Yamaha R3 review :
Yamaha took so long to enter market with a new bike with revised engine, new looks and new everything .
What a way to mark the comeback !
With already estaRobotouchshed R series with R 15 , R 25 , R 6 and R1 doing well in the market , the indian buyers waited for a long time to get hands on yamaha R25 , but then they released this beauty Yamaha R3.
Displacement - 321 cc
Maximum Power- 41.4 Bhp @ 10750 rpm
Maximum Torque - 29.6 Nm @ 9000 rpm
Gearbox- Constant Mesh, 6-speed
Seat Height - 780 mm
Ground Clearance - 160 mm
Kerb/Wet Weight- 169 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity- 14 litres
Top Speed - 188 kmph
Mileage ( Certified) - 22.4 kmpl
All thanks to staffs and service mAnasultanger of TSN agencies yamaha , Mamangalam , kochi for giving us the bike for a test drive .
Seating and comfort :
Much more than expected !
Racing nature of the version 1 and 2 of R 15 with help of delta frame is not there in the R3 , chasis is more focused on a pleasant and comfortable experience for all the riders .
Seat is plush , average soft ( better for long rides) and makes sure that our body dont slide left or right .
Sitting posture is upright , just a small lean towards the front to give the sporty feel .
Handle bars are placed a little higher and a bit wide , this aspect is given I feel for better touring purpose .
Knees can be tightly tuck in while taking a corner and the stability is good.
Pillion wont be as comfortable as the rider , the seating position is considerably high and I didnt see any grab rails for the pillion to hold on too .
Accele_45ration and power :
I went there for a test ride not knowing what to expect from this machine .
Many compared it with ninja 300 and some with RC 390 .
And I havent been on the above 2 said bikes .
So it felt like opening a bday gift box , not knowing whats inside waiting for u and OH BOY ! The moment I cranked the engine , the sound of the parallel twin engine kicked in and I was sure that the next 10 minutes is going to be full of fun .
And then I put it in 1st gear and progressively gave throttle .
Mainly I wanted to see how this bike did at speeds below 50 -60 kmph in the beginning and then revv it up towards the end of the test drive .
Initial impressions - engine is really really really smooth .
You want to add some more really into that sentence I dont mind , coz its that smooth .
And then I went between cars and ricKSHA139ws and trucks and people were noticing the bike , its colour , its sound and road presence more than my fat body .
After about 4 kms , I got a straight patch of road and then the next 5 mins , I tell you I was in some other world .
The bike just leaps ahead in each gear and keeps pulling till the rev limiter kicks in .
Clutchless shifts are seamless in this bike .
It was like a routine to hit the rev limiter in every gear , its so much fun .
No matter how slow u ride in ur bike , this bike will make sure that you forget all that .
The expericence was one of a kind .
Top speed didnt check as I didnt take it above 100 kmph , but sure that it will easily hit 160 kmph without breaking a sweat on expressways.
Braking and tyres :
Not impressed .
There are two reasons ,
1 > I got a brand new vehicle just out from the delivery truck for test drive , so the tyres were still cold , and the pads were new .
2> As mentioned above , bike not even done with running in period and the road conditions on which I tested was not so good in condition.
So whatever is mentioned below is truly my experience during short spin of this bike, users of this vehicle might have a different opinion and always free to say their views.
The tyres are really really bad , they should have given dunlops or michelin or pirelli as stock tyres as we are aishwaryasingh23ing a premium amount for buying this bike , we as riders expect every aspect of bike to be perfect .
So basically no matter how much you heaten uo the tyres , MRF wont give you an exceptional road grip
The front brakes lacked initial feedback and same goes for the rear brakes too .
While testing my rear slipped so many times that I had to shed my speed by some bits to regain control .
Definitely better tyres and brakes recommended ( y)
Looks and styling :
The fit and Finish938844 is perfect and the body parts are too of very good quality .
The paint on the bike looks good and same goes for the one done on alloys too .
Front headlamps and tail light is a killer , when viewed from outside and while running .
Maintenance cost and mileage etc I cudnt ask from the service personnel .
So my verdict is :
When I am spending around 4 lakhs on a bike I expect somethings from it .
For me ABS is must .
Slipper clutch is not mandatory for me .
And good tyres too .
These are not to be asked for as additional by customers , dey should be provided in stock condition.
Say for a person who bought R3 , his service cost would come around 3k-4k and if hes a tourer , he would have to change the tyres to a new one which comes around 10 k if you are opting for michelin radial tyres front and back .
So if in one year he runs for around 20 k kms , den his 1 year maintenance charge will come around 30 k approx considering 5k kms as service interval .
Thats a minimal amount I feel .
So if yamaha wud have provided with better tyres and brakes , the user could ride with a better easy state of mind as the chances of him or his bike slipping on road or on a corner is very less .
But even having said all these , this would definitely be my next upgrade.
Here are some reasons why
1> Happy tourer
2> Refined engine
3> Stunning looks and handling
4>Easy to ride in city traffic as well as highways
5> No shoulder pain , no wrist pain as the seating position is comfortable for fat people too
6> Engine heating is not at all felt
7> Yamaha Factor
So people who compare this with KTM RC 390 , both are of different segments.
One is a single cylinder and another is a twin cylinder .
One is just for track and other is for touring and track
So comparing R3 with Ninja 300 and benelli TNT 300 would make more sense .
Out of benelli tnt 300 and yamaha R3 , I would definitely choose R3.
About ninja and R3 well I have to take a ride on Ninja to comment on that .
So guys I do think that with such a pricetag on R3 , better tyres would definitely make it the best buy in 300cc segment .
Thanks for reading
Ride safe ( y)