[pratap007]

Hi, My name is Pratap and I have been lurking around these forums long enough to start a thread dedicated to my own bike, a 2006 HH karizma.

The first thing I had to get clear is what I wanted to do with my bike. I always wanted an on/off bike because thats what roads in India seem to be.

First Step was to get better headlights than the stock nonsense.
By using wires of the highest gauge we could find and fit the wiring was modified to supply power to bulbs of higher wattage like 50/60 and 90/100.
We then realised that the limitations were mainly the crappy reflectors. But still a HUGE improvement over stock.

Porting was always on my mind but I never was a top speed chaser, I just wanted power everywhere in the rev range. The ports were machined slightly by an expert hand, and the bike developed amazing power and smoothness from day one. I switched over to a smaller 38T sprocket at the rear to effectively use the power. We cut opened the end cap of the exhaust and sawed off the "bulli", so now instead of looping, the exhaust gases flow out directly. I know, I know, its not the best idea in the world and I'd love to have a custom made exhaust, but I dont know whom to trust and where to go.
The clutch was modified as well and performs better than ever, I felt no slippage at all. Purchased and fitted a K&N air filter which complicated things a bit. Currently it rests on the carb, I've still retained the air box but its disconnected. Plug conditions suggests that it is running slightly lean at WOT, but not so much as to necessitate heavy jetting, but thats still WIP, we're still playin around with the air screw until the following was completed.

The suspension on the Karizma was outdated in 1980 no doubts about that, It was even more evident on dirt and on the beach. I knew I had to have better suspension. I didnt want to immediately spring for a monoshock like everyone else without first understanding what it could do for me. The most common Unicorn mono conversion seemed idiotic to me bcos I couldn't figure out what the gain was. No one I've heard or seen, seemed to have built the shock with linkages. Its not as if they were trying to emulate a KTM offset monoshock without linkages, people who did conversions didnt KNOW what they were doing.
I wanted more wheel travel with respect to the same shock travel, so we decided that the best solution was to relocate the existing mounts. The HH company claims that there was 100mm of rear travel,BALLS. Taking into account the 1 inch bottoming restrictor the effective travel when measured is 2.? inches of wheel travel for 2.5 inches of shock travel.period.
But in retrospect it was much cheaper to have a positive gain by relocation rather then building a monoshock with linkages.
I think we've got it figured out by now. After relocating the swingarm mounts the wheel travels four inches for the two inches of shock travel. Not a huge jump??, I'd say it was a 100% improvement hehe.
The front is being worked on as we speak. I've switched to progressive springs with 1 inch spacers for appropriate preload. The pumps are also being modified for greater damping efficiency as well as.....yes "MORE TRAVEL"...yipee. I hope to have seven of eight inches of effective travel once its done.
I'm 6'1 and have gangly long legs. I barely manage to place heel/toes of both feet on the ground. So you can imagine how tall she is.
It took just two sessions of heavy beach riding to COMPLETELY taklofy both my stock tyres which still had a lot of thread in them.
I need to upgrade to on'off tyres pretty soon but at this rate I think I'll just be buying tyres with my incentives.
Here are some pics...

[pratap007]

These are a few pics.....
Thats how I park my bike on the beach....

[chintan15]

Sounds Interesting.. waiting for the pics. Has the F.E dropped? Any change in the top end figures?

[pratap007]

Yup F.E. dropped to 28-29 with normal riding, ridin on the beach around 25kmpl, Top speed last checked was 125kmph on speedo.

[Sankar]

Pratap, nice to see one more Karizma project thread here. Let it roll!

[rider60]

Hmm... now why not add a 'O'-ring type chain too?

for my Unicorn i replaced the stock chain to RTR-FI's 124link chain and the rear sprocket to ambition's 38T as well it set perfectly!!!

try it out the the bike pic of wheel half in the sand made me put this up.

let us know the results once you do this, sankar you can try this for your Zma too!!!

[Sankar]

Man, I'm staying away from sprocketing for the time being. If the 5th can't pull to redline then it's not very beneficial. Ambition, Uni, CBZ, RTR all have 428 sized chain; the Kari (and P200 and 220 i'm told) runs on 520 sized chains so Kari owners have to use the P200/220 rear sprockets. But if anyone is ready to trade chain life for performance then shifting to 428 size chain can reduce a bit of transmission losses since it's lighter.

[pratap007]

I was redlining in 5th after porting. There was probably clutch slippage but the bike seems better now. The 14T front sprocket needs machining before I can fit it and the O ring sealed chain.

[aaggoswami]

Can you provide some pictures of your headlamp work ? I would love to see that. I am myself planning to put in H4 60/55W P43T base in my Zeus. But I am afraid of the wiring. In my Caliber ( original 7.7 bhp ), nothing happened. It took a Maruti 800 Bulb in its stride without any wiring issues or holder issues. I wonder what will happen in Zeus that is definitely not as well built. The problem as you have mentioned i reflectors. Generally most widely used bulb happens to be Halonix HS1 35/35W. The intensity and beam spread are different because of reflectors only.

Waiting for more pictures.

[ananthkamath]

So you're using a stiffer spring to compensate for the lower motion ratio?

[xxaarraa]

Interesting project. Remind me never to buy your used bike

[akshay4587]

I am keeping an eye on this thread.
need some detailed pics

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by pratap007

I was redlining in 5th after porting. There was probably clutch slippage but the bike seems better now. The 14T front sprocket needs machining before I can fit it and the O ring sealed chain.

I assume that the 5th gear redlined when there was clutch slippage. Does it redline now after the clutch was done up?

The present angle of the rear shock absorbers will make the rear stiffer.

[pratap007]

@aaggoswami - This is a pic of the upgraded wiring with relays.....The karizma's got a powerful alternator that can pump out that much juice without battery drain. Grounding is still an issue though.

@ananthkamath - No.To compensate for the lower motion ratio we merely relocated the shocks at the swingarm (as I had discovered that was a trick Maico and the others were using in 1980 to compete with Yamaha's monoshock onslaught hehe). I am still using the same springs, they appear to be good enough.
Upfront, yes I am using stiffer and progressive springs.

@xxaarraa - Don't worry I'll remind you hehee.

@Sankar - Well I sure do hope so, bottoming was always an issue but now my wheel travels four inches instead of two before (YIKES) bottoming.
To be honest I didn't do a top speed check after the clutch job. But if she does a comfortable 120-130kmph I'm happy.

[pratap007]

Front travel - 6.5 inches
Rear travel - 4 inches (still too soft for my liking)
Top Speed - 140 kmph @8100 rpm with a 38T rear sprocket.
Wheelies in 2nd gear - Yes.

Well, my bikes nearly complete, its a tall, lean mean fast on/off machine and does 140kmph on the speedo, I'm happy. She's also pretty ok coming off 6-7 feet vertical drops. I can vouch that the karizma chassis is strong, she has character hidden beneath all that plastic.

Wheels are not yet an issue but as soon as I start getting faster on dirt they will be, I remeber reading somewhere that someone had weighed some alloy vs steel rims and the alloys were much lighter, but they are also much stiffer.
Tyres are next on my list with a standard front rear size, need to check on/off tyres.....Anyone know where I can pick up an FKR Scrambler(std), they used to be available some years ago......

Well its been a wonderful journey so far, I was a commuter on a Karizma till August'08, thats when my bike had a mild port job done. I havent looked back since and aim on getting faster and faster....Already saved up for a 250 Kawasaki Ninja when it launches...heheh.
This is my test track for off road modifications - Tungareshwar Hill.
I've only been up there 5 times on this bike and have dropped off whole minutes off my times....(Imaginary pat on the back!)
The downhill is so scary that I actually was slower on the downhill hehe.
Anyway here's where it is.....
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