Having left the multitudes behind, I finally found myself facing an open stretch of tarmac. Boyohboyohboy! Cracking the throttle open, I stepped sideways onto the highway and was swept forward by the massive torque the engine spat out. 8.4 kgm at only 2750 rpm is a heck of a lot, and you feel every bit of it! Acceleration is extremely brisk and the bike pulls like a locomotive, power being delivered in a smooth, seamless rush. The vast amount of torque also means that roll-on acceleration is a cinch, with the bike surging forward effortlessly even at 40 kph in fifth gear. The suspension is predictably superb and chews up any bumps that happen to come your way, although you have to be careful over speed-breakers because of the bike’s low-slung nature. The huge tyres (110/90-18 front, 170/80-15 rear) allow you to lean over and corner with absolute confidence, so making like Arnie in T2 is entirely possible.
Find a clean stretch, keep the throttle wrung open and the bike will show you a speedo-indicated 172 kph, although by this time your ribs will threaten to exit through your back and your arms will beg for mercy. This bike is tailor made for all-day 130 kph cruising, and is happiest at that speed. Vibration levels are perfectly acceptable upto about 140 kph, after which they become rather ticklish. Braking is assured and fade-free, with twin discs up front and a single disc doing duty at the back.
Having had an absolute blast for just over 50 km, I reluctantly turned around and headed back to the factory. Given half a chance, I would simply have ridden the bike all the way back to Mumbai, but one has to be somewhat nice to manufacturers in this business! Yamaha might just give us this bike some time this year, at an approximate Rs. 5 lakh price tag. Yes, that’s steep, but given the amount of fun you can have on it, I’d venture it’s fully worth it. As for me, I’m already casing some banks that I can rob. Life certainly ain’t a drag on a Drag Star!
|
