Please bear with my first write up on MS. Well to start with the story –
My budget was above 1 Lac (Suitable for ZMR and R15 as well)
Our family already own CD 100 SS (17 year old), Super Splendor (about 4 years old). So I may sound like biased towards HH, but feel free to correct me about any misconceptions about HH bikes. We used to own a Bullet 350 and M80 long time back
My close friends own P220, Unicorn and ZMA.
Please note down that I am not comparing any specs written on paper. I am only concerned about the price I pay and what I get in return of that money. I do not care about owning a fastest or most powerful bike in India as I am not a racer and will never go for racing. Right friends, all of us always want good value for money and not something that satisfies for our ego as later on it starts etching from inside.
So it’s now clear that I am very new to 150 cc and above bikes. This is the reason I was not able to make up my mind for one if I consider the following bikes:
Yamaha Fazer 150
ZMA
Yamaha R15
ZMR
Pulsars
I have driven P220 from my friend. Mannnnnnn this is great in terms of power and shoots like anything. However, I am aware of unreliability of Bajaj because of my friends and some of my very close relatives. But I will certainly recommend this bike for someone who wants short term relationship full of excitement …. This was not a bike for me as I believe in long term and stable relationship … depends on person. So decide which kind of person you are.
I took test ride of R15. The bike is very short and for my height (6 feet) is not at all suitable. I am 6 ft tall and 90 KG. I looked like a monster sitting on a small rat. All my family was laughing at me when I came back from the test ride. Jokes apart, the bike is quiet good in pickup and handling. I can not comment on top speed as it was a test ride on busy Pune Mumbai highway at Wakadewadi, Pune. Overall I liked the bike because of Yamaha brand, the new looks and very good power for day to day commuting and highway riding as well. However this option was ruled out because of the short nature of the bike and very less comfort of pillion and rider on long duration journey.
At the same time I took test ride of Fazer. This is OK bike for a single person and not for the person who travels with a pillion most of the time. The rear seat is pathetic and I think Yamaha just attached some foam and leather to the rider seat as in India no one will consider single seater bike. The bike shows good pickup and rider comfort. Look are quiet OK but the overall this sucks because of the huge fairing at front. Rather than spending money on this better go for FZ as everything is same except the front fairing. Coolest thing on Fazer is very wide rear tyre. It really catches eyes … but not enough to catch the customers. Yamaha is leaving its benchmark and following Bajaj by launching bikes on the same platform.
Similar to Pulsar P220, I drove ZMA from my friend. The ride is good in terms of comfort and has very stable performance as I am seeing this bike since 4 years. This is smooth performer. The pickup is not as great as P220 and the same story follows with the top speed as well. However in terms of reliability, I find ZMA far better than any other bikes I have mentioned. Pickup and top speed is good enough for a rider like me and most important, it has huge seat where 2 people can enjoy the hassle free ride. Still I do not like the half fairing as it look like an attachment to the bike. It could have looked better without it.
There was no chance for test ride of ZMR as all the dealerships in Pune refused for one. One day, at our office parking I spotted a ZMR and believe me I put a note on it for the owner leaving my cell number as asking for the test ride. As usual most of the high end bike owners want to showoff littlebit, this guy offered me the short ride. This bike is very similar to ZMA in terms of power and pickup. Pickup is little smooth, may be because its FI. Overall the ride is smooth and I was riding this bike near Magarpatta city for 10 – 15 mins. Its comfortable and handling is very good. The bike looks nice with full cloths on it. However, the tail part sucks as it is borrowed from CBZ X-treme.
The instrument consoles are good for each of the bikes as per their designs. Some lack the rich feel, example Fazer. Else all other have good consoles. For all bikes breaking quality is good. For P220 and ZMA I can check it on 100+ speeds as they are owned by my friends these bikes have enough breaking characteristics for Indian riding conditions.
Finally after all the reviews and test rides and I decided to go for ZMR. As I said I want long term and stable relationship (P220 ruled out here), comfort level for longer duration is good as compared to the short R15 (R15 ruled out). Most of the time I ride with a pillion so I required a bigger rear seat (Fazer ruled out), the full fairing gives rich look (ZMA ruled out).
Biggest negative factor – there is at least 3 month waiting for Karizmas and booking amount is full payment. Overall, I felt ZMR is good value for money and will give me more in returns … fingers crossed ….
More review when the bike is delivered …..