Jun 30, 2008 07:12 PM
12848 Views
(Updated Jun 30, 2008 07:45 PM)
A brief intoduction about myself, I am a bke enthusiast first and I am not a loyalist towards any brand. I have used and absolutely loved and respected Karizma for 2 years. it was one of the best bike on indian roads even now. in january this year, after lots of delibaration, I ve sold my karizma and bought a pulsar 220. its technically advanced and quicker and more powerfull. I love my pulsar 220. its surely much quicker than karizma but not faster. so, now, if u ask me to choose between karizma and pulsar 220, I would love to go back to karizma. no doubt.
now, coming to perhaps the most awaited bike "Yamaha R15".
for the past 2 months or so, from the moment R15 launch picked up momentum, I was wondering if I did a mistake going for pulsar 220 instead of waiting for 3 or 4 months. I just loved the way the R15 looked. and the hype was almost too much to resist for me. I was so very tempted that I even thought of selling off my pulsar 220and booking R15. especially given that my office is right infront of a yamaha showroom. it was just too tempted. and the way yamaha designed their website for r15 was amazing with countdown timer and all. finally the day when the bike was launched, I literally hurried to the showroom to get my hands on the r15.
the moment I entered the showroom, there was a blue R15 standing infront of me, or so I thought. at first glance, believe me, I thought it was, in all probability, a scaled down model of R15 and not the real bike. the reason............. the bike is just too small. I mean just too small. it looks much like a circus bike which dwarfs ride.
i was literally heart broken. I was expecting a huge monster looking bike but what I got is a monster-ling. me being 6ft tall and already used a beast called karizma and using another called pulsar 220, was totally devastated by looking at this ugly duckling. all of a sudden, my eyes went to see the tyres, they were almost like cycle tyres. they look even uglier. its too low down and too small. may be it looks good for a 5ft 5inch person. may be. and hey, it certainly does not deserve the price. at all.
then I have decided, what the hell, anyways I am not buying this, so why to be so disappointed, and somehow convinced the showroom manager to give me a test ride.
well, it was just like getting on a cycle with a fat front. everything looked and felt so miniature like. started the bike, sound was...silent and started the ride. it was not electric in any means. the build quality is superb, handling was too good and the brakes were superior than pulsar 220. pick up and power was nothing exceptional. R15. a 150cc bike with 17 bhp and is very lite (120kgs) to pulsar (140kgs) and karizma (150kgs). because of the weight, R15 gallops quicker and also manouvers well. if u feel this is an unfair comparision and u want to compare it with other 150cc bikes then no doubt, R15 is superior and quick and fast and also looks much better.....again, from a much much much smaller perspective. I guess apache RTR 160 is the only competition for R15. forget pulsar 150, cbz xtreme, unicorn and others. and please dont compare R15 to karizma and Pulsar 220. these two are much powerfull and fast and quick.
i run R15 at 132kph in 6th gear and the bike was literally gasping for air and was vibrating pretty violently, may be because it was brand new and this would not happen after a couple of services. the size factor came pretty wantingly from yamaha as they wanted to make a liter bike, a smaller bike with smaller tyres to improve on performance. its obvious, the liter the bike with narrower tyres, the quicker it will be. thats the funda here. but it looks terribly small and very dwarfish.
even though it score in ride quality, built quality, braking and fit & finish and looks over all other 150cc bikes, it looses and falls face first in size matters. for short people, R15 is an amazing bike still with cycle tyres. but R15 does not at all make an option for people over 5ft 7inches. as a matter of fact I was looking funny sitting on the bike.
why yamaha....why.................?
2 weeks from release date, R15 is available on spot delivery almost everywhere.....and certainly did not live up to the hype. the sad part is, I am not the only one that had this feeling, almost everyone that were present at the showroom at that time were wondering if it was a real bike or a model. another dissappointment from yamaha.
