So I bought this bike about two months ago, mine is the metallic black variant which comes with a single-channel ABS and has ridden it for about 5000 km till now.
Let me tell you some of the Pros and Cons of this bike.
PROS:
1) PERFORMANCE: The performance of this bike is simply amazing!
It comes with a 155cc engine that produces 18.5 bhp @10000 RPM, But let me tell you, don’t be fooled by the 150cc tag as this is the only bike in the 150cc segment that competes with the other 200cc bikes in the market and even outperforms them in many aspects. No other 150cc bike in India beats MT-15 in terms of performance except for its own sibling, Yamaha R-15.
It can achieve a speed of 0 to 60 is somewhat under 5 seconds and 0 to 100 in almost 12 seconds(approx figures as per my own experience and evaluation) and its all thanks to the VVA technology in this bike that is after reaching 7k RPM its valves open up and more fuel is injected into the engine which gives better performance.
2) COMFORT: Now this is the main reason why you pick an MT-15 over an R-15, the sitting posture on this bike is much much better than R-15.
Overall comfort on this bike is good because of upright posture although not the best and that’s because of the suspension being on the stiffer side which is understandable as the stiff suspension is necessary for tight and aggressive cornering and better control at high speeds but you’ll feel some bumps on bumpy roads and at low speeds. Putting this as a PRO because it is way better than the R-15.
3) MILEAGE: As I mentioned earlier about the VVA tech in this bike that delivers good performance, well VVA also contributes to this bike’s mileage that is around 45 to 50 KMPL which is just more than enough!
Now here we have to keep in mind that the mileage will depend on many factors like its always necessary to maintain your bike well, get the services done on time, and always be sure to maintain at least 1L of fuel so as to not damage the fuel pump.
Then comes your riding style, if you ride at low speed and shift gears at lower RPM(Between 5k to 7k RPM, such that VVA does not kick in) this bike will easily deliver up to 55kmpl on the highway, and considering you’ve had its free servicing’s done.
4)SERVICE/MAINTENANCE COST: The maintenance of MT-15 is much lower compared to other bikes in the segment like Duke 200, NS and RS 200, etc.
5)HANDLING: The handling on this bike is good and it handles pretty well especially in heavy traffic since it’s a naked bike.
So now let’s move to some Cons
1)COMFORT; As I said this bike comes with a good riding posture but the suspension is stiff and you feel those bumps, If you’re someone who values comfort over anything else then this isn’t the bike for you.
Even the pillion seat is much smaller in this bike so the pillion comfort isn’t that good.
So this was my honest review about MT-15,
Now let me share with you how and why I went with this bike and I hope it helps you pick the right bike for you as well.
So I’m a 22-year-old college student who wanted to own sports or a cruiser bike as I’m more into long rides(100+ km per day), since many years I wanted to buy a Royal Enfield 500 Classic as it is my dream bike but unfortunately, RE stopped the production of 500cc bikes around a year ago, then I thought I’ll go for a sports bike and I wanted a full faired bike but naked bikes were also fine actually.
The first option that strikes me was NS200, a powerful bike with awesome acceleration and top speed but as I researched and also took advice from people who own NS I came to know that NS has problems with the chainset and sprocket which is common for RS and NS. The second problem was Bajaj’s poor service so I decided to look for other options.
Duke 200 and 250 was a good option but the high maintenance and expensive parts plus the expensive price of the bike itself made me look for other options, then I came across the R-15 which made me fall in love with its looks and as I researched more I realized its an excellent bike in terms of performance, mileage, handling, maintenance cost etc and I decided to go for it but before making the final decision I checked some reviews and also asked people who currently owned the bike and all of them told me the same problem and that was the super aggressive riding posture, It was amazing for rides with 50-80 kms but more than that you would start feeling a lot of pain in wrist and back so it was just not for longer rides but I had loved this bike so much that I still wanted to go for it out of excitement but then I thought with a calm mind and decided to look for a bike which is similar and came across MT-15 which was basically a naked R-15 and exactly what I needed and that’s how I made my final call, MT had that one last thing that was much needed for me and that was a better posture with the same engine! That’s right! MT-15 and R-15 had the same engine. The only differences were that MT was a naked bike and had a bigger rear sprocket which gives more initial acceleration than the R-15.
So I hope this review helps you and have a good day! Peace!
Update:
This is my addition to the review after 3 months,
So by now I have completed about 2500 kms on this bike and I would say It’s definitely more comfortable than R15 however take note that this bike is still not comfortable for very long rides(200kms+)in one go and also when riding with a heavier or a pillion of your own weight the comfort is drastically reduced but with a pillion of lighter weight it’s fine. Reason I mentioned
body weight is because I noticed that when riding with a pillion of my own weight or heavier than me I was getting pushed towards the tank due to pillion’s weight and it was not possible to hold him/her off for 100+ kms while focusing on riding.
Solution for this is to avoid longer rides with pillion in one go, take frequent breaks in at least 50kms OR
Switch the rider’s role with your pillion
Get your self a Luggage Rack or a pillion grab rail(I’m using a Luggage rack and it does help, I’ll give the links below)
Apart from this It’s an amazing bike in terms of power, mileage, handling, looks, maintenance etc. You have to keep in my mind that every bike has It’s pros and cons and we have to adapt ourselves in a way that the cons are minimum, so I would like to say that this review is not to discourage anyone from buying this bike but to help you to get a idea about this bike before you buy it and what you need to do to overcome it’s cons, I love my bike even after all this cons because they are not a big deal when you get used to them.
Also remember guys to always wear your helmet and other safety equipment for your own safety, Ride safe!
I’ll drop links of some accessories I have installed in my MT-15 and some others you could check out:
Visor(short) and Winglet combo(combo is cheaper than buying them separately): https://amzn.to/2W52qnM
Tail tidy: https://amzn.to/3mhBOuM
Metal visor: https://amzn.to/3z2KubW
Colored metal visor: https://amzn.to/3j0pEEr
Tank pad: https://amzn.to/3ghvXlx
Radiator guard: https://amzn.to/3z2KQPO