One of the first semi-faired bikes in the country, the Karizma has been a popular bike since it was first launched in 2003. Throughout these years, the Karizma has been given a quite a few cosmetic updates, but the engine has always remained almost the same. Even the fully-faired version, the Karizma ZMR, retains the engine, but with fuel injection.
Last year, Hero Moto Corp unveiled the revamped 2014 model year Karizma R. The motorcycle gets cosmetic as well as mechanical updates. The changes to the exteriors include restyled body panels, new headlamps, DRLs and revised tail lamps.
The latest iteration of the Karizma R also gets minor updates to the company’s tried and tested four-stroke SOHC 223cc engine which now produces 19.2bhp of power and 19.35Nm of torque in comparison to the previous version which produced 17.2bhp of power and 18.35Nm of torque. The motorcycle is now capable of accelerating from 0-60kmph sprint in 3.6 seconds, a 0.2 second faster than the previous model.
The new Karizma R is now on sale in the market. The motorcycle currently competes against the Bajaj Pulsar 220F, Bajaj Pulsar NS200 and TVS Apache RTR 180.