Hi All,
I thought I’d give you all a current update on my experience with the new Yamie.
I bought the deluxe version of Gladiator around a month and a half back and have clocked 900 kms so far, through with the first service already. The bike has been performing reasonably well except for one minor hiccup. The problem I’ve run into is with the battery. It has run down twice already since I bought it. I do not use the electric starter on a cold engine, only when its run for sometime but inspite of doing that for some reason it still happens. The first time around I took it to the service center and the people just charged the battery and put it back on, no reason as to why it is running down. Now it’s happened for the second time, so there I go, back to the service maniacs for the same problem. The battery was then charged again, and I was told the reason for this happening could be the very sensitive rear brake light switch causing the brake light to be on while riding. He said this switch turns on the brake light with the slighest touch of the foot and that this could be draining the battery. Well, quite possible but I’m not so convinced, but anyway don’t see any other option other than trying to be extra careful about the brake pedal and seeing whether the problem comes up again or not. He said he’s informed Yamaha about this and has requested them to rectify it. Don’t know how far that’s true also.
Besides this creepy issue everything else has been working just fine. As I said in my previous review, the bike has great straight line stability and cornering works awesomely sweet!
Although the bike is still in the run in period, I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying at least a 80-90kmph. The bike pulls really well with absolutely no signs of harshness, the engine is quite silent and vibrations are very very minimal. It doesn’t feel so quick initially but once it’s on the run just wring the throttle and you’ll be surprised how well it pulls, add to it excellent stability (inspite of it’s somewhat skinny tyres) and comfortable and pleasant almost vibe free ride even at speeds of 80-90kmph. This is one bike that gaurantees you a smooth running engine and excellent rider and pillion comfort. The shockers on this Yamie work brilliantly well soaking in most bumps or road undulations with absolutely no inteference with road feedback. Doesn’t feel too firm neither spongy just about perfect!
Quality of all components including switchgear is top class. The 240mm disc brake up front works great during panic stops. The one-down, four-up Yamaha box is butter smooth, with precise positive shifts. I do not find anything that I could complain about except for the spooky battery problem, but again that’s not a big concern, overall I’m very much satisfied with the Gladiator.
The only other bikes in the 125cc category worth considering besides the Gladiator are:
Honda Shine & Bajaj Discover
What I’d say to people who are confused as to whether this would be a good buy or not is to run through some test reports from reputed auto magazines, see the bike in the flesh and take a test ride. I see most people are concerned about mileage, the two times I’ve checked, I got a mileage of 51 and 55kmpl in absolute city riding conditions, the messy roads of B’lore. These figures are good enough according to me, I’m sure most people would agree considering the fact that it is still in the run-in period and I hadn’t even done the 1st free service at the time, not to forget with city riding only. Mileage depends on a lot of factors including one’s riding style or riding habits so one might say it’s bad for me while the other might come out with excellent figures. That’s all from my end from now, thanks guys for reading through. Any comments are most welcome.