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Greetings fellow xBhpians,
After almost an year if ownership, I think I qualify to jot down this experience I've had so far with this old steed. Diving right into the story, I got the bike from Alappuzha, after much contemplation due to the resistance I got from my family and a few friends. I'd owned a 2016 R15S before that and other than a few short rides here and there on a few rx100/135s, I had no clue about 2 strokes, let alone vintage motorcycles. So I did what seemed the best at the time, I boarded a bus to Alappuzha from my place, and without even having sat on a Yezdi before, I paid in full and rode it all the way from Kayamkulam, Alappuzha to Aluva, Ernakulam. The bike was running on points, which was a concern as I was completely trusting the owner who said it had been adjusted right before, but thankfully the bike never acted up ever. 20 Kms into the ride, the clutch lever loosened and the clutch wouldn't engage completely even when I pulled it all the way in. Few mishaps like launching it into an open gutter on the roadside and banging into a car's rear bumper did happen, but eventually that was sorted before I got home.
Couple days later, I left for Wayanad to get the points converted to CDI, popping into every scrapyard on my way there, looking for a KB100 stator coil (required for a project CDI build which was planned to be done). A week later, 3 of us (me and my friends, all having Yezdis and getting it converted at the same time) we rode down the valley and left for Mysore for some parts scrounging ( which is kind of essential as you can't expect to find parts for it where it may break down). I preferred to keep the stock look, without the indicators or horn but the others went ahead and loaded up their rides all the way.
Left Mysore a day later towards Bangalore for some work and then towards Theni via Mysore again. Rode to most places in Tamil Nadu and a few places in Southern Karnataka within a time frame of 2 months, give or take. And through all these reckless rides, all that ever went wrong with the bikes was, mine lost the RH exhaust flute and one of my friend snapped a throttle cable.
Then came Covid-19 and the country went into a state of lock-down and so did we, quarantined at home because we were in Kodai then. The bikes weren't touched for 28 days and when they were they started right up.
Then, the bike started going through it's mid life crisis or something as everything started breaking down. Things I didn't even know existed, or even thought were essential. Like for instance, the crank pin shaved off due to the play in the mag once and as the mag wasn't rotating with the crank anymore, it didn't fire up. Now to untrained eyes, the absence of a crank pin is almost impossible to spot, yet that was the one part that made your bike run the way it is supposed to. So, I did what I should've done earlier, I started to learn to work on the bike. Starting with things like complete disassembly and assembly ( something that comes in the manual step by step) to fine tuning things that needed attention. WFH left me with a lot of time in hand and with the help of a few generous mechs and enthusiasts I somehow had the balls to open things up on the bike.
Even though it doesn't really face issues regularly, when it does, it's a pain in the place where the sun don't shine. But, eventually, I've started enjoying the process of troubleshooting the motorcycle, trying to find the issue and then figuring out a way to solve it. Thankfully, nothing serious ( from the engine) has happened so far, so I'm good as of now. That being said, the bike does face hiccups, which modern day motorcycle owners may classify as serious problems. I broke my crank pin, snapped my clutch cable, slipped the chain more than a few times but all you gotto do is repair it on the go. Sure, it's not very convenient when you're on the way to a job interview or some major function, but that's just the way these bikes are. The more you learn about the bike, the less you need to take it to the mechanic.
Believe it or not, I keep thinking of selling it off every now and then when the responsible adult in me wakes up, but then I swing a leg over it and take it for a spin.
In conclusion, no way is it a practical bike to own today, the FE is complete BS, the performance isn't all that amusing, at least when you compare it to the bike of today; people choke and pull over when you're riding in front of them, and my neighbor keeps cursing me because I wake her 2 yo every single time I start it. But this still holds value for some people who are still basking in the glory of the heydays of these old steeds, and I am one unabashedly one of them.
After almost an year if ownership, I think I qualify to jot down this experience I've had so far with this old steed. Diving right into the story, I got the bike from Alappuzha, after much contemplation due to the resistance I got from my family and a few friends. I'd owned a 2016 R15S before that and other than a few short rides here and there on a few rx100/135s, I had no clue about 2 strokes, let alone vintage motorcycles. So I did what seemed the best at the time, I boarded a bus to Alappuzha from my place, and without even having sat on a Yezdi before, I paid in full and rode it all the way from Kayamkulam, Alappuzha to Aluva, Ernakulam. The bike was running on points, which was a concern as I was completely trusting the owner who said it had been adjusted right before, but thankfully the bike never acted up ever. 20 Kms into the ride, the clutch lever loosened and the clutch wouldn't engage completely even when I pulled it all the way in. Few mishaps like launching it into an open gutter on the roadside and banging into a car's rear bumper did happen, but eventually that was sorted before I got home.
Couple days later, I left for Wayanad to get the points converted to CDI, popping into every scrapyard on my way there, looking for a KB100 stator coil (required for a project CDI build which was planned to be done). A week later, 3 of us (me and my friends, all having Yezdis and getting it converted at the same time) we rode down the valley and left for Mysore for some parts scrounging ( which is kind of essential as you can't expect to find parts for it where it may break down). I preferred to keep the stock look, without the indicators or horn but the others went ahead and loaded up their rides all the way.
Left Mysore a day later towards Bangalore for some work and then towards Theni via Mysore again. Rode to most places in Tamil Nadu and a few places in Southern Karnataka within a time frame of 2 months, give or take. And through all these reckless rides, all that ever went wrong with the bikes was, mine lost the RH exhaust flute and one of my friend snapped a throttle cable.
Then came Covid-19 and the country went into a state of lock-down and so did we, quarantined at home because we were in Kodai then. The bikes weren't touched for 28 days and when they were they started right up.
Then, the bike started going through it's mid life crisis or something as everything started breaking down. Things I didn't even know existed, or even thought were essential. Like for instance, the crank pin shaved off due to the play in the mag once and as the mag wasn't rotating with the crank anymore, it didn't fire up. Now to untrained eyes, the absence of a crank pin is almost impossible to spot, yet that was the one part that made your bike run the way it is supposed to. So, I did what I should've done earlier, I started to learn to work on the bike. Starting with things like complete disassembly and assembly ( something that comes in the manual step by step) to fine tuning things that needed attention. WFH left me with a lot of time in hand and with the help of a few generous mechs and enthusiasts I somehow had the balls to open things up on the bike.
Even though it doesn't really face issues regularly, when it does, it's a pain in the place where the sun don't shine. But, eventually, I've started enjoying the process of troubleshooting the motorcycle, trying to find the issue and then figuring out a way to solve it. Thankfully, nothing serious ( from the engine) has happened so far, so I'm good as of now. That being said, the bike does face hiccups, which modern day motorcycle owners may classify as serious problems. I broke my crank pin, snapped my clutch cable, slipped the chain more than a few times but all you gotto do is repair it on the go. Sure, it's not very convenient when you're on the way to a job interview or some major function, but that's just the way these bikes are. The more you learn about the bike, the less you need to take it to the mechanic.
Believe it or not, I keep thinking of selling it off every now and then when the responsible adult in me wakes up, but then I swing a leg over it and take it for a spin.
In conclusion, no way is it a practical bike to own today, the FE is complete BS, the performance isn't all that amusing, at least when you compare it to the bike of today; people choke and pull over when you're riding in front of them, and my neighbor keeps cursing me because I wake her 2 yo every single time I start it. But this still holds value for some people who are still basking in the glory of the heydays of these old steeds, and I am one unabashedly one of them.
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