The R15 Story

Yamaha R15: Overhyped or true successor to the R-series DNA?

Yamaha India’s latest offering has taken the market by a storm. But is it really worth the hype? Or is it just another product made prominent by marketing gimmicks? Let’s find out!

Part I: Prologue

Yamaha by late 80’s had become a rage in the country. For the youth smitten by adolescence, the RX100’s adrenaline rush was something worth dying for. The more matured bikers on the other hand had found a soul mate in the RD350 and most of them still enjoy their long-lasting relationship with the parallel-twin two stroke. But the advent of the cleaner four stroke machines slowly started capturing the market share and Yamaha India’s success graph started heading southward. It meant that the company had to shift to the emission-norms satisfying four stroke machines. But their reluctance to do so for a long time and compelled realization later made the company lose out on a lot of time. By the time their four-stokes hit the market, it was already too late and none of the products were received the way Yam would have wanted them to be.

The RX’s mind boggling performance was not to be seen in any of its 4S successors and this lead to the slow destruction of the Yamaha brand. The company made repeated attempts years at a stretch to revive its brand image and in turn its market share. But all these attempts were futile – as the likes of the CBZ and Pulsars were the new performance buzz for the youth. As for the commuters, Yamaha was never their cup of tea, thanks to Yam’s performance bikes of the yesteryear. The mileage conscious market preferred the long running Hero Hondas. All this summed to a truck load of losses for the company, to a point were Yamaha’s existence in India itself became a matter a speculation.

However, a change in the Yamaha management meant a fresh set of thoughts and a new outlook towards the Indian market. The new honchos decided to put an end to the mileage conscious commuter bikes and concentrate more on what Yamaha is known for – outright performance. Within an year, all the entry levels models were phased out and the only commuter from Yamaha was the Alba. The Gladiator, which was an able 125cc offering all along, got a refresh with sportier styling and better performing engine components. Yamaha also introduced the much awaited YZF-R1 – which went down history books as the first imported litre-bike of the new generation. Though all these launches helped strengthen Yamaha’s brand image, there was something still lacking. While the R1 was the epitome of performance it came at a hefty price tag, and the Gladiator on the other hand was too under-powered as compared to the likes of the RTR, the Pulsars and the Karizma. Yam still needed one machine that could give the youth the same insanity that the RX100 was known for. The sheer feeling of owning a beast. A beast that the masses could afford. Yamaha knew what its followers were looking for. Finally it was born. At the 2008 Auto Expo, Yamaha drew maximum crowd – for the Yamaha’s baby R1 was unveiled! The R15 was here…

Part II: First Impression

The R15’s unveiling took the entire country by storm. The R1-esque styling with the trademark R-series cat-eyed headlights, full fairing, a liquid cooled engine and a rigid Deltabox frame holding together all this engineering was definitely a serious package. Though everyone saw it in flesh at the expo, no one even heard the engine – let alone getting on the bike’s saddle.

With over six months worth of hype, Yamaha surely knew they had a winner on their hands. Inspite of their dark past, people went ahead an booked the vehicles even without test riding them. With thousands of bookings under their belt, Yamaha was ready to make the commercial launch of the bike. With fortunate inputs from ex-racer Aspi Bhathena, Yamaha decided to go the International way for the launch – a track day! Chosen journalists from various publications were flow down to the Chennai track where they were given an R15 each to be evaluated on the track. Instead of some typical launch function in a five star hotel, the track approach was a justified one for a potent track tool like the R15.

For me however, my first ride aboard the R15 was not the track, but the city. When I got onto the bike, the small size was what felt awkward instantly. It felt smaller than a 125cc to me – as far as the seating was concerned. The nose-fairing which appears to ‘grow’ from the tank gets wider as it wraps around the huge R1-style headlights. The stem that hold both the headlights together also mounts the information console. The console is suggestive of the unit seen on Yamaha’s 2003 R1, and so are the headlights. The visor is quite small as compared to the Karizma or the P220 but boasts of an aggressive shape. However, the angle of the visor will direct the wind straight at your face if you are riding with a ‘commuterish’ stance. That should give the poseurs a good enough reason to wear a helmet. Inspecting all these components closely reveals the great build quality that Yamaha has incorporated. There are no panel gaps, no vibrating mounts, cleverly designed components like the reaersets, pillion pegs, clip-ons, wheels, swingarm and every good damn piece you can find on the bike. The only thing that I really hated was the tail light. Its looks as if it came from the cheap Bangkok aftermarket. C’mon Yam!, if you designed a bike that was purpose built to leave all other Indian bikes behind, then you could have atleast given a better tail for the losers to look at!

Part III: Race track

Looking at the title, you would be wondering already, that after giving you my first impressions about the bike, why the hell have I directly jumped onto the track test instead of the talking about the R15’s performance on the street. There is a reason. This bike was developed extensively to be an outright track tool. A bike that could not only question TVS’s dominance on the race track, but also reflect the track focused nature of Yamaha’s R-series of bikes viz. R1 and R6. My first and only chance of riding this bike on the track was in Chennai. Before this, I had hardly ridden the bike on the city streets, maybe a couple of kilometers. On the track though, I had the liberty to exploit the bike to its utmost potential.

Starting off with the long straight, the R15 was a little uncomfortable in taking my 100 kilo shell past the 120 kmph (speedo indicated) mark. But as soon as I entered the corners, the bike was in a rhythm of its own. Especially, after riding the R15 back-to-back with the Pulsar 220 (to which I have got so used to now), the sheer increment in corner speeds was evident. This is where all those brochure-highlighted bits like the monoshock and the Deltabox frame started making the real difference. With my weight hanging off into the corner, the R15 still managed to be way faster than the P220 and the same time, stuck cleanly to its line. Not once did I feel a twitch in the stability or any kinda jittery movements for the suspension elements.

For all those people who think that the tyre is puny, let me be honest, this rubber felt better than even the recently launched Zapper Wyde. MRF designed six prototypes in succession for the R15. When the sixth one was tested by the Japanese testers on the track, they were bowled over by the performance of the tyre. But the blokes at MRF were not satisfied with their product. Hence they went on to make two more prototypes for the R15 – with the eighth one being chosen as the final production unit. The testers couldn’t believe the kind of grip MRF managed out of rubber that looked to skinny in profile.

Their efforts can be seen in the way the tyres grip the track. By afternoon, the temperature was perfect for going even faster as the tarmac was stickier and so were the tyres. Getting the knee down on the R15 was much easier than the 220. But then, its about the corner speed and not only about how much you can lean – and this fact was getting highlighted when I actually started towards keeping my knee as away from the ground level as possible. The grip was phenomenal! The bike was leaning into corners as if there was no tomorrow. Frankly, there was nothing more spectacular that I had have ever ridden on the track till now, especially something that comes in a single-cylinder flavor. The R15’s track performance is unbelievable and this is where the bike truly belongs.

Part IV: Street

After being bowled over by the R15’s performance on the track, I was eager to know what she would do on the street. A couple of days later I managed to finally get her down to the city tarmac. My first commute on the bike was worth around 15 kms. The first thing that struck me though was the lack of rolling power on the low-end of the rev-range. While on the track, I was continuously above the 7K mark, but on the street I was playing it rather easy with all the traffic-illiteracy-prone commuters around me. Below 5K, the bike struggles - even a decent Shine will be able to outshine the R15 in crowded city conditions. But keep the revs above the five grand mark and the R15 is a completely different bike. But the whole point is, its not all that practically possible to keep the revs above 5k all the time, especially with the kind of traffic conditions we have. This is where the displacement advantage of the others like the P220/200 and the Karizma comes into play. These bikes can easily cream the R15 if roll-ons were to be considered.

The other factor similar to the higher capacity bikes is Deltabox frame heating up. Since not many have experienced such a frame on an Indian bike before, this is one thing you need to keep in mind while riding the R15 of any bike with a similar frame. In crowded conditions, the bike tends to heat up a lot, thanks to the fully faired bodywork. The engine heat is transferred to the Deltabox frame and after a certain amount of time, the frame becomes hot enough to corrode your crotch. If your bike does heat up to this extent, it is advisable to take a break and let it cool down a bit. The sound of the radiator fan kicking in will definitely impart a pseudo-superbike feel-good factor to the new rider.

Coming back to the street, the bike feels quite puny when standing next to the regulars at a traffic junction. At one point of time I felt as if I was controlling a pair of mirrors with my handlebars, as that’s the only component visible while riding this bike. The visor is low down and doesn’t poke into your line of sight. The seating is comfortable for the city rides and the seating posture, though track focused, isn’t all that cumbersome in traffic. Infact the posture lets you flick this pony through the traffic with as much ease as a Dio – not kidding. For taller riders though (read 6-feet+) it becomes a little difficult in the stop-go-stop-go kinda conditions because of the high footpegs. This may sometimes lead to a slight imbalance. But for the average Indian rider, the bike is a dream – a perfect combination of race ergonomics combined with easy flickability for the street use.

So, the trick here is, if you wish to exploit the R15 in the city, keep the bike above 6K RPM, else your jealous rivals on the P220/200 and the Karizma will tear you apart. For all those short traffic light drags, launch the bike at around 8K RPM – and believe me, the 220 or the Karizma has no chance to take you down, provided you don’t miss-shift. Overall, the bike doesn’t disappoint in city conditions either. And it definitely attracts more attention than any other India bike in the market today. But frankly speaking, after the kind of experience I had on the track and then on the street, the R15 felt more like a Leopard that was kept in a kennel and given a plate full of dog-food to eat! The city is not where she belongs….

Part V: Rain Ride

Thanks to all the 2 strokes that Yamaha made earlier, global warming has now become a reality and that means the rainy seasons are going to be longer and heavier with time. Hence to judge how the little monster can withstand a shower, I took the bike out for a wet ride – through city first and then my favorite Mutha ghats.

With the black clouds drizzling, I decided to switch on the Californian-style daytime-running-lights where only one of the two headlights remains on. People who have seen Californian models of various bikes will be able to correlate. It an added safety feature as well, as the oncoming traffic can easily see you even under a heavy shower. What worries me though is the large nose section of the bike that tends to expose the headlight’s electricals. If over a period of time, the service men don’t maintain the concealed wiring, then the rain may play havoc on these. Coming back to the city ride, the bike’s visor will not essentially deflect the raindrop as on a bigger bike. But the large fairing will definitely keep the water from reaching your shoes and pants. So though you may get wet riding in the rain, at least lower end of your pants wont appear to have been tucked under large brown mud-soaked socks. The rear fender too is big enough to prevent a linear spray of water onto your pillion’s back – which is an added advantage if you have a cribbing girlfriend. The bikes rides on the wet city streets without any hassle at call and under braking the tyres don’t disappoint either. The front suspension though is quite soft as compared to Pulsars and hence accounts to a considerable amount of nose dive under braking. This will need a little getting-used-to before you are ready to ride the bike hard in wet conditions.

Without much drama then, I headed over to Mutha – a 5.8km ghat section on the outskirts of Pune. The R15 had never been here before – not to my knowledge at least. I did my first sprint of the Mutha at commuting speeds. Once I had made sure there were no dead cattle or humans, stranded vehicles and other adversaries like sand, oil etc. on the entire ghat section, I decided to go a tad faster. The tarmac was completely wet and the drizzle was still eh…drizzling? I set off by launching the R15 at 8,000 revs. The bike catapulted without the slightest amount of wheelspin. The first corner being a little slippery inherently, I steered with caution. After a short straight though, I decided to go faster through the second large left hander. The R15 still gripped the wet tar very well and inspired me to go faster. After about a minute, I had adapted to the entire setup and was able to push the R15 harder through the downhill section. Its not only about the grip that the tyres offer, but also about the sheer speed that the puny 150cc mill can carry through the corner. Even on the wet, the bike is so well sorted out, that a rider better than me will also be able to scrape his knee even under the wet conditions – and no, I ain’t exaggerating. There are couple of corners where you need to brake a little harder before the entry, and the R15 had absolutely no issues doing so. There was no hint of a wobble under hard braking at all. It inspired almost the same amount of confidence as it did on the rather dry race track.

The bike just won me over once again. The rain ride not only highlighted the R15’s superb handling and grip, but also brought along with it a truckload of fun. The R15 is undoubtedly one of the best package deals out there in the market right now, and no matter what the weather, the bike will not compromise a bit!