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Nov 17, 2008

10 Test Ride Review of the Yamaha R15..!!

Test Ride Review of the Yamaha R15..!!

I have been waiting to test ride the very much hyped Yamaha R15 for sometime now. During the initial period the Yamaha Dealers weren't giving test rides of the R15. But today evening when my friend and blog regular, Sajal came down to visit me.. we decided to visit the Yamaha Dealer here at Gurgaon (Pick Up Yamaha, Sushant Lok-1) and see if we could at least get the test ride of the FZ16 if not the R15.

The Yamaha R15 has given me a taste of how a Proper Sports Motorcycle should behave..

Such a capable chassis needs few more extra horses to scare the hell out of someone like me..

But this time we were in for a pleasant surprise.. the Yamaha Dealer at Gurgaon not only was providing test rides for the FZ16 but also had an R15 for Test Rides..!!

Posted below is the brief report/review of the test ride experience of the Yamaha R15...


Sajal on the Yamaha R15

Sajal on the Yamaha R15

I'll keep it short and simple this time and go straight to the "Likes" and the "Dislikes" of the bike..


R15: (Likes)
  • Front Design of the bike:

    Makes it look like a Yamaha R1 cousin and is easily one of the "Unique Selling Points" among the current crop of production bikes sold in India. The view of the full fairing from the riding position gives the rider a feeling of riding a proper sports bike and to the onlookers it gives a visual cue of a fast bike even at standstill.



  • HANDLING..!!

    I have read a lot about the excellent handling of the R15.. but now after the test ride I'll have to admit that the best thing about the R15 is its Stable Handling. Currently no other production bike in India can match up with the handling capabilities of the R15.. Period..!!



  • Riding Position:

    The riding position of the R15 is the sportiest in the country.



R15: (Dislikes)
  • Rear Design of the bike:

    Unlike the front portion, the rear end doesn't quite gel with the styling.. Even if the rear tyre has more than enough grip under all situations, a wider tyre would have given the rear end much more muscle and character.. doesn't matter even if it was just cosmetic.



  • Lack of Low End Torque

    One has to rev the R15's engine the extract the best out its liquid cooled engine. It might be a good thing for racing around race tracks or for fast rides on the highways.. but it also means that in congested traffic conditions one will often have to down shift just to stay in the meaty rev range.



  • Why not a 20 plus bhp engine..??

    Call me a "Nutcase" if you will.. but the fact remains that "While Riding the R15, I wasn't scared"..!! The frame of the R15 is so well balanced and the handling so stable that even when given the stick the R15 doesn't lose its poise.. and remains quite err.. "Docile" (also the same "personal" reason why I wasn't that impressed with the Avenger 200 DTS-i).

    According to me such a capable chassis needs few more extra horses to scare the hell out of someone like me.. Specially is someone is realy to shell out 1 Lakh (1,00,000) Rupees for that bike. Never mind if one has to bring in the extra "cc's (cubic capacities) if required.

    According to me, it was this particular "Fear Factor" which made the RD350 and the RX100 such cult bikes.



Overall I was quite impressed with the Yamaha R15.. it has given me a taste of how a Proper Sports Motorcycle should behave.







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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.




10 Comments:

Sajal said...

I deny to take this test ride review as "probably your last test ride review".

I know there might be ways and you would be find that way out!!!

Thanks for posting my Pic dude!!

Anonymous said...

Even I am thinking to have a test ride on R15 after reading your article. Nice article. Keep up the good work. :-)

Unknown said...

Some may disagree,but I've never felt the thrill that I got while riding RX100 in any other bike in India.Not even the R15,P220 or the Zma...Wonder how the RD was then!!!

R Govindan said...

After reading your post we also had a ride of both R15&FZ16 .It was a cool experience as written in your Article.

afrid said...

love this bike.. indonasian guys remap the ecu of this one for better performnce

afrid said...

love this bike.. indonasian guys remap the ecu of this one for better performnce

R Govindan said...

After reading your post we also had a ride of both R15&FZ16 .It was a cool experience as written in your Article.

Anonymous said...

you know yamaha r15 can be modified officially with racing kits that should be enough to put a scare in you

Payeng said...

@anon,

that racing kit is illegal for street use. It is meant only for closed circuit (race track) use.

Japan used cars said...

Look wise, the R15 resembles R1 and carry its R-series looks. It has a strong bodyline having rear axle, pivot and head pipe on a straight line. Its solid frame is strengthened by the visual depiction of alignment of Deltabox frame.

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