Yamaha’s another 100 cc bike is Alba: it’s the new bike from Yamaha during the last year. The bike looks very much an extension of Libero G5 but it stands apart with some novel features though. The bike has an electric start and sports some cool graphics. Alba has all potential to fit into a middle class family picture.
Yamaha Alba may not have become quite popular with biking purists, but the bike is light on pocket when it comes to cost as well as in terms of maintenance and fuel efficiency. The new Yamaha Alba promises to be ideal for daily commuting and targets the young Indian and middle class consumers. The bike emphasizes on comfortable riding and to give a pleasurable experience for the riders.
Features in Yamaha Alba
Yamaha Alba features newly designed aerodynamic body cowl and flashes out stylish headlights and indicators. The specially designed gear ratio combats congested driving. The seats are broad and comfortable for both the rider and the pillion (didn’t I tell you Alba is for a small family?). The five spoked alloy wheels are also a highlight of this bike and the adjustable shock absorbers come with some noisy mufflers. The well-designed tank and handle bars makes the driving comfortable.
Yamaha Alba does not have an optional self-start or pilot lamps and the rider literally has to look out for the horn button! The fairing makes it hard to locate the speedometer, fuel indicator as well as the warning lights.
Engine: Yamaha Alba is power packed with 106cc engine similar to its predecessor Yamaha Libero G5 and Crux and it can generate a power of 7.6 bhp @7,500 rpm and at high torque it provides 80Nm at 6000 rpm. Alba has four-speed gearbox, which is connected to the engine. The gear system is similar to the Yamaha’s regular shift pattern. However, the perfect engineering of gear ratio helps in controlling the torque levels even at lower rpm bands. But the downside in Alba here is gear shift quality which isn’t that good. The bike could go up to 20 kmph on the 4th gear.
Yamaha Alba bike covers a decent 65 km per every liter of petrol although Yamaha Motors claims that Alba can run 85 kmpl (well, we all know what test conditions are, don’t we?). It’s this mileage that helps Yamaha Alba to stand apart from its competitor Bajaj Platina. The speed limit of the vehicle can touch 95 kmph absolutely with no vibrations but engine cries and tends to make cranking noise with increasing speeds.
Handling: As the seats are spacious, it does promote a very comfortable ride on Alba. The hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear end of the bike offers bumpy-free ride. However, you need to bend a little forward while riding because of the long wheelbase, which is 1300mm. And a 173mm ground clearance is maintained make it perfect for city riding.
Keeping the family bike image in mind the pillion seat is made a little lower when compared to the other Yamaha bikes. The bike can pose a challenge while riding through the corners. It also features drum brakes of 130 mm that is same for both the front and rear.
Pricing: The price range of Yamaha Alba varies, for the alloy wheels model it would cost you about Rs. 45,500 on road and the spoke wheeled bike would be coming for Rs. 43.500. One will wonder if he has to buy a higher priced vehicle when there are many bikes available in the market with similar features and that too for a cheaper price. But Yamaha seems to have publicized the family bike concept quite well and it sells well in B class and C class towns rather than metros. To impress all Yamaha Alba comes in 4 colors: Red, Silver, Blue and Black.
Final Words: Finally, if I am not too harsh, Yamaha will surely leave many of its customers somewhat cold for their great expectations from its bikes with an almost Libero like Yamaha Alba. It looks as if it was made to have one brand in every segment and will not appeal to upper middle class youth certainly and Yamaha Alba is also certainly not for bike enthusiasts.
