But more than that, it’s an unexpectedly good motor. Peak power (16.8 bhp at 8500 rpm) and peak torque (1.5 kgm at 7500 rpm) may be bunched very close together, and there’s a puzzling 2500 rpm lying north of the peak power. But look, it’s a slightly undersquare motor and once more, Yamaha repeat that the rideability of the R15 was an important criteria for the engine tuning. And you won’t be disappointed. Clicking up the gears while accelerating from the pitlane to join the track at C2 was the only time we saw the whole rev range, and the R15 felt urgent and powerful, not peaky. When you run it up to as high as 10,000 rpm or more, you do notice that the power doesn’t tail off all that much. One of the most important revelations of my time with the R15 at the track was that I could take corners in the right gear, wrong gear, at redline, at 5,000 rpm, with very little difference in chassis attitude and only a mild difference in forward progress. What I’m saying is that I’m not sure what the R15 will turn out on the street. But I’m confident that no one will complain either of a peaky powerband or of too little power.
And what you should also know is that the urgency of the power has another source. The R15 and many of its cycle parts were designed and selected for their performance as well as their contribution to the cause of saving and locating weight. The R15 is 13 kg lighter, with all fluids, than any of the commuter 150s and a whopping 19 kg lighter than the Pulsar 220. The other reason for the weight saving is that the R15 is not a platform. It’s a motorcycle. There’s no extra engineering weight in the bike that’s waiting for a bigger engine to be slotted in later. It’s fat-free. That kind of weight saving produces huge power-to-weight advantages and therefore, great engine performance, even when the spec sheet makes the motor look modest.Yamaha don’t claim any performance figures officially but here’s what I know. A 60 kg rider, prone, should see 140 kph on the R15. Sit up, lose 15 kph... so that fairing isn’t there to ensnare looks either. Acceleration is good and a sub-5 second run to 60 kph should be easy-peasy. And the Yamaha should return between 38 and 42 kpl, should you be a compulsive average anorak.
Milestone
The Yamaha YZF-R15 is a landmark in our history. Yes, I am going to compare it to the RD350, because I do think that the RD350 has, finally, been succeeded. Not superseded, but succeeded. Where the RD350 thrilled us with its abundant power and character, the R15 has that charm, and a level of all-round ability that we have never seen before.But dude, Rs 1.1 lakh for a 150? Let us be clear about this. The Yamaha YZF-R15 is not a 220cc commuter, any more than it is a volume 150cc commuter. What it is, in every sense of the word, is India’s first genuine sportsbike, which happens to have a 150cc engine. It will go racing next year, and trust me, its competition is going be up the creek unless they can come up with something by then. And by God, I do they hope they can beat the effortless, fluent, confident R15. We need more motorcycles like this.
But is it worth the money? I think it is. Value perception for the R15 cannot be blinkered by the standards of the commuter 150. That simply isn’t fair. Explaining how much better the twin-spar is, for instance, in value terms, is very hard to do. But ride it and you will also know that it is hard to argue against. In markets abroad, motorcycles of this level of ability are even more expensive. Besides, if you really want a Yamaha commuter 150, just wait till December, when the great-looking FZ150 comes out.
While I’ll wait for the road test to set my impression of the R15 in stone, I have to say that this is the most impressive Indian motorcycle I have had the pleasure of riding so far. The R15’s focus is far ahead of our two-wheeled lot so far, and as a result, it is far ahead of everything we have.
I know I’ve said this before about other motorcycles that have excited me, But I have never been this excited about an impending road test. Yamaha promise that a test bike is less than a week away, but that’s seven days too many. I cannot wait, also, to ride the R15 back to back with its displacement-peers and price-peers and see how much of a puzzle Yamaha has thrown to its competition.
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