I used to take it to service regularly and that was it. [No oil seepage or any other problem for me]

I sold the bike off because I was travelling a lot, and the friend who bought the bike seemed to be in love with my bike! [The bike is in good hands!]

I still remember the times in Bangalore when outer ring road (perpendicular to old madras road towards hebbal) used to be empty most of the times. When it would rain and it would be about 10:00 - 11:00 pm, I would go out for a ride in the outer ring road or wherever the bike would take me - Nothing much except the rain, road and the ride! Almost meditative moments. I would then drive to MG road for a coffee in Cafe Coffee Day which used to be open till 1:00 am.

I have enjoyed every moment I drove the Karizma. There used to be times when I had to slog my *** off in office (working in a startup in its early days can be very challenging and tiring) - The commute to office and back in a Karizma used to be the most pleasurable part of the day (or night!)

I wish you great times with your ZMA as well! Have fun!

Btw, since my travels have stopped (almost), I want to buy a bike for me again. Thinking about R15 / Apache RTR Fi and a Bullet Machismo 500. I thought I'd save and buy a Ninja 250, but I am not sure how long it would take to come to India!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Sankar, having been used to the Bullet, you will find the Karizma's problems(even if you face some) very easy to deal with.

Originally Posted by jkdas

Hondas are reliable than RE and Sankar has a modded RE which needs more attention.

This is from my experience when we were at Bangy

Correct guys, that's why i'm not much worried about all Karizma issues that owners have described in this thread.

Originally Posted by sriramv.iyer

I wish you great times with your ZMA as well! Have fun!

Btw, since my travels have stopped (almost), I want to buy a bike for me again. Thinking about R15 / Apache RTR Fi and a Bullet Machismo 500. I thought I'd save and buy a Ninja 250, but I am not sure how long it would take to come to India!

Thanks mate.

Out of all the options you have listed i would suggest the baby Ninja if you could afford it.

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by Sankar

I called up TVS dealers at Trivandrum (Anton TVS) and Cochin (Cochin TVS) yesterday. Trivandrum guy tells me that it will take another 2 weeks for the vehicles to come. At the same Cochin chap tells me that a lot has come but i won't be having a vehicle allocated from that lot.

Today went to Anton TVS to cancel my booking and the guy suddenly changes pitch and tells that vehicle will come within 4 days but i said i'm canceling anyways. I told them that i'm buying a karizma and hearing this they start to tell me Kari is bad it's a flop etc etc. i told them that they need not bother with the karizma and i shall bother with it.

I sent my friend to Cochin TVS to cancel the booking and suddenly they're ready to give me the Bike then and there in the colour of my choice. I told him to cancel anyways.

So the Apache chapter is closed. My new bike would be a Karizma Yes it's old tech but still a very good package and much more reliable, refined, sorted out piece of machinery than Pulsar 220 (which was the alternative to RTR i had in my mind) or so i'm told.

Okay! I have been following your bike buying trail for quite sometime sankar and take it from me, ZMA is surely NOT what you want.

You may have somehow arrived at that decision but i really think you shud think about it again! Don't go by what ZMA owners here are saying, given a chance more than half would dump the K for a RTR FI or P220.

Reliability, comfort, ease of driving are definitely ZMA stregths BUTT the bike is SLOW and OLD TECH!

A p220 has a such a amazing big bike feel to it! and RTR FI is just bloddy sharp! Plus a black ZMA may look hot now, but 2 years down the line it will be plain boring! (with all the new bikes coming in!)

Its your bike and your decision, but if you read your own posts on the forum i am sure you would realise otherwise.

Anywaz best of luck with your search!!

Elito

[Sankar]

Hi Elito,

RTR Fi is newer tech, faster, more fuel efficient, track bred; agreed and i like the RTR Fi much. But since i have access to a friend's RTR carb and i ride it almost everyday i realised that the bike is not comfortable during the daily grind and occasional long rides that it will be subjected to. And i decided that it's not worth waiting for a bike that i will not be comfortable on my daily rides. The seating position is bang on target for the track, but it does not allow the relaxed riding that i'm very much used to in the Bullet.

Karizma is older, could be slower, and definitely old tech; but the bike is comfortable in the city and over long distances on the highway. Plus it has more road presence than the RTR which is important on highway cruises. Plus a track is no where near to where i live and i don't think i will ever hit a track even once a year, so i am ready to trade in some acceleration and nimble handling for more comfort and refinement. Karizma is not the fastest, but it is fast enough.

I had considered Pulsar 220, but Pulsar is a Pulsar and everyone has one ranging from the 150s to the 220 all of them with the same body panels with the higher end models receiving a few more panels to differentiate between them. Other than that the i find the Pulsar engines to be harsh higher up in the rpm range.

The search has ended

[Technocrat]

So when Is she arriving

[Sankar]

Probably on Monday evening or Tuesday morning

[hrag]

Your first post in this thread suggests that you would have picked the bike up if not for the dealers and your latest post suggests otherwise. If the dealer had given you immediate delivery, would you have still cancelled your booking and gone in for the Karizma?

I have a vested interest - I am considering the RTR FI as a runabout.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by hrag

Your first post in this thread suggests that you would have picked the bike up if not for the dealers and your latest post suggests otherwise. If the dealer had given you immediate delivery, would you have still cancelled your booking and gone in for the Karizma?

Posted by me earlier:

RTR Fi is newer tech, faster, more fuel efficient, track bred; agreed and i like the RTR Fi much. But since i have access to a friend's RTR carb and i ride it almost everyday i realised that the bike is not comfortable during the daily grind and occasional long rides that it will be subjected to. And i decided that it's not worth waiting for a bike that i will not be comfortable on my daily rides.

If the dealer had given me the bike on time i would've been a proud owner of an RTR Fi. But i wouldn't have been very comfortable riding the bike daily and of course on longer highway rides. So i'm glad that the bike wasn't delivered straightaway and it gave me more time to think deep about my requirements.

Originally Posted by hrag

I have a vested interest - I am considering the RTR FI as a runabout.

It's a good fast bike and it will be a good city runabout. I didn't find it comfortable for extended rides.

[abhi1309]

My brother has an RTR and yes it is not comfortable for even moderately long rides. Palms start aching due to the way you sit on it. I ride the bike sometimes like once in 10 days and almost everytime swear I'll not ride it again.

Refinement is another issue, its nowhere close to even Hero Hondas forget regular Honda. It has done 2500 kms and I believe there is some piston ring sound now which my friend noticed and later I did. It was ofcourse run in beautifuly. The service center guy obviously can't hear it. The bike has been ridden casualy in Pune throughout.

[CaliAtenza]

Originally Posted by abhi1309

My brother has an RTR and yes it is not comfortable for even moderately long rides. Palms start aching due to the way you sit on it. I ride the bike sometimes like once in 10 days and almost everytime swear I'll not ride it again.

Refinement is another issue, its nowhere close to even Hero Hondas forget regular Honda. It has done 2500 kms and I believe there is some piston ring sound now which my friend noticed and later I did. It was ofcourse run in beautifuly. The service center guy obviously can't hear it. The bike has been ridden casualy in Pune throughout.

my RTR is fine for me..im a tall guy and no problems. I think there are some subtle changes in the 08 RTR (refresh)...point being..the pillion sits lower. Ive checked because my gf has sat on both the old RTR and mine..and she says that its lower on mine. Maybe there has been a change in the seat as well.

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Hi Elito,

RTR Fi is newer tech, faster, more fuel efficient, track bred; agreed and i like the RTR Fi much. But since i have access to a friend's RTR carb and i ride it almost everyday i realised that the bike is not comfortable during the daily grind and occasional long rides that it will be subjected to. And i decided that it's not worth waiting for a bike that i will not be comfortable on my daily rides. The seating position is bang on target for the track, but it does not allow the relaxed riding that i'm very much used to in the Bullet.

Karizma is older, could be slower, and definitely old tech; but the bike is comfortable in the city and over long distances on the highway. Plus it has more road presence than the RTR which is important on highway cruises. Plus a track is no where near to where i live and i don't think i will ever hit a track even once a year, so i am ready to trade in some acceleration and nimble handling for more comfort and refinement. Karizma is not the fastest, but it is fast enough.

I had considered Pulsar 220, but Pulsar is a Pulsar and everyone has one ranging from the 150s to the 220 all of them with the same body panels with the higher end models receiving a few more panels to differentiate between them. Other than that the i find the Pulsar engines to be harsh higher up in the rpm range.

The search has ended

Best of luck with the Karizma! I suggest the black with black alloys!

Elito