The updated Karizmas have been in the news ever since they were displayed in October 2013 with the entire range of updated motorcycles from Hero being showcased. The Karizma has been changed inside-out this time. The styling is all new and so are some chassis components. The biggest news was the healthy bump in power and torque and faster acceleration timings. The inclusion of DRL lights and fatter rubber has got everybody excited as well.
Hero MotoCorp said it in their press release in February, that the updated Karizma (both R and ZMR) are coming in March end. Now as we all look into our calendars almost daily, we know that May has almost ended and June is on its way. Such a huge delay is not expected from any company after a word is given out. A three month delay is massive. People are constantly in touch with us for the launch of the new Karizmas and we have concluded that we are also in a state of awe and shock.
The Karizma R now has 19.2 BHP Of power while the Karizma ZMR has seen a power bump to 20 BHP. The R has 1 Nm and ZMR has 1.35 Nm more than the previous version and that too lower in the rev range. Its key rival, the Pulsar 220, has ruled the game until now with more horsepower, torque and top-end rush. The Pulsar 220 has always had more top-end torque despite both having the same acceleration off the line. All of this resulted in the Pulsar 220 being the top speed king but still the Karizma was considered as an extremely good competitor.
It has always been about speed with the Karizma, even more after the introduction of the Pulsar 220. Some people would say that the Karizma is a sports-tourer but not the majority of the crowd which still buys a Karizma for speed with reliability as an added bonus. Hence, because of all this, the Karizma being delayed is one of the biggest pinch to the majority of motorcyclists out there.
When we asked Hero and dealerships, they said that we have no idea when the new Karizmas are coming, while others have constantly said for three months that “they are coming next week”, every single week. Our sources say that there is a niggling problem with the RTO approval of these bikes. Emission issues could be a valid point but how hard is it to approve things when they are already thoroughly tested. Whatever it is, Hero please sort it out soon and finish this story, before the beginning of another powerful story (HX250R).
