ZMR 250 or facelifts for the ageing Karizma and the ZMR?

Hero Motocorp has been ringing in the online world- courtesy their test mules being spy snapped by various autosites. While there have been rumours aplenty on the new bike being a challenger to the likes of the Honda CBR250R and the KTM 200 Duke- but with more pictures pouring in, things have started to clear out.

Initially rumoured to be powered by an EBR-AVL collaborated engine with an output of 29ps- it now seems otherwise. One of the biggest pointers to the fact comes from the tyres. What seems like a 110 rear section and a regular front are too skinny to be on a motorcycle with such a horsepower output. Also on close scrutiny, one can spot two different bikes and it makes the case clear that these would upgrades for the present Karizma and the ZMR in existing engine capacities.

Visual clues include two different exhaust designs with one resembling the present ZMR, the other one looks extremely similar to the Karizma. The ZMR upgrade is seen with a rear disc setup and a rear tyre pattern of the tubeless MRF Zappers, the Karizma upgrade retains a drum braking system and is seen shod with a Ceat Vertigo which is a tube-type tyre.

The surprising part is that both these bikes seem to be sporting a full faired design and there doesn’t seem to be any difference in the tail design either. And though it would be befitting to reiterate these to be upgrades to the existing bikes, we assume that the Karizma upgrade might be tuned both for efficiency and marginal increment in power considering that the earlier Karizma never scored merit on the mileage chart. Also Hero Motocorp plonking in an FI system on the Karizma too cannot be ruled out. Talking of the ZMR upgrade, though it might receive a power bump treatment, we are not anticipating a major boost in performance. We think that in the Indian context, two similar looking bikes in similar performing capacity with only differences in fueling and braking systems and of course the price certainly doesn’t make a good business idea. Hence we expect the ZMR to be a better performer when compared to the Karizma to justify the cost variation between the two.

Though right now, it would be easy to conclude on a few facts about the motorcycle- speculations are still afresh on the specifications chart. What’s Hero got up its sleeve on these two new bikes? Just a matter of time before the rabbit hops out of the hat.

Watch this space.

Go to next page for more images