180?? I didn't see the rear tire-hugger before. Now I do. No wonder. And 1.08 lacs for this?

oopsie.. dint know that. when I saw this for the first time, I thought this might be Gulsar(chinese made) Looks neat, but 1.08lacs is little on the higher side.

On a serious note... The whole set of r15 fairing hardly costs 5000 including head lights assembly, and 1.08...is way too much

Wow, the yellow one is really good looking. I dare say it looks better than the original R15 with the Pulsars body.

yeah the yellow one looks better than the R15

im seriously in love with the yellow pulsar ,,
can it be done to an 07 RTR ????

A bit late in replying to this thread. But doing it nonetheless. I had not managed to get hold of the now famed R15 that was touted nearly a year ago by Yamaha's launch managers at the Auto Expo 2008 grand opening of being the fastest everywhere bike in India.

Quite a few people were saying a lot about this bike being incapable. And I was finding it coming to me from quite a few people around me. Finally frustrated I looked seriously at borrowing an R15 just to try it out. And I took it out for a ride and I did a 35km run.

Let us keep aside the comments that some have to say about the poor "looking" switchgear that has been put on a 1L+ bike. Let us get on with what a bike does best; run on two wheels and the way it does it. People who rant about it not having enough Torque and not enough low end power are definitely right. But if you want pure performance and want to keep the bike at 6k+ revs all the time, you will have oodles of power ALL the time. It will make the Zma eat dust. It will probably beat the 200 also and will definitely keep up with the 220. Though when you are riding it initially, you might not feel the "strength" of the bike. But when you really start revving it, the bike really has the strength to pull and pull away... and it keeps going.

That "thing" is sprung a bit stiff and I like it since it handles like a dream. And when I say it, I mean it. Throw it into a corner, it will go down hugging and it will stay into the corner as long as you keep it there. You bring it up, it will remain as stable. The bike really listens to you and follows you where you will take it. You will just need the guts to throw it in and out of corners. Our "other" bikes come NOWHERE even near this bike AFA handling is concerned.

On a favourable 300metre incline I opened her up. Doing 130 on this is simply child's play

Take a test ride with a bike that has been broken in. You will know what I am talking about.

But at the same time, I do feel, is it worth 1.04L? You pay that kind of money, you would want not only very good looks, which it does have, but you would also want the fastest bike the market has. I am not sure if this will beat the 220 in the short version of the drag ie; the quarter mile. I have yet to try this out.

But this IS exciting stuff!

I had the bike for a while and I could not resist riding it some more. In the end, I reluctantly returned it after riding it for a good 79kms!

^^ I like your review Ken da, its sensible and simple and last but not the least a totally neutral review!

Ken da, I share the same feelings ... owning one for about 45 days now.

Incase you want to take one for some spin you feel free to do so on mine.

i have never liked modded bikes but this one... is kewl. and makes sense also in some ways. i wonder how my black 180ug3 with black R15 fairing would look like now? hmm... but that price tag is quite high. any other cheaper option available? but with the same good work?..

Finally, I got a chance to ride the R15 substantially, yesterday, for quite a long time and I really fell in love with that machine. So much so, that I felt a little uncomfortable getting back on the saddle of my P-200!

First impression on taking on the saddle was that this bike is SMALL; it really felt small as compared to my P-200. That was perhaps because the P-200's riding position is not as sporty as the R15 or probably because of some other factor but it really felt small. But eventually, this feeling just vanished as I started to ride the bike.

The machine is lovely, it goes well, it handles REALLY well round corners (whatever "corners" we have here in Delhi..) and brakes are an awesome combination of bite and progression. A light jab at the front lever is all it takes to cut down speeds even at mid line (while cornering) in triple digits, which according to me is absolutely phenomenal. The suspension is really well set up; it doesn't really transfer those pot-holes and bumps onto your back. The top speed I was able to hit was a mere 124km/hr. on top gear (6th gear), but that has more to do with the fact that the conditions were windy and I wasn't crouching at all, than anything else. Or may be I am not capable enough to wring the guts out of a machine! Who knows.

But, I am sure, with the conditions in favour, this machine will do a true 130+(??), as has been perhaps achieved by many xBhpians.

The only gripe I have with the machine, if any, is that it could've looked a little better (especially the rear part which is pure UGLY), but that is subjective, for sure. What doens't quite look attractive to me might look out of this world to somebody else.

Another thing which I was very apprehensive about were those puny tyres (the rear, specially). At first, like many here, I too thought that those tyres must be good for nothing but I was proved wrong and how! Those provide some of the best grip by any Indian motorcycle, and I mean it. I loved the stock tyres! People contemplating on a change, please detest!

Finally, it comes down to this - Will I buy this machine? Ummm..No, not really. Not until YAMAHA sorts out that rear and perhaps price this machine a little less. I strongly believe (inspite of the wonderful machine that the R15 is), that it is a little overpriced. Overall, I would say it is a very capable machine but 150 odd CCs just doesnt cut it for me - it might be liquid cooled, it might handle well (the R15 handles REALLY well), it might have all the techno-gadgetry in this world, it might even beat the crap out of every other bike in this country. But, at the end of the day it is JUST a 150cc mill under the hood...



P.S:
These are JUST my views, and I don't really mean to offend anyone out there (whether he/ she owns an R15 or is planning to get one or otherwise).

@Aryan: Your review says it all about the R15

The overpricing is because of the imported engine parts from Indonesian/japan, once they start manufacturing here the price would come down. I am also waiting for price to come down.. damn thing the spares are very costly

Nice write-up Aryan. Good Stuff. Would just like to correct you on the oil cooled front. The R15's engine is liquid cooled and not oil cooled. The engine is enclosed in a water jacket filled with coolant to keep its temp. in check.

My bad! Thanks..I stand corrected; guess I am pretty used to the Pulsars..

Thanks mate.

Nice ride review Aryan, short and sweet.