I remember walking down my lane and looking at this beautiful bike, the blue R15, immediately I was captivated by it, sighing ‘wish I could afford it’. Quite oblivious as I was of it’s cost and almost mistaken it for it’s bigger brother R1 (which I had not seen until later), so I called a friend about it and he told me in his quite mumbaiya tone “tu afford kar sakta hai, bhai”…
Stumped as I was I got the model name and other details from him and spent a whole week, telling everyone about the R15. A week later I booked the blue R15 and so started a long wait (1 month waiting period) for it.
No later than 2 weeks post this event, I read about the launch of the Red R15, which got my heart pumping as I ogled through the few pics that the net could offer.
I immediately called up the showroom to change my selection in color, to which they very foolishly told me “Sir, red color launch nahi hua ab tak”. I responded “Just book karo”, and so I gladly and proudly became the first red Yamaha R15 owner from the Andheri Showroom. Infact I got my keys from the man himself, the man behind this beauty… I was one of the few lucky ones to receive their keys from him.
Enough said, I am a happy owner of the R15 from the last two years and no problem has she given me till date. Everything from the prompt startup to the awesome power handling. I have loved this bike every day of my life. For those who might be interested in my personal opinion on the pros and cons, here it goes:
Pros
- Sporty riding position, not posing any problem to your back at all
- Seamless handling, made me feel like a MotoGP rider, makes me wanna bend deep unlike other bikes where on a deep curve, you wanna wriggle your way out and move inside.
- Top speed – I was lucky to touch 140 on a short stretch of about a 1-1.5 km road. I am sure it can give more, but have not been able to push it any more.
- The wings – I got mine custom painted, infact, you can do pretty much anything you want with yours, much unlike most bikes which have limited design options. Talk your heart, design likewise.
Cons
- Thin backtire – After around a year and half, punctures damaged the core (but then it was time enough for a tyre change anyways), so I changed the 100” core tyre to a 110” core tyre and I have not regretted it, gives a better grip now, much better grip.
- Can’t think of anything else, coz mileage ain’t matter to me (am getting around 40-45 kmpl highways and around 38-40 in the city)
- All said and done, and yes not too technical, but I love the R15. For those wishing to buy a new one, I would suggest waiting a bit, as you might already know. A newer design is in the makes and might reveal itself anytime soon…
R15 – maketh a man a real rider
Regards,
Elvis Furtado
