So, the wait is finally over for everyone looking for a head to head comparo.

As expected, it was close, but what I said about a month back (which attracted so much backlash) also turns out to be true.

Anyways, enjoy the video courtesy Autocar, shot in the heavenly curves of Lavasa.

The Autocar Show: Yamaha R 15 Vs Honda CBR 15OR - YouTube

Even by looking at the video one can make out that R15 looks far better (paint quality, kind of switch gear used, fit and finish). After looking at this video, I don't think the premium charged for CBR150 is justified at all. Honda is just trying to cash in on their brand equity. My respect for Yamaha has gone up two notches now!!

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Exactly bro... The difference in quality is even visible in the video...everything is better in the r15. Just look at the quality man...
@antz.bin: i used to read your posts then which led to the backlash but didn't comment...i knew what you exactly wanted to say...the same thing i also thought... Honda is banking high on their brand name...the should be even lesser than the r15 IMO for the quality they are offering.... Cbr is just for more comfort

top speed difference

the top speeds that are shown in the video were recorded through gps?

By the way which one is more refined. CB or R15?

PS: what design factor contributes to better refinement of the engine and is it difficult to achieve it?

Wow Cbr Offers Much more Top Speed then Yamaha... Great!!!

and better in acceleration too. !!

The CBR150R does better at 0-100kmph than the Yamaha R15.
But that we get to do only on some highways.

What about the daily rides along with unknown fellow road users ?
The roll-on times of the CBR150R are disappointing and it do not help much when in the rush hour of the city commuters fight for an inch of space without caring much for each other.

So you rev high and pop that clutch you and are flat on the back of some swerving lazy bus or u lose time braking what u had sincerely built up, again u shift gears to get in the power band quicker and a RTR180 draws a clear gap and gets into a gap which u had in mind to get ahead in the rush hour and leaves u behind by miles.

U go touring in the mountains and a Hero Honda Karizma laugh its way up through poorly engineered elevations, while the rider of the CBR150R sweats it out shifting the gears and losing torque going uphill.The Karizma man is at ease than the CBR150R man.

The R15 is pretty able to do all these better than the CBR150R except for an outright acceleration and top end................but then what.........the economically priced Pulsar 220 would come up like a behemoth and make the CBR150R seem standstill with ease, when it would be a matter of straight-line and outright speed.

Then comes the all conquering Duke200- which does the RTR,R15 and Pulsar220F and Karizma jobs and all comes out at the top at a justified price !!!!

So you have two bikes here priced around 1.30 INR more or less, one is capable of being better than all and the other is trying to cope up.
So which one would you go for.

Now definitely, when the Price tag becomes all that what matters, the only thing that can go in favor of the CBR150R is the refinement associated with the Honda but it has to cover all that flaws.Being clinical and precise leaves the Honda with easy gearshift experience, rev high without tiring experience and the rider can focus on riding this bike without tiring himself.

But then I say , the Duke 200 pampers and asks not to focus at all.

So I am not talking about companies here, I am into the price and performance range which has four bikes lined out R15,CBR150,Pulsar 220 and Duke 200.

Commuters with a need for power will go for the P220 and R15 for sure,still more easy going ones will get the RTR180 and Karizma.They are all such good to buy at their price.

Which leaves two groups of bikers, the enthusiast and the fan boys.
And there are two bikes Duke200 and CBR150R.

Duke200 is the enthusiast's bike,its deep and the only choice of being that all-rounder/off-road/onroad.But KTM being new to this market do not have fan boys but would get all the enthusiasts who wants the world from their bike(like me ) in its pool.

For the CBR150R any enthusiast would weigh pros and cons find it hard justifying the purchase, while the brand loyalist and fans of Honda refinement won't have any second thoughts abut it.

So that's it from my end, long words cut short- CBR150R's price is not justified.

I agree, but at-least to some people price tag is also considered as an added advantage of a bike.

@mach50: roll-on acceleration figures are the acceleration in same gear, in real world, you don't accelerate in same way, you change gears. a bike with better 0-100 timings will always be ahead.

Yes in real world I don't accelerate in roll-ons when I always want to race and focus and keep going at it.

On a daily basis, it is not possible while commuting to and fro of work.There would be several other things going on in mind then to focus only on shifting gears and rev high to get ahead.

So a bike which wud accelerate adequately even in high gears owing to midrange would be a delight.

So it does if the bike in question is a Fireblade or the best 250cc in the segment(however,still,even though Ninja 250R is loved and respected- its pricing makes it vague dream for most bikers but is bought with love).

But when there is a bike with only something extra to offer and is in competition from a number of bikes in that price range which are equally capable or better..........I do not know how it would play to advantage.

Honestly,you can compare the CBR150R to the GT250R when it comes to value for money.

The bike is very refined. Had the opportunity of riding one in Bangalore here. I currently own a V 2.0 LE R15. Compared to the Yamaha, the CBR feels a tad bit easier to ride in the cities. The pressure on your back,shoulders,arms are considerably lesser and the requirement of shifting gears is considerably lesser too.

What was lagging was the maneuverability of the Bike when compared to the R15. It is slower in response and doesn't go as well into corners as the R15 does. Whether this is due to the Sports-Tourer tag or the lack of grip on those tyres I do not know, but over time a user might be able to extract more from this bike. Not as much as he could possibly from the R15.

The final factor comes down to the price. In Bangalore, the Honda is 12,000 INR costlier than the R15 and this is a heavy spoils sport. Quality, speed, refinement are all in favor of the R15 whereas the only thing in favor of the CBR seems to be city aesthetics.

Refinement is always what Honda has been associated with and this bike is no different.
The seating posture is not aggressive and is easy on the rider.

Requirement of shifting gear is less under normal riding conditions, because I guess with that low torque it has got tall gear ratios to find itself carrying decent speed per gear even though slow.

Interesting post...

I read ur long post and couldnt agree more on some points..

If I had the luxury I would have all bikes in my garage

But then If you have to have to live with one bike then you
would want comfort(not there in R15), refinement(Duke feels harsh at higher speeds) and a very silly thing for a biker: a pillion seat (not there almost on both Duke and R15). So, Its not just Fanboys buying CBR 150s.

Ride the bike and you will know.. Does 125kmph at equal ease and smoothness as it does 80kmph without an hint of undue vibes.

PS. I m no Honda Fanboy.. If I were to be called a Fanboy, I would like to be called a Bajaj Fanboy... and yes I have ridden the Duke too.

That's a very funny point, but let me tell you majority do not have refinement as a criteria when buying bike or is it engine smoothness that you are referring to as refinement? trust me, it's very true, otherwise how do you justify Duke 200's sales or for that matter Pulsar's sales so far? These products are refined, no doubt, but they have certain roughness in engines, and not smooth like Honda's and it's their character. Majority of enthusiasts gets egged on with engines roar at higher rpms, natural tendency is to try and get the bike to roar at higher rpms. That's the trend from RX100's days or even before that, people want their bikes to roar (or make some sort of sound at higher rpms). I hope you don't think RX100 is refined! So, smoothness is good to have, not mandatory. Useable pillion seat may be needed for more people than refinement in engine.