YAMAHA YZF-R15 V 2.0 FIRST DRIVE IMPRESSIONS

Its been a long time I was trying to get my hands on the V 2.0 popularly known R15 & hopefully I got one. I think this was the first bike which I drove was brought through CBU (Completely Built Unit) route i.e. purely the Japanese gene into the machine. Below I would like to give you a small summary of the bike.

No need to mention as most of you must have seen this bike on road or might be ownig one. But indeed in the looks department Yamaha people have always bagged the first prize in the bike market in our country.

See it from the front or from the rear everything seems to be well crafted to the utmost degree of  perfection.

The bike seems to be small and sophisticated. Be it the front dual headlamps or the rear tail lamps everything depicts the spectacular aerodynamics of the bike. The wider rear tires, raised pillion rider seat, 10 spoke alloy make its elegance irresistible to notice.

Unleasing the racing DNA with the Delta Box frame R15 is well suited for medium height & short height people. The rider seating arrangement is somewhat leaned forward for aggressive handling and the seat itself is at lower height enabling easy maneuverability at corners and in traffic at lower speed. The wider fuel tank enables easy gripping of it to make bike more stable at high speeds. Here the pillion rider may not be at much ease when long journey is concerned as the rear pillion seating arrangement is also very much aggressive and is more favourable for the pillion rider to lean front at high speeds for better stability of the bike and sitting upright is the only option if you are at back pain. Overall we can conclude that the bike is completely a sports bike and feels at home on race tracks.

No sooner did I pushed the ignition button than the bike\’s engine started and I could feel very much from the sound itself as to why people are purchasing a 150cc bike after investing around 1.5lacs rupees. The engine is very smooth and absolutely no vibes can be felt at hands or near foot pegs also. I was mad to ride this bike as have heard a lot about it regarding its acceleration and its tough competition to other higher capacity bikes like Karizma or Pulsar 220. Well the wait was over and I was revolving the bike very hard upto 9000 rpm in 1st gear (around 48kmph) and guess what? I could feel the intense power as soon as I shifted to 2nd gear and the bike just thrusted forward…indeed the punch of 15.2nm torque is not small. Coming to the deceleration part the front disc does its job very well and its effect is also very much impulsive…an advice for new riders. Same applies with the rear disc as the response is very quick in retarding the bike. Even though I pushed the bike beyond the normal revolution limits but still I cannot feel any vibrations in the fairing of the bike or in the handle bars or in the foot rest..Hats off to Yamaha.

Again this is the area where the bike needs to improve. Although my ride was not long enough to calculate one but as per my knowledge it gives max around 40kmpl or less which is a significant issue nowadays.

If  I want to summerise the complete experience in short it was just fabulous. Few drawbacks are there like mileage and after sales service where Yamaha people needs to give more emphasis on improvement. Other than these issues it indeed a bike that lays a milestone for the other bikes to learn when solely performance is concerened.

Your comments shall be highly appreciated.