Yamaha R15 in BIKE INDIA JULY 2008 issue

This is the cover of BIKE INDIA magazine, July 2008 issue. It was uploaded on xbhp yesterday. According to the cover, the mag carries a full track report of the bike. Cant wait to get my hands on the magazine!!!

Yamaha YZF-R15 : Chennai's test ride updates

Yamaha had today invited automotive journalists to come and test ride the new YZF-R15 on the Sriperumbudur racing circuit in Chennai.

Highlights:

1. The bike feels like a 19-20bhp machine.
2. Very good gearing
3. Excellent handling
4. Riders hit 120km/h easily. Later, one of the journalists confirmed that the bike hit around 126km/h in 5th gear, with one more to go!
5. Lot of accidents. One major, one minor, one off-roading!

Will keep you guys updated for more. But in short, it seems, the riders fell in love with the bike

Yamaha R15 : Vs Rivals

First of all, you can see the official specifications HERE


Now, coming to the rivals.
Rival No 1:


The Hero Honda Karizma has been around for over five years.
Price : it has an advantage over the R15. It is 25,000 cheaper than the Karizma and thats a lot!
Power : 16.9ps @ 7000 - Develops same power, but at lower rpm
Torque : 18.3Nm @ 6000 - The R15 is no match
Power to weight ratio : 112.6 ps per tonne
This is where the Karizma looses out

Rival no 2
The Pulsar 220

Price : it has an advantage, selling for around Rs 84,000 ex-showroom, around 13,000 less than the R15
Power : Advantage P220. Develops 20.06ps @ 8500
Torque : Advantage P220 again. Develops 19.12Nm @ 6500
Power to weight ratio : The P220 has an edge here with a 133.7 ps per tonne ratio


So, where the R15 stand? Wil paying Rs 25,000 extra over a Karizma be worth it? Yamaha says it will 140km/h with a 60kg rider. A Karizma does 125km/h true. Now, we dont know if Yamaha is talking about a 140km/h true or 140km/h speedo indicated.

We all expected a 19-20ps engine, but they have given us a 17ps one.
Only a test ride will confirm if the R15 is worth the dough...Watch out

Yamaha R15 : Official specs

Yamaha R15 - SPECS



LENGTH : 1995mm
WIDTH : 670mm
HEIGHT : 1070mm
WHEELBASE : 1290
WEIGHT (DRY): 120kg
WEIGHT (WET) : 131kg
ENGINE CAPACITY : 149.8cc
COMPRESSION RATIO : 10.4:1
MAX POWER : 17ps @ 8500rpm
MAX TORQUE : 15nm @ 7500rpm
CLAIMED TOP SPEED : 140km/h (with a 60kg rider)
VALVE : Liquid cooled, 4 valve set up
FUEL TANK : 12L
FUEL ECONOMY : 40kmpl (city)
GEAR BOX : 6-speed
FRAME : Steel Deltaxbox frame
FRONT TYRE : 80/90 R17 Tubeless
REAR TYRE : 100/80 R17 Tubeless
SUSPENSION REAR : Monoshock
PRICE : Rs 97,500 Ex-showroom (all over India)

NOTE: TO DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER FOR THE ABOVE IMAGE, CLICK HERE

Yamaha R15 : Pricing

The bike will be priced around Rs 97,000 ex-showroom all over India.

One more thing, the disc brake system of the bike is from Nissan!!!

Yamaha R15 : Pricing

The bike will be priced around Rs 97,000 ex-showroom all over India.

One more thing, the disc brake system of the bike is from Nissan!!!

Yamaha R15 : Performance

This is as close as it gets to the real thing.
The Yamaha R15 will be around 139kgs, kerb weight.
The engine will put around 19bhp which gives it a power to weight ratio of 136bhp per tonne.

The Karizma: 112bhp/tonne
The P220: 133bhp/tonne

So, the R15 will surely have a better power to weight ratio. Some may feel that it only has a 150cc. So what! Bajaj Pulsar 220 may have a 133bhp/tonne power to weight ratio, but thats on paper. On dyno, a Pulsar usually shows 25-30% less power. Plus, the R15 has a lot of modern gizmos thrown in (engine wise) and also a 6 speed 'box.

All this means this
Top Speed : A true 140km/h
0-60km/h : 3.5secs
0-100km/h : 10/5sec

These figs easily make it the fastest in India. Plus a fab fuel economy of 40kmpl. So still feel the bike is expensive at 1.08lakhs! Come on, when we can have water pumps selling for 1.1 lakh (the RE 500LB), then this awesome looking bike with all the goodies in the world seems sexy value at 1.08lakhs...

Scoop News : Yamaha R15 price

2008 Yamaha R15

Pricing : Rs 1,08,000 on the road, Pune
Launching : 14th June
Special news : The bike will be showcased and given for test rides to the media on the 11th and 12th of June at the Sriperumbudur racing track at Chennai

In the meantime, enjoy this video of the bike

Yamaha R15 pics : different colors

Just two weeks left before the Yamaha R15 will be officially launched.

Here are some pictures of the bike in different colors (thanks to zzKaTaLyStzz)

Yamaha R15 : coming our way soon

Some dealer, across India, have started taking bookings for the bike. The Yamaha R15 is all set to debut on Indian roads on the 14th of June, ie, next month. 300 R15s will be delivered at the Chennai race track on the 14th of June

The expected price of the bike is set to be around Rs 1,00,000 ex-showroom!

Here is a little video for the bike in the meantime