Why hasn't the Hero Honda Karizma arrived so far..?? Lets try to find some answers..
Flashback: Early 2006
Just after Bajaj displayed its Fuel Injected Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi at the 2006 Auto Expo, there were rumors and speculations abuzz that soon Hero Honda would also launch a Fuel Injected version of its Karizma. After all Bajaj had stolen the thunder from Hero Honda.
Disclaimer: "I cannot give the guarantee of the veracity of these deductions. But I believe that the following observations are far better to explain the current state of events rather than just pure speculation.."
Rumors of a Fuel Injected Karizma became stronger when Hero Honda launched the 125 cc Glamour PGM-Fi. Never mind if the Glamour PGM-Fi was priced equal to a substantially more powerful 150 cc bike. Also never mind the fact that I did not get to see any PGM-Fi Glamour on road.
What it meant was the Hero Honda took the honors of being the First Indian Motorcycle Manufacturer to officially launch “Fuel Injection” tech in India. It also kept the hopes of thousands of “desi bikers” of our country alive that the Karizma “Fi” could just be around the corner anytime soon.
After all if Hero Honda could give a 125 cc bike Fuel Injection..?? Why would it shy away from giving its flagship model “Karizma” the same treatment..??
Welcome up to the Present World: Mid 2007
Things haven’t changed much. The 125 cc Glamour PGM-Fi is still available for sale and I have yet to see one of those on the road till date.
Hero Honda Glamour Fi
So why haven’t the Karizma “Fi” arrived..?? Instead of speculation, let us try to find some answers
In the meantime Bajaj has launched its Fuel Injected Pulsar DTS-Fi 220 (albeit with some delays) and yours truly has gone ahead and booked a Red one too. And oh yes, still no signs of the “Fuel Injected” Karizma. But you do get a new set of stickers along with a plastic engine guard, red shocks and yellow colored speedometer assembly to boot.
In order to get some answers, I just type the words “Hero Honda Karizma Fi” on Google and hit the search button. To my amusement I find that the first link on Google Search for “Hero Honda Karizma Fi” is the link of “The Bike Chronicles of India”..!!
Karizma "Fi" on Google Search
Ok, so this time I try “Hero Honda Karizma Fuel Injection”.. and Bingo..!! “TBCI” has the first link again..!! I try one more time with “Fuel Injected Hero Honda Karizma”.. and guess what..?? The first link on Google Search is again of TBCI..!!
The TBCI link that was appearing in Google was of a post which was published on 4'th November 2006. This post was about a small article found in an issue of Overdrive India. That article was about rumors of Hero Honda preparing a Karizma “Fi”.
Aahh..!! The Evil that Auto Magazines do…
Why hasn’t the Fuel Injected Karizma arrived..??
The real answer can only be given by the big bosses of Hero Honda. All I can say that by not launching a Fuel Injected Karizma, Hero Honda is losing a huge opportunity here.
There is a long waiting list of “desi-bikers” at the Pro Biking Showroom at Bangalore. These folks are waiting for their turn to book the Pulsar DTS-Fi 220. If this wasn’t enough, Bajaj is enjoying a situation where guys are even willing to wait for 60-90 days after booking. This is what happens when you don’t have a competition.
So why haven’t the Karizma “Fi” arrived..?? Instead of speculation, let us try to find some answers.
Origin of the Hero Honda Karizma:
The Karizma was launched in 2003. Like the other offerings of Hero Honda, Honda was responsible for providing the Hero Group with the technical know-how. Now did Honda design the engine of the Karizma especially for Hero Honda and for the Indian market..??
Honda CRF230F
In a bid to search for the origins of the Karizma, I came across a model from Honda called the CRF230F. The CRF230F is basically a 4 stroke dirt bike from Honda and sold in countries like Brazil where off road bikes are quite popular. Now by going through the official specs of the CRF230 and comparing it to the specs of the Karizma, it looks that both the engines share the same DNA. Published below are the tech specs of the CRF230 and the Karizma. Even the two engine blocks look similar.
2008 Honda CRF230F Specifications
Model: CRF230F
Engine Type: 223cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke
Bore and Stroke: 65.5mm x 66.2mm
Compression ratio: 9.0:1
Valve Train: SOHC; two-valve
Induction: 26mm piston-valve carburetor
Source: Honda Corporate Press Release
2008 Hero Honda Karizma Specifications
Engine Type: 223cc air-cooled single-cylinder four-stroke
Bore and Stroke: 65.5mm x 66.2mm
Compression ratio: 9.0:1
So it looks very much likely that Honda took the engine from the CRF230, did some rework on it and launched it as the Karizma in India. If this is true then it is bad news for “desi bikers” waiting for the Karizma “FI”.
This is because until recently, Fuel Injection hasn’t been quite popular with Dirt Bikes. Dirt Bikes need to be light and usually have simple mechanicals. Only recently Suzuki has launched Fuel Injection for its 2008 RMZ450 dirt bike. Yamaha also has plans of Fuel Injection for its 2008 international range of dirt bikes viz. the Yamaha WR250R and WR250X .
Meanwhile official press releases from Honda for its 2008 CRF230 specs reveal that the CRF230 would still feature the carburetor and NOT fuel Injection.
But what about the 125 cc Glamour PGM-Fi..??
Actually, Honda has engines as small as 50 cc with fuel injection technology. The present 125 cc engine found on the Hero Honda Super Splendor and the Glamour looks quite similar to the 125 cc engines found in the Honda Step Thru’s sold in a few South East Asian countries. In fact the PGM-Fi technology can be found on a 125 cc Step Thru called the Wave 125i sold in Thailand. The Honda Wave engine also looks quite similar to the engine found on the Hero Honda Glamour.
Honda Wave 125
So it looks like Honda has transferred its PGM-Fi technology from the Wave Step Thru’s of Thailand and plonked it on the Glamour in India. After all why reinvent the wheel when you have a perfectly good set of wheels at your disposal..??
PGM-Fi technology on the Honda Wave 125i
Source: Honda World Website
What about the Future prospects for a Karizma "Fi"..??
I am certainly not aware of the management decisions of Hero Honda or Honda. Nor do I give the guarantee of the veracity of the above deductions of mine. But I believe that these observations are far better to explain the current state of events rather than just pure speculation.
If the above observations are correct then probably our “desi” bikers would have to wait (for a 230-250 cc Fuel Injected Motorcycle from Honda/Hero Honda) till..
- Honda launches the CRF230 Dirt Bike with Fuel Injection (likely but at least not in 2008) or
- Honda launches a 230-250 cc step thru with PGM-Fi for South East Asian Countries (very unlikely as Step Thru’s engines so far haven’t crossed 135 cc) or
- Hero Honda decides to invest into R&D of its own ( ???? ) or
- Maybe “desi” bikers should/shouldn’t expect an all new 230/250/300 cc model from Honda/Hero Honda.
Now can you tell me which could be the most likely scenario among these..??
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Disclaimer:
This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.
