2 fabulous week with my new Gladiator. Review on Yamaha Gladiator

Hi all,

I purchased my new machine, Yamaha Gladiator with disc brake and electric start this Diwali, that is on Friday 20-Oct-2006.. It was the day of "Dhan-Teras". And today, on Thursday, I am completing 2 weeks with my new machine, and trust me I am deeply in love with her.

There are some negatives about the bike, which I'll talk about later. But first, the positives.

I already ran about 600 kms in 2 weeks, and the glady is all running like a tigress. The 125cc delivers a good chuck of power to ride ahead of all the traffic on Bangalore traffic signal. I can overtake any damn vehicle when I want to... and the glady provides her 100% support for that.

The horn sound is very soft and not harsh like other bikes... so it gazes smoothly over rider's ear. And so is the engine. The 125cc engine generates a sound which gives a feel of 150cc engine. Though, sometimes I hear a whistling type of sound from the engine, or may be from the chain, I am not sure... which a little annoying noise is. But overall, the engine sounds awesome in all the five gears.

The vibration level is far far better than TVS bikes... even on first gear, you feel like gliding on roads. Thanks to the shock-ups engineering, your ride is always smooth, even on rough roads. Now don’t test your bike on a No-road and all pot holes track. I have seen my bike in action when my friend was riding her on a rough road at around 40 kmph... at that time I could see the movement of the shock-absorbers... I could feel the comfort from watching them from a distance.

The handling is also very nice, though I haven't yet tested my bike for rough handling. Possibly, after the first servicing, I will try some action on roads... and then let you guys know in my next post.

The fuel efficiency is a negative so far with my glady, though I am yet to measure it properly. The bike gives me a run of around 80-85 kms when I fill a premium fuel worth Rs.100/-. I would consider that as a mileage of around 45-50 kmpl. Well that’s decent enough for me, but my 5 yr old Bajaj boxer also was giving the same figure. I expect a little better from a brand new bike. What you say guys?

Now the major negatives:

The worst thing I felt so far is the strong jerk that I get when I shift to1st gear from neutral after a cold start. This is also reported in many other posts over here. This happens only after a cold start, and then after it all OK. Have anyone got any solution for this.

Another hard experience I faced is with the over all gear shifting is not that smooth as compared to Honda bikes. May be this is a temporary problem with new bikes and could be rectified after the first servicing.

Overall, a great bike... and I recommend this bike to every one.

Hey I forgot to mention that its styling is superb. The best part is the rear indicators are a part of the tail light, and not hanging out... this gives it asleeker look. The head light styling looks awesome with the fairy. Not to mention the Yamaha logo this really enhances the look of the glady.

BTW: I am looking for leather key chain with Yamaha logo, the same sported by John Abraham in the Yamaha ads... can anyone tell me where to get it from. Also let me know where I can get Yamaha Red and Black Riding Jacket... which I wanna wear with my Red Gladiator with Black graphics.

So guys... get going... Lets race sometime...!!!

:-)