Yamaha On Introspection Mode

We all know how Yamaha was highly regarded for giving India a proper entry-level sportbike. Yes, we're talking of the Yamaha R15, an innocent looking sport bike but equipped with the best technology including the revolutionary Deltabox frame. Although many thought that the bike was seriously underpowered, its handling and robust structure, coupled with the incredibly low weight gave riders the much needed confidence boost to take it around corners without the fear of laying it down on its side. It could be said that the R15 was the one thing that the Indian motorcycling scenario severely lacked and it defined the future of all the other products that came later on.



The V2 version of the R15 faired well in the looks department but was weighed down by the split-seat design. Pillion riders were not fully convinced of the design, and simply opted out citing safety reasons. Fast forward to today, and Yamaha seemed to have addressed that problem by bringing a new version of the R15 – the YZF R15 S.







Carrying along the same design features as the first generation R15's, the R15 S would get a wider rear tyre, an aluminium swingarm, an improved braking system – the rear getting a larger disc, a re-mapped ECU coupled with a reworked gearing, which Yamaha claims to give the R15 better response and also a closed loop fuel injection with an O2 sensor. Despite all that, the S variant of the R15 weighs lesser than the existing model. Overall, Yamaha seemed to have bridged between the two variants, creating a new intermediate variant. There is definitely a larger fan base for the old R15, and Yamaha has likely paid heed to their demands to design a practical R15. It's still a dice game to watch for on how Yamaha plans to sell the R15 S, especially during a time when the 200cc segment is fast catching up and taking over the market, as we speak. Priced at Rs 1.15 Lakh (ex-showroom), Yamaha will be planning to launch the R15S just ahead of the festive season.