What should we look for in a bike before buying one? Some people say looks. Some say power. While some talk about mileage. My answer would be ? satisfaction. That?s the main virtue a bike should posses if you really want to be happy after purchasing it. It should satisfy your needs. Needs of each individual differ.
Thus, if you want a low maintenance bike with high average and you won?t mind compensating on the looks, then don?t even think of going for Yamaha Fazer. You better go for CT 100 or Hero Honda Splendour in that case.
Yamaha Fazer is a bike for those who have a desire to look different from others. It?s a bike for those who want to burn the roads. It?s a bike for those, who believe, bike isn?t a mere mode of transportation but a symbol of your personality and attitude. Talking of attitude, this bike has loads of it. The very first time you set your eyes on this bike, you can feel its pomposity by the very look of it.
~ Style ~
Its style is eye-catching to say the least. The organic round surfaces complimented with round character lines gives an image of a powerful pleasure bike. This is the first bike in India to have a dual headlight with the latest multireflector technology for a powerful beam.
The reason they gave for the dual headlight was, in case, one of the bulb stops working, you can always rely on the other one. The taillight, which is integrated with flashers adds a touch of class and gives a wide bright image. Right above the rear lights, the aluminum die-cast grab rail has been elongated to perform the function of a tail-lamp protector, sari guard and also has pegs on the lower side to allow some luggage to be tethered. The fuel tank features two plastic air scoops (like in the TVS Fiero F2) fitted to either side that make the bike look fuller and are also designed to keep the bike’s design lines flow uninterrupted.
~ Pickup ~
When I test-drove Yamaha Fazer, the one thing, which impressed me the most was its pick up. It?s certainly one of the main fortes of this bike. It adopts 4-stroke, SOHC 125cc engine and it meets new Indian emission norms of year 2005. Yamaha Throttle Position Sensor (YTPS) with BS Carburettor ensures outstanding combustion efficiency and hence the excellent pick up. It adopts a wide ratio 4-speed transmission (first down rest up).
~ Comfort ~
The seat is long and spacious providing equal seating space for rider and passenger. It?s much better than Bajaj Pulsar for a pillion rider. Riding position could have been better, since I found the handle a bit too long for my liking. Front and rear suspensions have plenty of cushion strokes. Front suspension adopts 35mm dia inner tubes that provide a wheel sroke of 120mm. Five-step adjustable rear shockers have a wheel travel of 102mm and cushion stroke of 50mm.
~ Chassis and Engine ~
The Fazer comes with a light-weight diamond type tubular frame and rectangular swing arm. The chassis offers excellent balance and rigidity to the bike. Though I must mention that putting this bike through a tight turn can be a headache at times yet there are no signs of any body flex. The engine of this bike is exactly similar to Wind125. It?s 123.7cc, four-stroke, air-cooled SOHC, 2-valve single cylinder mill that generates a peak power of 10.8 bhp at 7, 500rpm.
~ Colour Variation ~
The bike is available in four metallic colours ? deep red, bluish black, dark grayish blue and deep purplish. I liked the red one the most. It gave the bike an additional dose of charm, which doesn?t hurt at all.
~ Price ~
Priced at Rs 44, 000 (ex-showroom), Fazer is a good choice for even the buyers in the 100cc segment!
~ Test Drive Experience ~
There are very few bikes, which can really provide that ecstatic pleasure to the biker. And to tell you the truth Yamaha Fazer is certainly one of them. As I mentioned earlier the pick up is so good that you?ll be well over 60 km/h in less than 6 seconds. The vibration was amazingly low even when I took it to a speed of 85 km/h in 4th gear.
Also, the engine noise didn?t jar at all till 90 km/h. The credit for this must be given to Yamaha who have managed to reduce engine noise and vibration by suppressing these at source rather than employing vibration dampers like rubber mounts and bar-end weights. The braking power is adequate with 150mm drum at the front and 130mm drum at the rear.
~ Drawbacks ~
In spite, of it being such a wonderful bike a few things, which can stop the buyers in going for this bike are ? lack of fifth gear, no disc brakes (even as an option), slightly low mileage and a poor resale value. However, let me clarify that even without the fifth gear the bike was cruising without any problems what so ever. As I mentioned, the braking was adequate enough, so maybe you can do without disc brakes.
At least I don?t see a problem with it, if your drum brakes are good enough. Low mileage is one thing you got to expect from Yamaha because of the power they install in their bikes. And this is one 4-stroke bike, which can remind you of RX-100. Still, you can easily expect an average between 45-50 without any trouble. You should forget about resale value if you are buying a bike to look different from others, because only the common bikes have a good re-sale value!
So, all in all it?s a very good bike indeed! If you are looking to buy a new one, get going and ride into the new phase with Yamaha Fazer!
© Tanmay Singh, 2005