Do you know that Yamaha has launched the New Gladiator SS in Black color? I guess the answer would be a no. I am the first owner of the black Gladiator for Hyderabad city, becuase when I went to collect my bike(original choice was red and silver), I was in for a surprise when the Yamaha guys told me that they just recieved the black model in the morning and they will put it up for display after monday. Whats more good news is I got it at no extra cost, whereas the showroom guys say it could cost 2000 rs more. So now Im a proud owner of a Yamaha Gladiator SS. I saw TVS Apache and Pulsar guys staring at my bike in awe and makes me feel proud. Looks rocking and awesome man....
Now the actual stuff. The bike is really good, both variants ss and RS. Though there are no technical differences in these 2 bikes, one wonders whats the difference between Racing sports and Sporty style, lets hope the heads at Yamaha would know. Apart from that they are really good solid bikes.
You can expect the power of Yamaha and the durability of the engine with a warranty of 30000kms and 15 services of which 8 are absolutely free. Its a bit of lpity that its a 125 cc bike and very light weight, but it suits me as Im thin and 6ft tall. The mileage specified is 75, though in actual city conditions its giving between 50-60kmpl as per my survey of 5-6 yamaha gladiator users. you can get the other specs from Yamaha site. The gear system is Yamaha type, 1 down 4 up and its very sporty and the first 125 cc to come with 5 gears. U can bike around at 20kmph even in 5th gear. This was a first time. Also its the first 125cc to sport a tachometer and a 2piece handle. Great and precise braking. You wouldnt find the pain or fear of disc braking here.
Some precautons for new Gladis...
The bike needs to be driven for the 1st 1000kms under 4000rpm and 35kmph as per company norms. This tunes the engines life and performance. So all new gladiator owners take care of this. Also donot use your self start for the first 50-100 kms and keep it to minimal in the 1st 1000kms. Always kick start the bike first time you start it.
Day1:
Bike looks kool to drive and feels like a feather. The only con to point out is the rear wheel but I think its gonna help me in accelaration and mileage. Now I have completed a 50km drive, the gears seem good. So good and smooth is the engine u can drive in 20kmph in 5th gear without any hitches. Well actually I was advised by Yamaha guys to drive within 40 for first 1000kms. A http://www... God... but I could feel the bike asking me to push past 40kmph when I was reaching a speed of 30kmph, there is literal pull from the engine in 5th gear when ur touching 40kmph. Great. Braking seems solid. Only con, the bike seemed to skid on a thick layer of sand.... not sure if its due to rear wheel... apart from this suspicion, handling is awesome, trust me u can all do the stunts shown by the guys in the Yamaha ad, the bike bends, turns twists and all this wihtout giving you any jerks and ever so smoothly u wanna do it all the time..... Enjoy.....
I will post my final review by month end on the bike giving the actual on road performance of the bike. So happy gladiing around everyone..
Vijay...Ok, Friends, here's the final analysis, the real verdict over the Gladiator SS. All questions answered.. in my edited review.... Been there, done that.
Man, it really fills me with pride to be the first person to have gotten a black Gladi (in Hyd) which rocks out of all 3 models... and then get a gud bike and on top of it all, the awed luks and comments I get from people... Gladi rocks guys...Everyone asks me whch bike is this boss? whch company India???( till late untill R15 spoiled all the fun...) and when I say Yamaha, they are struck with awe and when I explain the features, I luk at them, and can say from their faces, the mistake they did in choosing their own bikes..hahahah...Ok, i have the last laugh.
Ok I have so far completed 2 services... 2000kms done... so now I know what my bike can do... and cant... What my bike can do is, it can give me gud mileage, std at 56kmpl, can give me great steering and driving comfort, handling is an ultimate pleasure, fantastic braking and gud post-braking experience(rmmber the Pulsars guys and its disc braking incidents or accidents...oops).It also gives me excellent pickup past 40kmph... nd I bet it will give a run for money to any 150cc. What it cant do is.. it cant give me the brute force of some 150 cc bikes, initial pickup is low( mind u its only till it reaches 40kmph), it cant pull anythng beyond 150kg...so for pleasure of driving the bike drive single, or when driving doubles make sure your maintaining the proper gears and speed.The back wheel hasnt let out a I expected, so I was wrong over there, but im glad I was wrong.
Now for all comparisions in 125 cc segment, Gladi vs Shine vs XCD vs Flame vs CBF Stunner vs Glamour.Hav I missd out ny other bikes in contention??
1.Ok, first prices which matter most... Gladi is 53k on road, Shine is 56k on road, XCD is 48k on road, Flame is 46k at showroom price, CBF STunner is priced 52k at showroom price, GLamour is around 52k.
2.Looks- whos the handsome hunk out of all- its Gladi followed by Flame closely, XCD, Glamour, Shine and Stunner in the order. Stunner has been spoiled due to more graphics and Shine is a simple bike.
3.Mileage-Gladi is 56kmpl, Shine is 58kmpl, XCD is around 67kmpl, Flame also at 67kmpl, Stunner n.a, glamour is at 53kmpl.
4.Perofrmance-Performance wise and quietest Shine wins here followed by Stunner, Gladii, Flame, Glamour, XCD.
Pickup, power, etc- Nothing beatsa yamaha's power. . dnt consider the city traffic races.. but Gladi is the fastest of all 125 cc and best pickup from 40kmph onwards to all marks, 60kmph, 80kmph, 100kmph. Shine is quiet to start and gud, but beyond 60 it starts to vibrate, and XCD is complete failure at top speeds.Stunner is gud enuf but much needs to be seen of the bike on Indian roads, if it makes an impact...Flame has low pickup, low speeds, and is very fragile. Glamour is like any other Hero honda, steady.
Handling, overall experience-Gladi wins by many votes, followed closely by SHine, XCD, Glamour and FLame.
So, the overall rating of this bike?? You can see it yourselves... then why arent much of these seen on roads??? Like my frnd Detonator said, Most of Indian public are like goats, they move in groups...if it was chetak then, later cd100 in those days, then it was splendor, then boxer, then passion, now pulsar or apache or shine or cbz extreme or even unicorn(all 1st releases of these bikes excepting shine have been utter failures) Most of them dnt know the basic requirements they need from a bike. Rit now no bike has resale value, but the crowds are buying the pulsars, apache's etc which have Technical flaws in the engine.Honda bikes dont have any though.Nor does the Yamaha. but due to bad propaganda and illiteracy in people's minds about bikes, we dnt see many of these bikes on roads. However its a boon and sets an identity for our self... so enjoy Gladiing...
Hi friends,
Thanks a million for all your reviews and comments...
So, ma bike is now 1yr old or should I say young... the same power, the same strength..
