Expert Reviews on Yamaha Bikes

For the 2018 BikeWale Track Day, I wanted to get my elbow down on a Yamaha YZF-R1M at the Valencia track in Spain. But then I was reminded of our budgets and my capabilities by the wide chicken strips on my Apache. So we settled for the next best thing – a Yamaha YZF-R15 on the MMRT in Chennai. The YZF-R15 V3.0 shares its platform with the Yamaha M-Slaz, a streetfighter sold only in select global markets.

After living with the FZ25 within the city limits for a few months, it was time to take this Yamaha for a long journey. The 2018 BikeWale Track Day made this happen. While the car team planned to drive down, obviously, Ranjan, Omkar and I decided to ride down. But the plan was to go for a short vacation after getting baked at MMRT, Chennai. We were to head from the east coast India to the western coast, Mangalore. I was excited about this route as this detour was long enough to decode the FZ25’s touring capabilities.

This is the YZF R15 V 3.0.

We take the 2018 Yamaha MT-09 for a spin at the Yamaha Riding Academy in Thailand.

I’ve found a new friend in our Yamaha long termer, the FZ25. It’s been over two months since we acquired this streetfighter and have been thoroughly enjoying it. For now, the ride is limited to city limits primarily because there are no launch events in Pune and I’m still in the process of setting up my new house. So finding time for long rides is difficult. There are plans to take the FZ25 for long hauls next month, but we’ll talk about it in the next report. For now, allow me to pen down my city experience.

Is the fully faired sibling of the FZ25 worth the premium that Yamaha is asking? How does it compete with the rest in the segment? We ride the fully-faired Fazer 25 to find out.

The last two years have been miserable for me. My daily commuting time by car has increased from a total of 3.5 hours to 5 hours now, thanks to a never ending construction of a bridge enroute to work and the ever growing vehicle population in Mumbai. This has resulted in more fatigue and lesser time spent with family as I’ve been wasting hours in the traffic. I finally shifted to two-wheelers when the Yamaha FZ25 entered the BikeWale long term garage. 

Bigger is better. Or is it?

Yamaha's entrant to the 250cc bracket is a scaled-up version of the ever-popular FZ16. Will it succeed in the same way that the 150cc has? We find out.

The FZ range of bikes wasn’t just about commuting. It was also about doing it in style. The FZ16 is a comfortable commuter, has the ability to show off and does the job of being a fun bike in the corners. These aspects made it a game changer for Yamaha and for the industry but there was a problem. FZ16 customers were moving away from Yamaha to other brands once their thirst for more performance and features grew. This made Yamaha develop something that will help them keep their customers within the brand. This will the job of the FZ25.