Ride impressions of Yamaha R15 V3

We all know that be it the Moto GP or the World Superbike, Yamaha has always been a consistent adversary for the fellow bike manufacturers with its one of a kind machine, the R1. R1 or the M1 in its Moto GP avatar is considered to be one of the most brutally accelerating bikes on this planet and is no less than a ballistic missile being launched on the tarmac. However, today I’m not here to descant about the mighty R1 but to divvy my experience of a bike that shares the same potential with the R1, if not the power. The bike that has claimed to be India’s most favoured and highly appreciated faired sports bike in the 155cc range, the R15. R15s were always about being sanely fast, agile and fun to ride with a fairly economical ownership experience which made it so popular among the masses. But with every version of R15, Yamaha took the sportiness a notch higher which is clearly evident in its current iteration, the Version 3.0. Unlike the 1st and 2nd versions of the R15, where updates were majorly limited to the styling only, the version 3 gets an all new design theme and withal a mechanical overhaul. From the design’s point of view, the bike is now wrapped in a bigger fairing with much sharper design language accompanied by prominent lines and creases all over the body panel which gives the V3 a larger footprint. The sleek front headlamps, which are all LED now, provide it a mean and aggressive stare that perfectly complements the sporting character. My favourite angle remains to be the rear which draws the inspiration from its much larger sibling, the R1. The vertically positioned tail lamp with LED inserts spice up the visual flare. Still the cherry on top is the digital speedo console which is crisp, clear and detailed providing all the necessary rider information in a legible font. If I had to summarise the looks from my perspective, I would simply say that the V3 looks fast even while standing still by perfectly portraying the artillery that this bike holds which makes it a complete riot on and off the track.

All the potency that Yamaha has achieved to develop with the V3 can be experienced when you go for a ride on it. Despite of the “in your face” design, this thing is immensely playful on your favourite winding section still being reasonably pliant and composed on our Indian roads. It is mind boggling to see a bike tackle crater sized portholes so seamlessly which was initially born and brought up for the tracks. This is all down to the suspensions that are fine tuned to strike the perfect compromise between the track stiffness and on-road pliancy. The Telescopic front forks with a 130mm travel and a monoshock at the rear with a travel of 97mm ensure that the bike is not spine jarringly stiff on our roads by still being a hoot to ride on a track or a winding section. I agree that the V3 is not as sharp as a RC but then again it’s not a physical torture which the RCs are well-known for. Now some might argue that in the Indonesian markets the V3 comes shod with USD forks which are far more superior to the conventional telescopic unit which is somewhat true, but not completely. The USDs might provide an unmatched finesse on the track but lose out to demonstrate the same composure over less than perfect surfaces. This is why for Indian roads Yamaha decided to go with the Telescopic units. Not only the suspensions but the tyres do a great job as well in keeping the bike in its stride. The 140/70 rear radial and 100/80 front tyres wrapped in MRF rubber claw up the tarmac while ridding hard and are durable enough for the streets as well. Now all the above stated fitments display the sane character of the bike, but what if I told you that this bike has a dual personality! Beyond 7500rpm the V3 is a hellfire and “sane” would be the last word in the description of this machine. This time around, Yamaha has used a term called VVA or Variable Valve Actuation which is used in the R1 as well. In simple words, here the engine shifts between two pre-set intake cam lobes, one for lower rpms and the other for higher rpms. The first cam is set between 0 to 7400rpm which provides low end grunt, post to which the actuator pushes a pin situated in the rocker arm to activate the second cam profile for larger lobe that grants a blasting top end. This piece of tech allows this 155cc motor to churn out class leading figures of 18.6bhp @ 10000rpm and 14.1nm @ 8500rpm even after its BS6 transition. Complementing this technology is Yamaha’s patented chassis design so called the Deltabox. Combining this frame with the VVA, what you get is a bike that demolishes the track records of bikes even from a segment above and appears to be completely at home when you are gunning it on the track. This experience is further elevated with a wet multi-plate slip and assist clutch which allows you to bang the gears down without having the rear wheel locked up on aggressive downshifts. In the braking department the front gets a 282mm single disc along with a 220mm rear disc that ensure great stopping power with adequate feel and feedback which deems to be crucial when you have a top whack of 140kph. All the technical components along with a kerb weight of just over 140kgs allow the R15 V3 to catapult itself from 0-60kph in 4.3sec and 0-100kph in 10.1sec. This is where the light chassis and aerodynamic design of the bike come into play which is personally experienced when you swing your leg over it. The seating posture is of a proper track weapon with low set clip-ons and rear set footpegs. The seat at a height of 815mm is spacious enough for the rider to move around while cornering and the knee recesses thoughtfully carved out on the tank help to tuck your knee in to hold the bike firmly. With all these track focused engineering the purpose of the bike shouts for performance and agility rather than commuting or touring, which brings me to its drawbacks. The bike that feels razor sharp on the track is a lot demanding on the road thanks to its ergonomics. Though the suspension can deal with the portholes very well from a sports bike’s perspective, still it’s not pliant enough like a Bajaj Pulsar RS 200 or even the Gixxer for instance. There’s always an underlying stiffness due to which the bike crashes over steep bumps or speed breakers which can unsettle the bike pretty easily if not cautious enough. While the performance and riding characteristics of the bike have gone a couple of notches higher, the quality of material has gone down considerably. Huge panel gaps, low switchgear quality along with a not so satisfying feel from the flimsy plastic panels are quite disconcerting keeping the brand reputation in mind that Yamaha has prospered over the years. Furthermore the riding capabilities of the bike gets restricted to short city commutes only due to the tightly raked rider triangle where long hauls on the saddle demand physical fitness and appropriate body structure. Niggles like these can’t be neglected as they turn out to be hick-ups in an otherwise perfect ownership experience which throws me in a quandary to draw a firm conclusion for this bike!

Now it’s crucial for us to fathom that the race track is a complete parallel universe when compared to our streets or freeways as things that outshine on track might disappoint on a city road. The V3 is nothing but astonishingly boisterous on the track much like the R1, and talking about the R1, it is one of the most painful bikes to ramble around town. But rather considering this to be a flaw, we perceive it as a character of the R1; a philosophy to which the R15 V3 strongly adheres. A philosophy that urges us to look past the physical distress associated with the R15, to the character that it showcases in its V3 livery. It simply packs in enough oomph to put a smile on any one’s face when riding hard still being manageable enough for city duties. This experience is further enhanced when we consider Yamaha’s excellent after sales service and parts availability, which finally compels me to stretch out my neck and claim the R15 V3 to be the only bike currently on sale in India that can devour any quarter litre bike at the track still by offering 40 kilometres to the litre on the streets.

Soumil Dey - Author