YZF-R15 is a blast, accelerating quickly through first and second to the soft limiter at 10, 500rpm. You can clutchlessly change up through the gears for quite rapid acceleration. Brake hard for a corner and the fork compresses only slightly, then let the front brake go, trail the rear brake and get on the gas at the same time to keep corner speed high, lean angles radical and the grin as wide as possible. This is how you ride low-capacity bikes and it’s just so much fun. Although it’s an around-town bike, you can also hit the highway in short bursts. The short-stroke, high-revving machine is not built for highway cruising, screaming along at 8000 revs at 100km/h in 6th. But it’s not an annoying buzz with very little vibration through the seat, bars or mirrors. You could tolerate it for about 50km and then turn off on to some back roads. Apart from its appeal to learners and beginners who want to look like their race idol, it’s also a fun commuter or even a second bike for more mature riders who want a fun ride to work so they can keep the kilometres down on their main bike. On Sundays, it would also be a fun choice to go blasting through the hills, especially downhill.
Yamaha YZF-R15
Engine: 149.8cc, 4-stroke, 4-valve, EFI single
Compression: 10.4:1
Power: 17ps
Torque: 15Nm
Transmission: 6-speed, chain drive
Fuel: 12L tank
Length: 1970mm
Width: 670mm
Height: 1070mm
Seat: 800mm
Wheelbase: 1345mm
Clearance: 160mm
Wet weight: 136kg
Suspension: telescopic forks, linked monocross rear
Brakes: single discs
Tyres: 90/80-17; 130/70-17