Thread Starter
#1
Hello Everyone,
It feels so good to be the first one to own the Yamaha R15 v2 Special Edition on the forum and get an opportunity to write a review on the same.
So finally I get to write this longggg awaited ownership review for my Yamaha R15 v2. I know many of you would be waiting for this and especially for the pictures, actually I was curious and excited too until I got the pictures from my brother.
So our search for a new bike or the replacement bike for our Graptor ended on “30 July’12”.
Reason for a new Bike:
The Hunt for the new bike started in June. Because our Graptor finally started giving us some troubles after serving us for 8 long years like a well behaved child. And since the bike is no more manufactured and due the unavailability of parts, we had to sell our bike. I didn’t want to put some random parts in my bike and decided to go for a new bike. And the other reason for replacing our current bike was my brother completing his Engineering and his birthday as well in July. So I thought that it would be a perfect gift at a perfect time.
Requirement for the new Bike:
So our requirements for the new bikes were that it should be a good performer, good handling, good breaking ability (so that one can drive it with full confidence) and should have nice looks too, actually looks were the main factor to be précised. And yes average FE as well, Thanks to the hike in petrol prices.
Contenders:
The list was finalized between me and my brother and the contenders were:
Pulsar 150
Pulsar 180
Pulsar 220
Yamaha R15
CBZ
Karizma Zmr
Below is the link for the TD reports. Don’t want to post the same thing twice.
Suggest Replacement Options for LML Graptor (Booked Yamaha R15 v2)
Few bikes were not considered because:
KTM Duke: My brother didn’t like the looks of the bike, but no doubt it is a very nice bike. But since my brother will be using the bike more than me, I didn’t want to buy something which he doesn’t like.
Honda CBR 250: Again a very nice bike but was bit out of the budget and the FE was low as it is a 250 CC.
Buying Experience:
So after one month of searching, taking TD’s, discussions we finally decided to book the Yamaha R15 v2 in Sunset Red color. Now the booking of R15 was a really long story, so please bare with me friends. Once we decided on the bike and color we looked for different options as in, where to book the bike? I called both the dealers in my city and got a quote for the R15 V2. The bike was costing us 1.23L (regular) and 1.29L (Limited edition) on road In Moradabad, UP.
After I was done talking to the SE over phone I randomly called one of my friend in Haldwani just to say hi, hello. Since I am in US for last 4 years I keep calling my friends every week. So I told him about the bike scenario and he asked me whether I have booked the bike, I said not yet. He told me that one of his close relative knows a Yamaha dealership and he will ask the OTR and let me know. I was like ok. So next day I called him again and the price quote that I got was 1.16L. I was like WOW straight 7k difference from my place. So the moment I heard that price it was final right then and there that I am going to get it from Haldwani. So I told my friend to book the bike and he paid Rs. 5000 to the dealer and booked the bike in Sunset Red color on 26 June’12. The dealer only had black color available at that time and told my friend that other color will be available by 5th July. So the delivery date was 5 July’12.
But the Sunset Red color was not in our destiny. My friend called the dealer on 3rd july and the dealer says that it will take another 4-5 days for the delivery from the actual delivery date. I was like ok with it, since 4-5 extra days didn’t matter a lot. My friend called the dealer again on 11 July and this time the dealer goes that the bike can only be delivered by the end of the month and he was not able to give us any exact date for the delivery which really pissed us. So we thought that even if we wait till end of the month and what if he is not able to provide the bike after that also. So we canceled our booking with them and this was the worst experience of my life so far.
Then I called my cousin in Faridabad (HR) and told him to get OTR for the R15. Next day he went to the dealer and the dealer quoted 1.20L for regular version and 1.23L for the Limited Version. And the bike was available as well. So we booked the bike from Faridabad on 20 July’12 and this time we booked R15 V2 Special Edition. Though the bike was available but we couldn’t take the delivery because our family panditji said that the delivery could only happen on or after 29 July. My brother went to the dealership on 27 July and paid the full and final amount.
After all the mess created by the dealer in Haldwani and then our great panditji, finally we got our bike delivered on 30 July. My brother and cousin went to the dealership and signed the paperwork and took delivery of the bike. It was a really nice experience at Green Automobiles. SE greeted my brother and cousin very well and our bike was all set to go and the Teflon coating was done as well. Meanwhile my brother was doing the formalities the SE got the bike from inside and after completing the formalities when my brother came out and looked at the bike there was a big SMILE on my brother’s face as well as on my cousin’s face. They took the key and rushed home as it was about to rain and my brother didn’t want the bike to get dirty on the very first day.
Now coming back to the bike:
OTR: Rs 1,22,400.
Discount: Rs 500. (Initially the price quoted was Rs. 1,22,900)
Freebies: Teflon Coating.
Savings: Rs. 6600. (In my city OTR was 1.29Lac).
Power: The bike feels powerful enough with 17ps and ride is good at the same time. And the throttle response is very nice unlike the version 1 of R15. The bike loves being revved. May it be an open highway or bumper to bumper traffic, the bike does not feel suffocated. And the smooth gear shift’s adds more points towards the pleasure of riding it.
Ride: The bike rides really well but is bit stiff, and if you are used to riding commuter bikes than you will definitely feel that difference. After taking the TD of 220 and Karizma it definitely felt bit stiffer. But the seating position is really awesome, once you are on the seat it looks like that it was especially made for you and one gets adjusted in the seat very well. The linked type monocross suspensions do their job really well, it feels bit stiff but yes she absorbs them very well.
Gearbox: Well, Yamaha as usual has a wonderful and butter like smooth gearbox. You won’t have problem finding the neutral as well. But yes the shift lever is bit smaller and takes about 15-20 mins to get used too.
Handling/Braking: This is something where this bike scores on top comparing to its competitors, handling is wonderful. You can make a U turn without putting your feet down and the bike turns really well. And you get lot of confidence while driving it. Well when it comes to brakes, they are bang on spot and give you more confidence while riding the bike.
Looks, Fit &Finish: Well when it comes to looks of R15 v2 this what happens Again as a personal opinion R15 V2 has the best looks in the segment and gives you a complete sports look. Full size fairing and the broad rear tire makes the bike look wonderful, hence gives an overall good road presence. The back of the bike is very well updated than it’s previous version. Some people might not like the passenger seat position, since it’s bit higher than the other bikes.
Coming to fit and finishing of the bike, the quality of the parts on the bike is really good and hence gives you a feeling of an actual sports bike. None of the part looks like a cheap part.
+ves & -ves of the bike:
+ve’s:
-Looks and design are amazing. Has a complete sporty look which can melt your heart.
- Very aggressive riding position.
- Very good throttle response.
- Stability, cornering and braking are all together stupendous.
- The confidence level when you are riding the R15 is ultimate.
- 17 PS of power for a 150 cc makes it a good performer.
- Road presence is very awesome and definitely a head turner.
- You get 6 free services.
-ve's:
- Pillion seat is bit higher and can cause strain in the pillion back on long drives.
- Storage place is very less and can only occupy the tool kit and the emergency kit properly.
- Newbie’s will feel lot of weight on their hands after driving for a while and especially for the first time.
- Does not have the main stand. (But it does not matter to us because we never used the main stand in our Graptor as well. So we can live with that).
So overall I feel that R15 v2 outshines when it comes to handling and braking, due to the delta box frame, aggressive riding position, light weight and the stupendous brakes with massive speed shedding capability which gives you immense confidence while riding the bike and are helpful in making sharp turns as well.
It feels so good to be the first one to own the Yamaha R15 v2 Special Edition on the forum and get an opportunity to write a review on the same.
So finally I get to write this longggg awaited ownership review for my Yamaha R15 v2. I know many of you would be waiting for this and especially for the pictures, actually I was curious and excited too until I got the pictures from my brother.
So our search for a new bike or the replacement bike for our Graptor ended on “30 July’12”.
Reason for a new Bike:
The Hunt for the new bike started in June. Because our Graptor finally started giving us some troubles after serving us for 8 long years like a well behaved child. And since the bike is no more manufactured and due the unavailability of parts, we had to sell our bike. I didn’t want to put some random parts in my bike and decided to go for a new bike. And the other reason for replacing our current bike was my brother completing his Engineering and his birthday as well in July. So I thought that it would be a perfect gift at a perfect time.
Requirement for the new Bike:
So our requirements for the new bikes were that it should be a good performer, good handling, good breaking ability (so that one can drive it with full confidence) and should have nice looks too, actually looks were the main factor to be précised. And yes average FE as well, Thanks to the hike in petrol prices.
Contenders:
The list was finalized between me and my brother and the contenders were:
Pulsar 150
Pulsar 180
Pulsar 220
Yamaha R15
CBZ
Karizma Zmr
Below is the link for the TD reports. Don’t want to post the same thing twice.
Suggest Replacement Options for LML Graptor (Booked Yamaha R15 v2)
Few bikes were not considered because:
KTM Duke: My brother didn’t like the looks of the bike, but no doubt it is a very nice bike. But since my brother will be using the bike more than me, I didn’t want to buy something which he doesn’t like.
Honda CBR 250: Again a very nice bike but was bit out of the budget and the FE was low as it is a 250 CC.
Buying Experience:
So after one month of searching, taking TD’s, discussions we finally decided to book the Yamaha R15 v2 in Sunset Red color. Now the booking of R15 was a really long story, so please bare with me friends. Once we decided on the bike and color we looked for different options as in, where to book the bike? I called both the dealers in my city and got a quote for the R15 V2. The bike was costing us 1.23L (regular) and 1.29L (Limited edition) on road In Moradabad, UP.
After I was done talking to the SE over phone I randomly called one of my friend in Haldwani just to say hi, hello. Since I am in US for last 4 years I keep calling my friends every week. So I told him about the bike scenario and he asked me whether I have booked the bike, I said not yet. He told me that one of his close relative knows a Yamaha dealership and he will ask the OTR and let me know. I was like ok. So next day I called him again and the price quote that I got was 1.16L. I was like WOW straight 7k difference from my place. So the moment I heard that price it was final right then and there that I am going to get it from Haldwani. So I told my friend to book the bike and he paid Rs. 5000 to the dealer and booked the bike in Sunset Red color on 26 June’12. The dealer only had black color available at that time and told my friend that other color will be available by 5th July. So the delivery date was 5 July’12.
But the Sunset Red color was not in our destiny. My friend called the dealer on 3rd july and the dealer says that it will take another 4-5 days for the delivery from the actual delivery date. I was like ok with it, since 4-5 extra days didn’t matter a lot. My friend called the dealer again on 11 July and this time the dealer goes that the bike can only be delivered by the end of the month and he was not able to give us any exact date for the delivery which really pissed us. So we thought that even if we wait till end of the month and what if he is not able to provide the bike after that also. So we canceled our booking with them and this was the worst experience of my life so far.
Then I called my cousin in Faridabad (HR) and told him to get OTR for the R15. Next day he went to the dealer and the dealer quoted 1.20L for regular version and 1.23L for the Limited Version. And the bike was available as well. So we booked the bike from Faridabad on 20 July’12 and this time we booked R15 V2 Special Edition. Though the bike was available but we couldn’t take the delivery because our family panditji said that the delivery could only happen on or after 29 July. My brother went to the dealership on 27 July and paid the full and final amount.
After all the mess created by the dealer in Haldwani and then our great panditji, finally we got our bike delivered on 30 July. My brother and cousin went to the dealership and signed the paperwork and took delivery of the bike. It was a really nice experience at Green Automobiles. SE greeted my brother and cousin very well and our bike was all set to go and the Teflon coating was done as well. Meanwhile my brother was doing the formalities the SE got the bike from inside and after completing the formalities when my brother came out and looked at the bike there was a big SMILE on my brother’s face as well as on my cousin’s face. They took the key and rushed home as it was about to rain and my brother didn’t want the bike to get dirty on the very first day.
Now coming back to the bike:
OTR: Rs 1,22,400.
Discount: Rs 500. (Initially the price quoted was Rs. 1,22,900)
Freebies: Teflon Coating.
Savings: Rs. 6600. (In my city OTR was 1.29Lac).
Power: The bike feels powerful enough with 17ps and ride is good at the same time. And the throttle response is very nice unlike the version 1 of R15. The bike loves being revved. May it be an open highway or bumper to bumper traffic, the bike does not feel suffocated. And the smooth gear shift’s adds more points towards the pleasure of riding it.
Ride: The bike rides really well but is bit stiff, and if you are used to riding commuter bikes than you will definitely feel that difference. After taking the TD of 220 and Karizma it definitely felt bit stiffer. But the seating position is really awesome, once you are on the seat it looks like that it was especially made for you and one gets adjusted in the seat very well. The linked type monocross suspensions do their job really well, it feels bit stiff but yes she absorbs them very well.
Gearbox: Well, Yamaha as usual has a wonderful and butter like smooth gearbox. You won’t have problem finding the neutral as well. But yes the shift lever is bit smaller and takes about 15-20 mins to get used too.
Handling/Braking: This is something where this bike scores on top comparing to its competitors, handling is wonderful. You can make a U turn without putting your feet down and the bike turns really well. And you get lot of confidence while driving it. Well when it comes to brakes, they are bang on spot and give you more confidence while riding the bike.
Looks, Fit &Finish: Well when it comes to looks of R15 v2 this what happens Again as a personal opinion R15 V2 has the best looks in the segment and gives you a complete sports look. Full size fairing and the broad rear tire makes the bike look wonderful, hence gives an overall good road presence. The back of the bike is very well updated than it’s previous version. Some people might not like the passenger seat position, since it’s bit higher than the other bikes.
Coming to fit and finishing of the bike, the quality of the parts on the bike is really good and hence gives you a feeling of an actual sports bike. None of the part looks like a cheap part.
+ves & -ves of the bike:
+ve’s:
-Looks and design are amazing. Has a complete sporty look which can melt your heart.
- Very aggressive riding position.
- Very good throttle response.
- Stability, cornering and braking are all together stupendous.
- The confidence level when you are riding the R15 is ultimate.
- 17 PS of power for a 150 cc makes it a good performer.
- Road presence is very awesome and definitely a head turner.
- You get 6 free services.
-ve's:
- Pillion seat is bit higher and can cause strain in the pillion back on long drives.
- Storage place is very less and can only occupy the tool kit and the emergency kit properly.
- Newbie’s will feel lot of weight on their hands after driving for a while and especially for the first time.
- Does not have the main stand. (But it does not matter to us because we never used the main stand in our Graptor as well. So we can live with that).
So overall I feel that R15 v2 outshines when it comes to handling and braking, due to the delta box frame, aggressive riding position, light weight and the stupendous brakes with massive speed shedding capability which gives you immense confidence while riding the bike and are helpful in making sharp turns as well.
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