Who made the mistake? whether its the general public or the Yamaha Motorcycles. Even in 2008 Indians view Yamaha as a maker of Rx100 which is no longer in production. That’s true, after the RX100 (production stopped in 1998) none of the Yamaha bikes including the gladiator is able to quench the thirst of Indian customers. This may be partly attributed to our’s love for fuel efficient bikes. But we gradually expressed our interest towards higher segment bikes. The success of pulsar and Karizma is a strong case. The japanese maker never waked up and launched series of 100cc bikes. There were no takers for the bikes and Yamaha’s market share plummeted from 40% to just 2% in the last ten years.
Let’s put the past behind us. Here is the new Yamaha which is all set to regain its lost ground. Yamaha has come up with a new bike christened R15 which is very much similar to our dream bike. YZF R15 comes with racy styling, features fuel Injection, Monoshock rear suspension and disc brake at the rear. Without no doubt, R15 a tiger in the specs sheet. But that does not says all, we test drive the much touted Yamaha’s R15 150cc and find out whether its our dream bike!
1) Yamaha YZF R15: While the R1 is inspired from M1, Yamaha’s YZF R15 is developed to imitate R1 in every aspect. R15 takes the credit for being the first bike in India to come with full front fairing. With its unmistakeable R-series styling, YZF R15 easily stands out in the crowd and is easy to mistake for a much larger capacity machine. The dual headlights have a distinctive R-series look, while the low frontal area and small tail are clearly influenced by the bigger R-series bikes. Overall R15 is more a clone of R1 it scores full point in styling.
2) Yamaha YZF R15: This race bike comes with a hi-fi engine. The engine boast plenty of new technologies that we can list only in a separate post. All aluminum DiASil Cylinder is not just an low weighing one but also has excellent heat dissipation qualities (cooling capacity is improved by 60% and reduces engine weight (by 30%). The forged piston and the six hole type injector leads to excellent power developement. Since the bike comes with full fairing a compact radiator works overtime to cool the engine.
Whether its traffic signal or real race, R15 pips all other bikes with hands down. Pulling away from a stoplight, it only needs the slightest turn of the throttle to get you moving ahead of traffic. On the race track, it tempts you to go faster and faster. But finally its a 150cc engine don’t expect it to act like Ninja. The six speed transmission is butter smooth and carefully spaced gear ratios offers ample power at all speeds. We clocked a maximum speed of 132kmph in the sriperumbudur race track. The only disappointment is lack of any distinct beat (still ears beg for the Rx100’s wine). As expected R15 returned 33kmpl in our combined city and highway drive. Considering the 12 holding capacity of the chunky tank, you will have to visit the petrol filling station often.
3) Yamaha YZF R15:
Ergonomics and comfort:
Though we are used to Xtreme’s and Apache’s. The ergonomics of YZF R15 demands our flexibility. The reach to the handlebars remains short, but the pegs are higher and further back, and the bars are angled more downward. You are in a more aggressive position, but it becomes livable once you are used to the sporty riding position. Big people over 1m80 tall are at ease on board – more so, at any rate, than smaller people, who will probably find the seat a little too high. The handlebars are mounted on the fork tops so your wrists don’t take the jerks and the seat isn’t massively hard either. Passenger accommodations are there, but while braking your spine has to bear the thrashing pillion.
4) Yamaha YZF R15:
Handling:
Yamaha’s proven deltabox frame along with the aluminium swingarm forms the chassis of the R15. The duo makes the R15 to deliver an optimum balance of strength and rigidity. Once you are used to the radical riding position, manoeuvering in signals with R15 becomes a lovable exercise. When riding in stop-light traffic, the weight on your wrists becomes a distinct sensation of the riding experience. The sporty riding position (sitting closer to the larger tank) seems to help somewhat. While negotiating tight corners, the position works very well putting you in a good position, to move the bike around, and to move around on the bike.
Powerful, linear, fade-free braking is all we expect from performance bikes. The large diameter 292mm front disc is slowed by a compact twin-pot caliper which delivers strong and progressive braking performance for good controllability over a wide range of speeds. The large single front disc is complemented by a 230mm rear disc, giving the R15rider accurate control in town as well as on the open road.
5) Yamaha YZF R15: The high speed stability of R15 is impeccable. R15’s race-bred technology puts you confidently in control. MRF has worked and produced a special tyre specifically for the R15. Both the tyres are tubeless. The F 80/90 -17 inchestyre in the front and 100/80-17 inches tyres in the rear. The mirrors are very functional even at high speeds. You can take the corner very fast and it is very stable in braking while the front gives the positive expected feel for when entering a corner so it’s possible to be ridden at your maximum limit. R15 provides ample feedback from the tires and this helps to understand your maximum limit and the amount of grip provided by the surface you ride on. But i’m sure that every buyer will look for a bigger tyre for the betterment of the look.
6) Yamaha YZF R15: R15 comes with all the essentials we love, except the LED tail lamps. R15 features digital speedo, alloy wheels, clip on handlebars, golden coloured telescopic fork, handlebar weight, split grab rail, open type chain and fatter rear tyre.
7) Yamaha YZF R15: Yamaha YZF R15 comes with a hefty price tag of Rs1,05,000 (On The Road Chennai). Similar to R1, YZF R15 comes in two colours – black and blue. Yamaha have developed a range of quality accessories for YZF-R15 owners wishing to customise their bike. The line-up includes a double bubble screen, a yoke, a seat cover, roller protectors and a tank pad.
Verdict:
The R15 checks all the right boxes in styling, performance, ride and handling chracterstics. But as expected it does not fare well in fuel efficieny/ mileage dept. But that does not paralyses the R15, it is easily the fastest bike in India. This is achieved through the use of number of cutting edge technologies. But the use of such technologies have pushed the price of R15 beyond the 1 lakh rupee mark i.e almost double the price of similar 150cc bikes. The die hard Yamaha fans with fat wallet must be happy with the product. But for many of us, R15 might continue to be dream bike for some time. But start saving, its worth buying. Not at all convinced! wait till a bike with similar performance comes to the market with a lesser price tag.
P.S: Our sincer thanks to visvanathan (9884444909) you can contact him to book R1 in chennai