Yamaha YZF R15

Overview

Yamaha has passed on the GST (Goods & Service Tax) benefits to consumers and this has resulted in the ex-showroom price of the R15 marginally.

Many an eyebrows were raised when Yamaha launched the R15 in the Indian two-wheeler market. The full fairing styling was readily accepted but the fact that it was powered by a 150cc engine wasn’t warmly welcomed. But with the Yamaha R15, the Japanese two-wheeler giant made the Indian consumers understand the value of power-to-weight ratio. The first version of the R15 was a handsome looking motorcycle but the puny tail section and skinny rear tyre didn’t gel well with the overall design. Yamaha designers rectified this in the R15 Version 2.0 with fatter rubber and stepped seats. The Yamaha R6 inspired styling has been a hit among the youngsters and the aggressive lines of the R15 does make it the most handsome looking bike among its rivals and has been among the key factors for its success.

It employs a part-analogue-part digital instrument console with a large analogue tachometer being the centre of attraction. The digital display is loaded to the brim and is easy to read on the go. The clip-on handle bars and rear-set footpegs result in an aggressive and sporty riding posture in sync with the DNA of the motorcycle. The aggressive riding posture is of great help while scorching the race track but on a day-to-day basis it gets arduous. Also the petite rear seat is placed too high and the lack of grab rails mean that it isn’t a pillion friendly machine.

The bike is powered by a 150cc displacement, single-cylinder motor, the liquid-cooled and fuel injected engine pumps out 17PS of power and 15Nm of peak torque which were decent numbers. The high revving nature of the motor means that one has to keep it on a boil to extract the best performance out of it. The Yamaha R15 with its 131 kerb weight and the six speed transmission allows the bike to hit speeds above 130kmph. Another aspect of the Yamaha R15 which was noteworthy is its handling dynamics. The delta box frame has endowed the bike with fantastic handling and it's a joy pushing the bike through the corners. Ride quality of the bike is on the stiffer side as a compromise to the brilliant handling dynamics. Anchorage is provided by disc brake at front and rear which do a great job of shedding speeds. Talking about mileage, the Yamaha R15 Version 2.0 runs 40km to a litre of fuel which is quite commendable. At Rs 1.14 lakh ex-showroom Delhi, the R15 has been decently priced with respect to its rivals.