Yamaha YZF R15 v3.0 Review

Design, Styling and features of the Yamaha YZF R15 v3.0

Yamaha has managed to top the looks of the R15 v2.0. The new R15 draws a lot of inspiration from the R1. This is most evident at the front as the twin headlamps have become sleeker and now get LED lights in place of halogen bulbs. There is a triangular fake air vent between them and even the nice big wind screen is just like the one found on R1. The fuel tank looks sharper and gets gills just above the fuel fill cap. Even the LED tail-lamp has become slimmer and looks better. The pillion seat has been pushed down a little while the rider seat height has gone from 800mm to 815mm.  While not immediately evident, the clip-on bars are slightly lower and the foot pegs pushed back. All of this makes for a very aggressive riding position and leaning in is fairly easy. However, I am not too sure if this aggressive position will make for a comfortable ride in the city.

The R15 v3 comes with an all-digital LCD instrument panel which is a departure from the part digital part analogue setup on the previous bikes. The moment you start the bike, the display says “Hi buddy” and you can program it to display your name, although it would be a bit hard to do with just two buttons. Apart from that the display projects a lot of information such as your current speed, rpm, trip distance, lap timer, current and average fuel consumption, time and VVA status. There is also a white light above the display that acts as a gear shift indicator. Optionally you can get a USB charger as well. My only complaint with this otherwise fantastic instrument panel is that the plastic holding it is not of the best quality and pressing any of the buttons to toggle between modes can cause the display to budge from its position.

While I did like what Yamaha had done with the design and styling of the R15 v3, I feel they could have diverted some more attention to the finish of the bike as well. At places you can see traces of welding, the plastic is not always top notch and the controls on the handlebar could have done with illuminated switches.

Engine and Performance of the Yamaha YZF R15 v3.0

The Yamaha YZF R15 v3.0 has a 155cc single cylinder, liquid cooled engine in place of the older 149cc engine. This increase in displacement as well as some more improvements made to the engine has resulted in a higher power output of 19.3hp@10,000rpm. This is about 3hp more than the v2.0. However, the engine continues to produce a peak torque of 15Nm@8,500rpm. While this is a high revving motor, the addition of Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) has made things a little more exciting throughout the rpm band. There are two cams, out of which the low cam is active at lower rpms in order to provide a more torquey performance in the low to mid range. At 7,400rpm the motor switches to the high cam which facilitates for better power delivery at higher revs. The R15 v3.0 felt very liner when I stretched its legs on a straight and there was enough power at my disposal when exiting corners. However, I would have definitely liked it if the engine pulled a little more at lower speeds. The 6 speed transmission is a delight to navigate through. Part of that can be attributed to the assist and slipper clutch which makes the up shift effortless and give you the ability to downshift quickly without using the clutch.

While on the Indian version of the R15 v3.0 we do not get the fancy upside down forks in the front, we do get fatter, 41mm conventional telescopic forks. At the rear is a dual link mono shock. The suspension setup, overall, is stiff enough to provide a stable and agile performance. This is nicely complemented by the fatter 17 inch tyres. The front is a 100/90 while the rear is a 140/70. One thing to note is that our bike was fitted with a track purpose Metzeler tyre while you get MRF tyres as stock. The wider profile almost allowed the bike to dance around the corners with immense confidence and grace. The disc brakes also ensured that I was able to control the bike when needed. Despite the lack of ABS, the 280mm disc in the front and the 220mm disc brake in the rear packed a lot of bite.

Verdict

Yamaha has given the R15 v3.0 a price tag of Rs 1.25 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) which I feel is quite justified. The bike is a worthy and respectable track machine and gets commendable handling. While it does miss out on features like USD forks and ABS, it still pack in a lot of goodies like VVA, assist and slipper clutch and a very functional digital meter console. If the lack of ABS is the only gripe you have with the new R15 then you are in luck as the company does intend to bring out an ABS variant sometime in the future. After a couple of laps around the MMRT, I found that the bike did feel at home on the track but I would love to test it out on the cruel city streets to see if it comes out on top there as well.