Yamaha YZF-R15 preview - A 'no compromise' bike

The brand yamaha has been quite sublimed for a long time here in India.The previous offerings from the Yamaha stable has not taken off that well by the customers.But people were craving for some good solid offerings from yamaha and it seemed that it took forever for the high performance bikes from any manufacturer to be offered here.As the imported ones would attract a 100-120% customs tax,bike enthusiasts had no option rather than to wait for the manufacturers to launch them here.


It was then that Yamaha launched the well known flagship offering - the R1 in late last year along with a cruiser model too.Both models were CBU and attracted a lot of taxes.It was like the ultimate dream machine for any motorcycle enthusiast.But it came at a cost - infact a lot of cost - at 10.5 lakhs ex-showroom price.

It was then that people took yamaha seriously and it seems in return yamaha too is serious in creating a dent in the Indian market.In a rather short time in the auto-expo 2008 conducted in Delhi,Yamaha showed off their new offerings to the Indian market which included this R15 motorcycle too.

Design,Styling,looks :
The first thing you will notice in the R15 is the similarity to the flagship R1 model.Most of the design cues have been borrowed from its elder sibling.It includes the fine lines,the color and painting,the headlight unit and the fairing.


The bike looks a lot fresher in the Indian market and is definitely more attractive than the other offerings.The most noticable part is of course the full front fairing which no other bike in its class holds as of now.The dual head lights are also a major attraction when looked head-on.

The bike also comes with front as well as rear disc brakes,split rail grab bars,mono suspension as standard.

Performance :
The performance of this cute little baby is the most sought after question of this bike.Although its just a 150 cc engine it is rumoured to produce about 20 bhp power through its 4-valve fuel-injected engine.


The transmission is expected to be a 6-speed gear box tuned for performance.

Rumours are that the bike taked just 3 sec flat for 0-60 kmph acceleration.Comparatively the 225 cc Karizma from Hero Honda takes 4.2 seconds for 0-60.

Handling and Comfort :
Being a sibling from the 'R' series of yamaha and similarity to the aerodynamics of R1,the handling can be expected to be top notch for its segment.
For the Indian roads the bike has to be able to handle rough road patches with ease.The availability of mono-suspension(found in Honda Unicorn)can be expected the bike to be comfortable enough.

Expected figures :
The motorbike is expected to be available in the show-rooms in the june-july time frame.The expected on-road pricing is below the 1-lakh figure mark(around Rs.9x,xxx).
The fuel efficiency figure is rumoured to be around 35 kmpl which is very good for a bike of this performance figures(20 bhp and 3 sec for 0-60).

Initial verdict :
The brand yamaha has created a great hype in the Indian market suddenly.Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit with their own high performance bikes.
The design and specifications seems very promising and it caters exactly to the expectations of the Indian crowd.Assuming that yamaha engineering does not disappoint and the pricing is right,this model can be expected to be a huge success in the high performance bike market of India.