New Hero Karizma is in the pipeline; nameplate to stay

Hero MotorCorp launched the new Karizma R and the Karizma ZMR in 2014. After the initial excitement, sales of the motorcycles saw a downfall that led to rumours that Hero may bring the production of the Karizma range to a halt. Emerging reports now indicate that Hero has no plans to discontinue the Karizma nameplate and that the company is, in fact, working on the next generation of the model.

"The brand will be there. The brand has to be there, no doubt. But give us some time. We will make the Karizma fans happy as well,"  Markus Braunsperger, the chief technology officer at Hero MotoCorp, said in an interview to Bikeadvise. Hero's R&D section will start work on the new Karizma soon, he added.

Hero launched the Karizma when the company was in partnership with Honda. At that time, Karizma was one of the most powerful motorcycles sold in India. The Karizma, along with the Bajaj Pulsar 220, initiated the craze for performance biking among enthusiasts in India. After Hero MotoCorp severed ties with Honda, the company launched the new version in partnership with Erik Buell Racing. The shift in design, however, did not go down well with the customers.

Hero sold only 242 units of the Karizma (both R and ZMR) from April to August 2016 as compared to 2,328 units sold in the same period in 2015.

The current generation Karizma is powered by single cylinder 223cc engine tuned to develop 20bhp at 8,000rpm and 19.7Nm of torque at 6,500rpm mated to five-speed transmission. Based on the tubular diamond frame, Karizma is employed with telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers at front and swing arm with five-step adjustable GRS system at the rear. The Karizma is equipped with 276mm disc brake at front and 240mm disc brake at the rear.