Bajaj appears to have taken a cheeky dig at the upcoming Hero Karizma XMR in its recent story on Instagram
Hero MotoCorp is gearing up to launch the new generation Karizma XMR on August 29, 2023 and its teaser campaign has been running over the last few weeks. The largest two-wheeler maker in the world is bringing back the Karizma nameplate after years of absence and it will be one of the brand’s significant launches in recent years as it will use a new platform and a liquid-cooled engine heralding a new era.
The homegrown manufacturer has been releasing videos under the Legends of Karizma tag and the hashtag of Living The Legend is a prominent feature on social media posts. Despite the humongous success of the original Karizma, the following iterations could not capitalise on the old glory and had to be discontinued citing poor sales numbers and the arrival of more stringent emission standards.
Taking a cheeky dig probably at the Karizma, Bajaj Pulsar’s official Instagram handle ran a story with the tagline “The Original Legend Killer”. The Pulsar nameplate has undoubtedly stood the test of time not just in India but in the international markets as well. It must be noted that the upcoming Hero Karizma XMR will apparently take on Bajaj’s Pulsar RS200.
However, the Pulsar RS200 has not been significantly updated for quite a long time and even when upside-down front forks were introduced to the NS series recently, the RS200 was left behind. Back to the Karizma XMR, it will be based on a brand new architecture and will derive power from an all-new 210 cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled DOHC fuel-injected four-valve engine.
The powertrain is expected to produce around 25 bhp, as it could be in the same ballpark as the RS200. The XMR will be more advanced and premium though as it will be equipped with an LCD instrument cluster with navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, and dual LED headlamps. It will also take on Suzuki Gixxer SF250, Yamaha R15 V4.0 and KTM RC200.
The faired supersport has an aggressive design language with sharp body panels and a recent teaser suggests that it could be priced at around Rs. 2.05 lakh (ex-showroom). It will feature conventional telescopic front forks, monoshock rear suspension, clip-on handlebar, split seats, LED tail lamp and indicators, and dual-channel ABS system.