Yamaha YZF-R15

The Yamaha YZF-R15 retains the silhouette and design philosophy of its bigger siblings like the YZF-R6 and YZF-R1, which makes it look like a mini super-bike. The design looks proportionate and futuristic, giving the YZF-R15 a strong road presence, despite being an entry-level sportbike.

The Yamaha YZF-R15 gets a curvy looking front fairing, which is graced by the presence of twin sleek looking full LED headlamps. These headlamps, placed in an angular manner, do get slim daytime running LEDs on their outer edges. There is a small triangular air vent positioned between the headlamps, which mimic the front look of that of its MotoGP spec bikes. The curved looking front transparent visor and fairing-mounted rearview mirrors look nice and further accentuate its big-bike appeal.

The side profile of the Yamaha YZF-R15 looks inviting and racy, thanks to its pouncing forward design. The side panels of the front fairing look huge and cover a majority of the side look of the motorcycle, including the black-themed engine. The fuel tank slopes forward and gets a black stripe running in the middle of it and tri-bar like air vents towards its ends at the front, giving it a few more added sportiness. 

The side panels of the Yamaha YZF-R15 masks its frame very well and gives it a complete finished look. The side-mounted exhaust pipe is too finished in black, and gels well with the overall sporty appeal of the motorcycle. The tail section, in a traditional Yamaha super-sport fashion, rises upwards, housing the split seats. This time around, the split pillion grab rails are integrated into the tail section, which has a sleek vertically laid LED tail lamp at the back.

Going with the times, the Yamaha YZF-R15 has a rectangular-shaped fully digital instrument console, which has blue backlit and reads out speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, odometer, trip meters, clock, average fuel consumption and distance to empty. The fonts however are a bit hard to read while on the go, as they appear very small. The low positioned clip-on bars complete the sporty look of the motorcycle.

The Yamaha YZF-R15 has always been a benchmark for the ride and handling balance among the entry-level super-sports, and the new generation model continues to follow the tradition. The Yamaha YZF-R15 gets top-notch upside down hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a linked mono-shock with rectangular swing-arm at the rear.

The diamond frame on which it is based, along with the aforementioned suspension combination, gives it an excellent balance which is praiseworthy for a motorcycle of this size and engine specifications. For braking purposes, the Yamaha YZF-R15 gets a single disc brake at both the ends

The Yamaha YZF-R15 gets an all-new four-stroke, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, 155cc engine, which is completely different from the engine of the two generations preceding it. The engine is a tech-fest – coupled to a 6-speed gearbox, it produces a maximum power output of 19.3 PS and a peak torque output of 14.7 Nm, making it the most powerful 150cc category engine of the current times.

The presence of top-spec safety features cannot be expected on a motorcycle of this price point. However, the Yamaha YZF-R15 gets commendable additions of ABS and slipper clutch, which ensures safety under hard braking and gear shifting.

The Yamaha YZF-R15 is one perfect example of all show and go together – while the motorcycle looks stunning with its racy and aerodynamic design, it surely has got the punch in the form of its performance levels and handling prowess. However, the sharply raked pillion perch might not be comfortable for many pillion riders for long rides.