Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

R3 is certainly not the jack of all trades.
I'll tell you why. (only based on the traffic riding part)

most of traffic requires you to be quick and agile.
when you are in slow traffic i.e., less than 30Kph the engine starts to heat up and the radiator fan kicks in.
This is where you realize that the temps are only going to increase if you go any slower.

once the engine is HOT, you reach a signal with no down counter.
You decide to shut down the bike. I used to use the key direct.
Turns out, the bike wanted to have the radiator fan ON.
Now the engine is even hotter.

The signal turns Green, people behind you are honking like mad men.
You turn the key, wait for the RPM needle to go to the end and come back. press the electric start and it fails to start the engine.
By now you are sweating and nervous, maybe slightly angry because of the people honking at the back.
To add to the misery, you have a sexy looking bike that fails to start faster than the 50k scooty next to you.

In your desperation you try again by turning the ignition OFF and ON again, the Bike starts and you take a breath of relief.
Off you go only to stop at the next signal.
Now you are too nervous to kill the ignition.
So you let the engine cook in its own heat. Slowly the heat bars go from 3 to 4. The signal is still god-damn RED and has no counter.
You sit there hoping that the Bike does not overheat and shut down.
Out of anger I give the throttle a gentle twist and get the bike to 3k rpm in Neutral.
What do I see, heat bars go down to 3 (o.O)

I keep the engine ON at all times from now till I reach home. Killing the engine only if the radiator fan is off when I stop.

Things that I learned.
Keep this baby running above 30Kph
Don't take her in traffic, if you do, make sure its mild and you stop on the left side of the road to tackle any starting problems.

As per the manual, the bike needs to be in rotation so Do not coast in neutral or clutch if the engine is off.
keep the RPM up to 3K from time to time to keep the heat in control.

You do not need to wait for the RPM needle to go to the end and return to start the Bike, you can start the bike as soon as you turn the key.

There is nothing Wrong with the bike, its just not made for Indian traffic.

I've not driven a Duke, so I cannot tell.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

For me it's lot better than duke 390 in terms of heat management, i have been riding R3 on all types of traffic this summer but it doesn't heats up as badly as my duke used to heat up. Till now happy with the bike in all aspects.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Completed 5K on the ODO and the second service. Changed Oil(2.2 ltr), Oil filter, Air filter. No heat issues or any such issues mentioned in the last few posts. I use R3 for commute and drive through mad Mumbai traffic(I sold my Fazer after I got used to R3 for daily use).
Yet to see the 5th heat bar. The radiator fan is very silent and I hardly notice it with lid on.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Some pics of me n my ride [emoji4]

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences


Are you referring to the "first gen" duke or the later model with the re routed air flow from the radiator? Asking to get a point of reference. I was very much interested with this bike until the sales rep opened her mouth. I'm a really curious guy. My 390 and a TNT 300 are the only bike I got a TD of. The benelli simply was too heavy and too expensive to maintain. The tall gearing of the 390 restrict it to 2nd if going below 30 kmph! That is the one thing I hate about my bike, knocking at slower speeds and the jerky throttle response at around 3.5k to 4.5k rpm. Please forgive if this is OT, I'm not comparing the bikes, simply using the only reference point I have to understand this bike. Gotta have an answer when a friend eventually asks me if I'd recommend the R3. 😅

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I had july 2014 batch duke 390, faced several problems like twice radiator fan changed, thrice thermostats changed and last one was coolant mixing with engine oil & abs sensor went kaput. I was tired of going SVC every now and then. R3 is more calm compared to duke you can easily be at 3rd gear at 30kmph, Service cost is also ok.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Duke has a single cylinder engine and its a vibrator.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I have ridden R3 in all conditions. heavy traffic in Bangalore, highways,ghat sectionand the 3 tracks in India. I never had any over heating problem. A liquid cooled engine will heat up and fan will switch on , that is natural and its how it is designed. Compared to other 300s R3 is much cooler. And about agility, R3 is as agile as R15 in traffic(it all depends how u ride a big bike). Don't take ur bike in traffic during running in period.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

My review of R3 at 18K kms

Going through this thread after a real long time and lots of things going on...

Well, as of now, I've ridden my R3 the most in India with ODO at 18K kms and due to huge work pressure and superb summer heat of B'Lore have stopped riding for the last two months almost with seldom rides and here's my take on the bike:

Overall Feeling

The bike is a jack of all trades, provided you know how to handle the bike correctly. Some have said that it's not but trust me it's not the case. So if you're planning for a R3 go ahead and ride it for yourself rather than relying on some baseless inputs from anyone.

Handling

The bike handles really well in traffic and I'm happy with it's handling. I'm coming from a R15V2 which is said to be the best handling bike within 150cc segment and some bigger bike also if we keep the RCs out of equation, and still say that know your R3 and know how to handle it, again, before saying that it can't go past traffic easily. Further more, if you fold the mirrors then you can put many commuter bikes and 50K scooters to shame in traffic.

Heating - as it's summer in India

City Use

It's a twin 321cc engine and yes it'll heat up for obvious reasons as there are two pistons so obviously heat generated will be more. People used to drive normal air-cooled, single cylinder commuter bikes should keep all these in mind before commenting on the heat section. D390, RC390, N300 all gets heated up in these extreme atmospheric heat and it is quite normal. I would say the way R3 handles the heat is really good. The fan is really silent and you've to notice carefully to understand if it's running. Also, as the bike has got a bigger engine, it needs air for the radiator to cool down the heated engine, which it does extremely well anyhow.

For people. who're thinking that R3 will be behave exactly like their air cooled commuter bike should keep in mind this is a liquid cooled bike with an engine kill switch which is there for a purpose. It's not their earlier bikes where you switch off the ignition. So the correct whole procedure is switch off the engine kill switch first and then turn it on. Though the headlight will still be on. You may turn off the ignition and switch it on again but the bike will start without any issues whatsoever. So people, please don't preach your wrong understanding of the bike's functions.

Highway Use

Heating?? What heating??

Engine, Gearbox & Clutch

The engine is a gem. Truly. The gear shifts are so good and once you get to higher RPMs you're gonna gave a big grin inside your helmet all the time. As all know, the bike pulls from almost as low as 2.5K RPM but after 7K RPM there's a subtle punch which you'll feel and at 9K RPM that feeling just amplifies. Nothing to complain at all about the engine and even gearbox. Both are perfect and no complaints whatsoever. Clutch is light when thinking about the engine and can be adjusted as per your needs, as we all know that. Overall I'm too much happy with this section.

Looks

Personal opinion - It can be a head turner if someone knows about the bike and it can be a R15 if someone doesn't. For me it's beautiful with an awesome set of eyes, sorry headlights.

Headlights

One of the most striking components of R3. Very good throw of light with good area covered and give you enough visibility to decide on your braking.On good highways, the headlights, on high beam, extend approx up to 100-120 ft, good for going at 100-110 kmph. Even the low beam has a good spread and the beam lightens up the central part and not like R15 where only one side gets illuminated. I'm too happy with the stock lights and am now more confident about night riding.

Brakes

Brakes are definitely very good and have a real good bite. R3 brakes have given me confidence and as a mostly touring user I'm really happy with the brakes. Not any extra words except the brakes are good and and really confidence inspiring and quite enough for a bike weighing 170 kgs.

Tires

Change them as fast as you can. MRF stock ones are not good and not sticky at all. Not recommended that much and try to get a better set of tires. MRF is building a new stock tire with much softer compound which is much good than the stock one, as I'm using it for test purposes and provided by MRF only to record my feedback, but it's not yet available in the shops as of now. Wait till sometime if you're planning for MRF only else other makes are readily available. For the stock ones, I will say heat it up well, I mean very well, and then they can do wonders actually.

Seating Posture\Seats

Another awesome feature of R3 is the seating posture. I did some long tours on my R15V2 and R3 is like a boon for me. I did Kolkata-B'lore in 2 days, first day rode for around 1100 kms till Rajahmundhry and next day the remaining 870 kms to B'lore and I'm still quite OK to go to office the very next day. With my R15V2 it would have been impossible both to attend office and to do Kolkata-B'lore in two days only. So be assured you'll not be tired.

Seats could have been more comfy but then I'm not complaining. If you're riding your bike for 27-28 hours you can't/shouldn't complain about the comfort. Pillion seat is definitely much more comfortable than R15V2. I did Goa also early Oct, 2015 with a pillion and she never complained about the seats. Actually, before this ride she never went out for long rides, and she didn't complain after the long 1450 kms round trip and that too 400 kms in torrential rains, where sitting actually hurts a lot.

Mileage

Now coming to one of the most 'kitna deti hain' wala question. In city, I hardly got above 24-25 kmpl no matter how well I ride. In the highways, in between 95-115 kmph, sixth gear, I got around 34 kmpl with a tank range, before hitting reserve, close to 360 kms. With a speed range till 105 kmph the bike was returning 35-36 kmpl. Though I didn't check the tank range in particular as I was filling as soon it hit the single bar mark but still it's not before 320 kms. Once I tried to find out how much mileage the bike will give if I do 85-95 kmph, sixth gear, and the bike didn't hit reserve even after 382 kms and I'm sure if I continued it would've easily given till 400 kms.

RVMs

Not a good visibility but very well built.

Vibes

A big deal of discussion going through existing R3 owners nowadays. Some are having vibes in their R3s which can lead to hand numbness if ridden for long times. My bike, and some other friends here in B'lore, doesn't have this issue. I had it once when fuelled up from an unknown petrol bunk and my left hand got numb but once that fuel got over the vibes disappeared. Also the stock engine oil is not good for a bike like this and I would suggest people changing to better oils after or at 5K ODO. I'm now using Motul 7100 10W40, and whatever very minimum and acceptable vibes I had in my bike, reduced considerably further. But for those who're having the vibes, still now there has been no exact root cause of issue that has been found and analysis is still going on.

Swaying

There's another issue in some people's bikes where the bike sways to left when the handle bars are left alone. My bike, again with some owners, don't have this issue so can't say much about it. I can say this much that Yamaha is actually working on this to get thing sorted out.

Maintenance

R3 is actually cheaper to maintain than my R15 till now as it has a longer service interval, double of R15, and the spare parts are also very well priced and lasts long if ridden correctly. My brake pads still have around 30 - 40% life left at 18K ODO and the chain & sprockets have around 50-60% left at 18K ODO. So, lesser maintenance cost.

Recommendations:

I would recommend every one to stick to the recommended grading only as mentioned in the manual
Manual says to change air and oil filter at every 10K kms. My suggestion change oil filter with every oil change and change air filter every 5K kms keeping in mind the awesome dust of India.

Other Recommendations:

Fork oil to be changed at every 10K kms, as per manual.
Swingarm bush, both wheel bearing and cone-set greasing to be done every 10K kms, manual says at 10k, 15K and 20K kms respectively but I will recommend to grease all three at one go at every 10K kms.

So, this has been my brief overview on the R3, tested on my R3 only, till now. Ride it to understand it. I'm sure it'll bring a wide grin to you.

And guys new to this thread or thinking about buying R3, go to a showroom, test ride it and then decide. Don't just keep listening/following to posts here which can be very much misleading some times as people posting them don't have a clue about the bike only.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Nice Review Arnab. Too much negativity around here for such an awsome bike. I would second on all the points mentioned by you.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Thanks Arnab for the awesome review. You have covered all the important points one should know before buying R3.

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

Just a small side note.

Actually, there isn't too much negativity for this bike. It's actually glad to see the mixed bag of reviews, and it's good.
If you'll observe closely, almost entire thread length of topics, reviews and what not have all been churned out by users themselves, as opposed to wannabes who clutter the thread. It's in how we take those inputs, some like, some don't. Not everyone would like to ride a horse and not everyone whose never seen a horse will start hating it to see someone riding it. There is a fine line, and that's what makes threads like these, kind of like, salt and pepper both bring the best of stew.

Cheers!
VJ

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

The first well informed and logical long term review of the bike's pros and cons of on this thread .
Keep up the work

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

I agree with you on your points. But this thread is becoming a complaint centre for the bike. Logical and valid complaints are completely ok and very much welcome as those will unearth the issues and help others in getting ready or preventing them. But the complaints like bike not getting started or not handling well or heating issues are not correct or valid as people are actually comparing the bike with commuter single cylinder bikes. I guess you'll also agree that comparing an oil-cooled faired bike of higher cc with an air-cooled commuter bike of lower cc is not at all a valid point but then saying that the bike is heating up very much, without saying that other bikes of the same category also heating up more, is wrong and misleading. If some point has to be made then make it a complete one. Some posts I've seen here are actually misinformed or misguiding posts and thus people, who don't have any other source to find out about the bike, are getting a complete misconception about the bike and it's issues, which should be stopped. That's the negativity we're talking about.

Hope you agree !!

Re: Yamaha YZF R3 Owners Reviews and Experiences

What's wise is to give heed to the user reviews themselves, because the reviews are directly coming from the users themselves, opinions. But rest, I think I will have to give it to you, it's completely common sense and you're correct. What's getting confused in this thread is not negativity, it's the users' inability to either get attuned to the bike or they simply go overboard. Something like macaroni and cheese pizza, looks good, you go by the reviews, you buy, the moment you keep it in your mouth it's spit or swallow moment, and some swallow with a hard smile on their face and some just barf, both are unique reviews, by different users for the same product.

18k review is up and hope to see users discern practical insight.

Cheers!
VJ