Hero Honda has launched a new Splendor variant – Splendor Pro. Click here to read more

Honda launched two cool, new colors on its best-selling Activa model – Click here to read more

TVS has confirmed that it will relaunch the 125cc Flame twin-spark in the Indian market in the coming months. Read about the twin spark Flame here.

Suzuki sends us an invitation for a press conference on the 25th. Is it for the launch of the Slingshot 125? Read about the Suzuki press conference here.

The Hero Honda Super Splendor facelift is coming soon and we have spyshots! Click here to see Hero Honda Super Splendor spyshots.

While we were offline last month, Hero-Honda rolled out its 11th millionth Splendor motorcycle on 11th November from its plant in Gurgaon, Haryana. This is yet another milestone for the company which has been in the market for around 25 years and has bagged 8 consecutive ‘largest two wheeler manufacturer in the world title.’

The HH splendor was launched in the year 1994 and no one would have even imagined that this single product would take the company to such heights in the motorcycle industry. Even after 15 years of its launch this motorcycle is still in the market, continuously improving and achieving new accolades for itself. The bike is considered the most reliable product when it comes to the Indian commuter section.

With bikes like Splendor and Passion, the attitude of Hero Honda is easily determined. They portray the intent of selling a motorcycle for a long duration, earning the trust of buyers.

Hero Honda seems to be in a mood to cash in during this festive season to the maximum possible extent. After the long awaited Karizma ZMR last month, HH have launched new variants of Hunk and their best selling model Splendor+ which has crossed sales of over one crore units.

With its muscular styling and high power engine, the Hunk has created a lot of interest among youth, particularly college students in India. The New HH Hunk variant consists of body colored rear view mirrors, grey colored rear grab rails, handle bar, foot rest and side cover and red colored rear shock absorber springs. The bike also has a Bull insignia on the side panels adjacent to the fuel tank.

The Splendor+ on the other hand is decorated with new graphics, a blacked-out engine, alloy wheels, black saree guard and black front forks. It also consists of a 1 crore special edition logo on the side panel along with HH logo on fuel tank, visor and console.

Both these bikes have underwent purely cosmetic changes the technical specs were unharmed in the process.

Hunk is priced Rs. 56,675/- (ex-showroom Delhi) and Splendor+ is priced Rs 40,000/- (ex-showroom Delhi).

If you can’t view the slideshow above, visit the New Hero Honda Karizma ZMR Brochure directly

Can’t see the slideshow above? See the images directly at the New Hero Honda Karizma Image Gallery

Finally the long awaited Hero Honda Karizma ZMR was launched here at the Hotel Leela Kempinski,Gurgaon. Media person from various media groups were present at the launch occasion. This is the first ever technical makeover/upgrade to the bike since its birth.

Apart from the changes done to the overall styling of the bike, the main enhancement to the technical specs of the bike is the introduction of the Programmed Fuel Injection along with the slight increase in the maximum power and torque of the bike which is 17.6 BHP @ 7000 rpm and 18.35 Nm@6000 rpm respectively.The bike also features new 240 mm rear disc brake.

The bike has feaures like maintenece free battery, RTMI (real time Mileage Indicator) and a bank angle sensor which can be seen on Honda’s CBF Stunner PGM-FI conributing to better safety and slashing maintenance costs.

The new Hero Honda Karizma will be available in 5 colors, namely Panther black, Sports Red, Vubrant Blue, Moon Yellow and Peral White. With an ex-showroom price of 91,000 in Delhi, performance bike cravers are going to be licking their lips.

Stay tuned as details, images and even a short video will be uploaded once Naz finds a suitable internet connection.

The official launch of the new Hero Honda Karizma takes place today afternoon. After the advent of the new Bajaj Pulsar 220 and the fast approaching Kawasaki Ninja 250, Hero Honda would look to supplant the new comers with the ‘original’ performance motorcycle.

According to reports on the internet, the new Karizma comes with fuel injection, full fairing and colors. The power and torque values are also reported to have slight changes.

As usual, we’ll cover the launch and provide you with high resolution photographs. Stay tuned.

Image displayed – Hero Honda Karizma R

The Karizma gave the Indian bike enthusiasts the feel of a sports bike which was awaited for a long time. Karizma is a well balanced combination of power, style and performance, which is still missing from other sports bikes in India.

Although being in the market for so many years, there weren’t any upgrades for the bike. Hero Honda gave it a cosmetic makeover and launched Hero Honda Karizma R (Racing edition) recently. This version had carried over the same technical specifications from its predecessor, which was a big disappointment for its fans as they expected some power and torque improvement on the bike.

The Hero Honda Karizma has been fighting a tough competition. Bikes like Bajajs’s Pulsar 220 and Yamaha’s top end YZF-R15 until now, have not finished the Zma. However, waiting for a complete knock out before bringing in an upgrade isn’t going to work and Hero Honda has realized that.

Now there is news surfacing on the internet about the new Karizma called Karizma PGM-FI. There are few spy pics of this new version Karizma available on every second website on the internet and mind you all of them are the same set of images!

There are lots of speculations and rumors going around for the Karizma PGM-FI regarding the features, specifications and price along with its launch date. As the name suggests, this bike would be equipped with Programmable Fuel Injection which would be a big boost to this bike’s fuel efficiency, which has been a big concern with this bike’s performance.

The engine would continue to be the same 223 cc but should be capable of generating 19ps of power (I have even read that it might be 21 ps) and much improved torque. A rear disc brake would also be present, enhancing braking capabilities. The bike would have a 5-speed gearbox but I would want to see a 6-speed similar to YZF-R15 and Suzuki GS150R.

A 6-speed gear box would mean less stress to the engine and would enable the bike to achieve a higher top speed and mileage figures. To improve handling and stability of the bike I would expect this bike to have mono-cross suspension, but I don’t think this would be present in the new version after seeing the pics.

The bike is coming with a full fairing which is a boost to the sporty looks of the bike with the rear view mirrors fitted on it similar to R15. I’m worried that Hero Honda, in order to enhance the sportiness of the bike does not over-do the looks of the bike. For example, this bike is coming with a full front fairing, I hope the fairing is in a proportionate manner with the rest of the dimensions of the bike and it does not make it look like a cheap piece of plastic pasted on its head.

So far, the Karizma has been a well balanced bike in terms of the dimensions, and I hope that this extra fairing does not spoil the show. Coming to the seating position of the bike, I would like this bike to have much sportier seating posture this time. Since the bike is expected to be much faster than before, a more lean-forward posture would enhance the aerodynamics of the bike while riding. But this needs to be done very carefully so that it does not cause any ache in the rider’s back.

Rest of the new features like clip on handle bars, split grab rails new headlamp and LED tail light along with the new graphics are some of the great add-ons to this version. But all this would not come at a low cost. With all those features the bike is expected to cost around 1 lakh rupees and until the bike is finally out we can’t state if this cost is justified or not. Since this would be the first proper upgrade (in terms of technical specs) in so many years, a lot is anticipated from it in terms of both technology and performance. So let’s wait and see when this bike is launched and what wonders it does to our biking world!

click on the image for larger resolution image

Update - This image along with the one shown below have also been published on other websites and blogs including t-bhp and xbhp.

Bajaj reverted back to the original carburetor configuration on their new Pulsar 220, and as a result they were able to reduce its price tag. This move did not go down well with many in the two-wheeler enthusiast community as today’s technology was traded for something from the past just for the sake of shaving costs and making it more affordable.

Provided the tendency in the Indian motorcycle industry where one impersonates the other, rather than taking a distinctive approach, Hero Honda surprisingly isn’t about to follow Bajaj, who feels moving backwards is the way forward. Their next motorcycle is what many of us have been dying to see for years now.

Behold the Hero Honda Karizma PGM-Fi. The war horn has been sounded!

Hero Honda was the first Indian motorcycle maker to introduce fuel injection on two-wheelers. The Hero Honda Glamor Fi was launched a few years ago and ever since then, HH has been looking to install it on its other offerings.

If there was one motorcycle which every person wanted see with Fi, it was the Karizma.

The alterations on the new Karizma is its full fairing with a signature Karizma touch to it, pillion grab rails lifted off the HH Hunk, mirrors are now mounted on the fairing, new handlebar, head light, tail light, rear mud guard, rear shocks, graphics and slight modification to the panel work.

This image was sent in by our regular reader Shaik