Hero Honda Karizma-R: The Safety net bike

Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i

Men/women plus money plus a product(s) to choose is a potent combination for confusion. Why, you might ask. I suggest, take a look at your girlfriend or wife, with the former being preferable in this case.

What happens when you have the terrible misfortune of going out with your/a girlfriend? Let’s assume that you’re solvent enough to spend about INR 2000 on your lady’s shopping excursion to buy a hand bag. What happens then?

The lady, if you’ve got the luck of a gambler betting on India defeating Afghanistan at T20 cricket, will go about choosing a handbag that costs well within your budget. No sir, you can’t have more luck than that. So, your girlfriend will certainly be stuck up with an in-decision making process that involves an indeterminate number of choices and this is as certain as the sun rising tomorrow morning from the east.

A similar, though to a degree much lesser than the dilemma listed above happens when a bloke has about INR 1 Lakh to spend on a motorcycle in the Indian market. That is, if you have money/access to money beforehand, which in my opinion simply makes it difficult to decide.

One of our readers sent us an email asking for our help in enabling him decide on a motorcycle for himself. Here’s what he sent us.

Can you help me with two things? 1) I have planned to buy a 180cc+ vehicle. My list has P220, RTR180 and ZMR. Then i decided to go in for RTR180 but it vibrates a lot. I dont wanna buy r15 cause it is not comfortable for me and also to ride in city traffic. P220 i dont like its look and also ZMR. I wanted to know is there any 180cc+ bike going to be launched? If yes when will it be launched. Also wen is RTR 200/220/250 going to be launched? Please help me out in this issue and also suggest me a good bike. I need good power, pick-up, mileage not lesser then 35km/lt, good looks & should be 180cc and above. Thanks again.

Yamaha R15

This man is a bright chap. He’s eliminated most of the stuff that he doesn’t like. For example, the R15 gets the boot for the lack of low end torque and the crouched, somewhat uncomfortable riding position. The RTR180 is out of the window because at certain rpms it can cause your dental fixtures to fall out. The Pulsar 220 looks bad according to this particular reader and we simply cannot disagree as motorcycles, are like the women we choose for ourselves. One size/look doesn’t fit all. The ZMR, which is honestly in the ugliest thing only surpassed by maybe, Rakhi Sawant, thankfully isn’t an option. Now, if you’re a Rakhi Sawant fan, this is the least, I repeat, the least you deserve.

TVS Apache 180 RTR

So what are your options that will be fast, that won’t be an alternate to a dildo and that will still manage to deliver about 35 Kmpl a liter. The Apache 200/220 might be the answer but that isn’t an option we would lean on until we get a confirmation on it’s launch. Yes, there has murmurs of the Apache 200/220 being launched in the next two months going on across the Indian auto blogosphere, but every two months, the previous two months are being replaced by the next two. So, we simply cannot count on the Apache 200/220 although we know for a fact that the motorcycle has been homologated at ARAI.

Hero Honda Karizma-R

If I were to face this particular dilemma and go for a motorcycle that is reasonably fast(read a genuine top speed of 125 Kph), has a great upright riding posture and rides well, looks reasonably good or in the least better than the miss ugly ZMR and still delivers above 35 Kmpl, I would simply go out and buy the Karizma-R. What this motorcycle gives me is a unstressed bullet proof engine that might well, outlast the Apache and the Pulsar 220 put together. A riding position that might make a Splendor rider/uncle also happy. Acceleration and top speed that will more or less show most motorcycles a clean pair of heels. Then you also get the brilliant quality that Hero Honda or should that read, Honda offers. All this at a price of under INR 85 thousand makes it a sweet deal that you simply can’t go wrong with. Safety net, that in other words is what at Hero Honda Karizma-R is.

On the other hand, if you pick a motorcycle that you’d really love to own, even before you have enough Gandhibacks in the bank, it becomes pretty easy. You can start saving up, and then buy the motorcycle of your dreams when you’ve mustered enough cash. It’s really that simple and I’d certainly go with this option.