Yezdi Adventure

The Yezdi Adventure debuted back in 2022, when a brief stint with the bike was enough to identify that it was far from perfect. The company took two years to work on most niggles and gave the bike its most significant upgrade last year. A few hours of ripping trails and some road riding revealed the more welcoming, easier-to-ride persona it had acquired. Now, for 2025, Yezdi has given the Adventure a major design makeover, besides adding more features to its kitty. We spent close to a week riding the motorcycle in every condition imaginable to figure out whether it is the most accomplished iteration of the bike yet.

When the Yezdi Adventure debuted in 2022, it received some criticism for looking very similar to the Royal Enfield Himalayan 411. Thankfully, that’s not the case now, as the bike finally has a clear visual identity of its own. The front fascia has been majorly redesigned, and it gets a twin-pod, asymmetrical LED headlamp, with the smaller unit being surrounded by a metal cage. The windscreen is also taller and sports Ducati DesertX-like gradient-style graphics. Even the single-piece round tail lamp has made way for a new twin-pod setup. All in all, the Yezdi Adventure has a distinctive visual appeal, and I received a lot of attention on the road.

While the bike has come a long way in terms of quality, there is still room for improvement. The welds on the front cage, for example, look untidy, and there are uneven panel gaps in some areas. Even the brand logo on the fuel tank doesn’t look or feel premium. That said, the panels and components have been well put together, and we didn’t notice anything come loose or make strange noises.

The seat height of the Adventure is accessible for most riders. At 5’11”, I could easily place both feet on the ground, and shorter riders, even around 5’5”, should manage without much trouble. The riding posture is upright, with the handlebar within easy reach, and the seat cushioning is decent. However, the footpegs are set a bit too high and forward, which takes away from the typical roomy feel of an ADV. For taller riders, the stance might feel slightly odd - not uncomfortable, but not natural either. This becomes more noticeable off-road. Riders above 5’10” will find themselves bending a bit forward to reach the handlebar while standing on the pegs.

Ride quality, meanwhile, is good at low speeds. Small bumps and potholes are absorbed quite well. But as speeds rise and the surface worsens, the suspension moves a bit too much and keeps transferring the shock to the rider. The rear, in particular, feels harsh as it lands hard into potholes. At 80-90kmph on undulating cement roads, there’s constant movement, which was surprising from a bike with such long-travel suspension that should ideally be more absorbent. The ride isn’t outright uncomfortable, but it’s not as plush as one expects from an adventure tourer.

The bike runs on the 334cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled Alpha2 engine. Over the years, Yezdi has put in a lot of effort into making this motor refined, and the results show. Up to 100-110kmph (around 6,000rpm), vibrations are minimal. While you feel a mild buzz on the seat and fooptegs, it’s never bothersome.

Performance is strong after 4,000rpm and continues till about 7,000rpm. After that, the pull tapers off slightly, but it still revs cleanly to nearly 8,000rpm. On the other hand, it feels like quite a peppy and enjoyable motorcycle in the city, while overtaking on the highway at 100kmph isn’t an issue either. However, the bike stalls easily at low revs due to the fuelling being too lean, which is blamed on the ever-tightening emission norms. Hence, you need to keep the bike in lower gears and higher revs. The gearbox also feels slightly clunky, requiring effort to engage gears. The clutch, thankfully, is light and easy to use.

Overall, the engine is enjoyable and versatile. While refinement is impressive, it still feels a little crude and unfinished in terms of sound and character, which not everyone would like.

For a tall and heavy ADV, the Yezdi Adventure is surprisingly agile in the city. Once you’re above 10kmph, it feels flickable and easy to weave through traffic. Similarly, holding your desired line around corners is easy with the bike feeling fairly composed. It’s only when you start pushing it too hard around bends that the bike starts to feel wallowy.

Off-road riding on the Adventure is enjoyable to an extent. The suspension setup absorbs mild dips and crests with ease, and the decent bottom-end grunt helps with some sliding and escaping out of tricky situations. It can even take on jumps without bottoming out easily. What doesn’t work in its favour is its top-heavy nature, which takes away confidence when riding through slow and tricky trails. That said, for light off-roading and relaxed trails, the Adventure does a decent job. The newly introduced traction control system does a fine job of cutting power on detecting slides, without feeling overly intrusive.

The brakes deserve special mention. The front brake offers a good balance of bite and progression, making it easy to judge the stopping point. The rear is softer and more progressive – exactly how it should be, considering its intended off-road usage. Overall, the braking performance is strong and confidence-inspiring.

The LCD console is not the best-looking in my books, but it packs useful information and offers Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation. There’s a handlebar-mounted module that houses a USB port and a type-C charging port. New for the 2025 model are traction control and three riding modes. Traction control can be turned off in any mode, and in off-road mode, the rear ABS is also disabled, allowing you to slide the rear and have better control. Completing the package are a slipper clutch and full-LED lighting.

In our mileage test, the Yezdi Adventure returned 28kmpl in the city with low to moderate traffic. With a 15.5-litre fuel tank, the motorcycle should deliver a range of 434km, which is decent.

The Yezdi Adventure has come a long way since its 2022 debut. As of today, it is a versatile motorcycle that does many things well. The engine delivers punchy acceleration, riding posture is fairly comfortable, handling is good, and the braking setup is excellent. The additional features in the latest model only make it a more enticing package.

However, it’s still far from perfect, in my opinion. The bike only comes with spoke wheels and tube-type tyres, which makes puncture repair inconvenient. The ride quality could be better, especially for an ADV with long-travel suspension. And while it shows good agility on the move, the bike feels top-heavy at crawling speeds in the city and through trails. Finally, Classic Legends hasn’t had the best reputation in terms of after-sales service, although the company claims it has improved significantly.

So, is the Yezdi Adventure worth considering? Yes - if you want a feature-rich, good-looking, and fairly capable adventure tourer at this price point – Rs. 2.15 – 2.27 Lakh, ex-showroom. But if you want something lighter and easier to manage, and which would be more reliable in the long run, you might want to look at alternatives like the Suzuki V-Strom 250SX.

Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi