Glad to own a Gladiator. Review on Yamaha Gladiator

It's been close to three years that I have owned this bike. I bought it from Opal Motors Narayanguda in Hyderabad on spot cash. The deal was okay as I got the accessories free. In the first month, I saw that I was gettting a mileage of only 54. Then after 1st service, it increased to 56 and after 2nd and 3rd service, its giving 58-60 kmpl in city with my riding habbits. I am a bit rash driver though.

What I really like about this bike is its looks and handling. Feels like pulsar or Unicorn. After riding this bike, I tried riding Honda Shine. Incredibly, Honda Shine felt like a toy. Mileage wise I think both offer the same Mileage. but yes. in terms of looks. Glady beats Shine. Shine has a smoother engine though. Of all the bikes I got my hands upon, I felt Honda shine has the smoothest engine(hardly makes any noise - but I like noise as I am a bit of a BAD-Boy). but it lacks when it comes to power. At speeds above 80, you can literally feel the difference between Shine and Glady. Shine seems to struggle and consumes a hell lot of fuel while glady seems to be smooth and easy going.

I love the pin point precision of Glady. Even when you are riding at low speeds like 40 KMPH, you can take your hands off the bike and still you can see the balance(note that I am close to 80kgs). This is something I did not feel on shine. Only things which could have been better are Engine, Tires and Battery. Note that I am keeping this review with respect to a neutral audience in order to provide an unbiased review.

I am not saying that this engine is bad. I love it. Rather one of my friends said the engine feels like a younger brother(or Son) of bullet 350 engine(idling noise is somewhat closer to bullet). But yes, I felt Honda shine's engine is smoother(but only at speeds < 70 KMPH though).

Tires - BAH. The only disappointment in this bike. It's like a nazar ka tika on such a good bike. I feel the front tire should be replaced with the rear one and the rear tier should be substituted with the rear tire of Pulsar.

Battery - My battery wala says that bike like this should have a bigger battery(the ones in Pulsar). According to him this battery is a bit low powered one. Indeed, I feel out of power sometime(I honk a lot though - Cant help as I feel like a typical Hyderabadi Nawab when on road-expecting others to make way for me)

Despite my irregular servicing and rough handling, the bike is sturdy, reliable, giving a steady mileage ranging from 57-62.

Shine would be a good choice for those smooth and soft nerdy riders who swear by traffic rules and have vowed to never cross 65 kmph on their speedometer. for those of you who are a bit rebellious and love to make a bit of noise and love those second glances and wish to have mileage of close to 60 in city and also love a bit of power - Go for Glady. Actually I heard Discover 135 offers better power and same mileage but I did not like the ugly distorted horizontal egg shaped head lamp and yes. there was a waiting list for it)

Pros: Looks and Feel(resembles 150cc bikes), Sturdy, precision and balance, reliability and Mileage

cons: engine could have been smoother(for those who don't like noise), tires could have been wider, Battery could have been better.