A Legend Reborn

The much-awaited Hero Karizma XMR has finally been launched to bring the fight to the 200-cc segment. We got to swing a leg over it to find out how it fares in the city and here is our first impression

- Azaman Chothia

THE FIRST-GENERATION KARIZMA WAS SOMEWHAT of a legend: a motorcycle that offered great performance in its segment at an affordable price. It also held a long-standing record for a 24-hour run completed in 2003, an indicator of how reliable it was.

Fast forward to 2023 and we finally have a completely new Karizma XMR. When it comes to styling. Hero MotoCorp have done a good job with a sharp rectangular full fairing that surrounds the 11-litre fuel-tank of this motorcycle. The sleek LED headlight set-up somewhat resembles the unit we have seen on the Xoom scooter. At the rear, the bike gets a split-seat and a short and compact exhaust unit. It is being offered in three colours: the iconic yellow, black, and red.

As you swing a leg over the XMR, the riding position feels quite nice. The foot-pegs are set towards the rear for a sporty stance, but the clip-on handlebar is set higher up and that makes for a more upright riding posture. The seat height stands at 810 millimetres, which is fairly accessible even to shorter riders, and it has a ground clearance of 160 mm. A segment-first feature is an adjustable windscreen. A button on the right side of the fairing needs to be depressed to allow the windscreen to be adjusted.