for cross winds slow down or crouch, nothing else works and i am not going to try all the above that has been discussed, i think ill kill myself or get seriously hurt.

OT :
I came across this term on XBHP itself "counter steering " ...watched a lot of videos and read the stuff available online, then applied it practically, worked well at 15 kmph in an empty parking lot, tried to apply it again at a quicker pace and got lovely bruise-marks that i can still showoff. Its the most overrated word in biking theory, forget about it and ride ! Everyone does it without realizing. Any one who has ridden a two wheeler has done it and does it on a regular basis. People who are being taught to ride a two wheeler may find it interesting. Remember riding your first bycle ? Turns were a little difficult werent they ? many fall down while turning, back then it might have been useful but now.

One year with my bike

Hello everyone. I wanted to write my experience about how i spent one year with my R-15 but after one year, i have realized something else.
I met with three accidents within this one year. One of them was major and other two were minor. But by Allah's grace i escaped in all three of them.
My realization after this year is really sad. My father and elder brother feel that they should not have brought me this bike. I feel like a loser that i am not expert enough to drive this bike. Sometimes even the thought of selling bike comes to my mind. But i love my bike very much.
So, I want to ask you: If any one has one or more accidents, does it mean that he is not fit enought for the bike???
I am really confused and sad. My confidence is down. Please give me suggestions so that i can drive safe and gain confidence in my driving.

Thank you OF sir!! Great to have a detailed explanation from you. The topic seems to make much more sense now.


@vkavadia: I think what you wanted to say was to lean into the wind (& not counter-steer into it).
Anyways, I think the below should put an end to our discussion:

Glad to know you are fine after the unfortunate accidents.

I think you need to look back at the accidents, & analyse what went wrong.
1) If it was your mistake, you need to work on correcting them by constant riding and practising. For instance, braking is one of the most important but often neglected riding skills. Only practice can make you perfect in this (or any other aspect of riding).
2) If it was someone else's mistake, you need to be more alert & vigilant while riding (these are things you can control). Riding a 2-wheeler requires more attention than driving a car, as you barely have a margin for error in case of a 2-wheeler.

You must not lose confidence. If your confidence is at rock bottom, I'd suggest you to go back to the drawing board, & start afresh. Begin slowly like you did when you learnt to ride a bike. Pick up speeds gradually, & in no time your confidence will be back.
Keep faith in yourself, and your respect and enthusiasm for motorcycling will help you overcome the odds, soon.

The R15 is an amazing machine, and your fondness for it will only grow with every passing day spent in riding it.

Do keep us posted on the developments.

Really? That's your conclusion after trying over a night and seeing some videos and trying in a parking lot? I'm not having an arguement of any sort. I agree, everybody does it sub-conciously. It's just your conclusion...
Sorry about the OT.

Thanks you very much for the reply. It was very motivating .
I will surely try my best to get back on track.

hmmm.. Well since such a senior rider bothered to come into the topic i guess i might be missing something.. maybe i AM leaning into the wind instead of counter steering..

I think i'll keep an eye out for it today... Try to see if i'm conciously/unconciously counter steering or not (although i could swear i do!!)

Thanks a lot OF sir!

@abhi_underdog: how did you try counter steering at 15kmph anyway? the effect of counter steering are realized only above 20kmph or so.. it just takes some practice. Give it some concious effort.. you'll get it.

Last post on this from my side coz it's going way too OT
Yes ! I realised that I was already doing it , pushing it led to the fall. And as i said before, teaching it to a person who has never ridden a two wheeler makes more sense.

To realize you have to drive slow maybe on a bicycle, and as i said before everyone is doing it already at normal speeds, doing it consciously at a slower speed will help one understand the concept better.

No more. Cheers !
Happy Riding !

Lots of discussion on riding in croswinds. I also meant to say, lean into the wind, not countersteer - thats was the wrong terminology to use.

Has anyone used aftermarket mirrors on the R15? I want one coz the OEM one is non foldable and causes lots of issues while parking. Every TD&H tend to brush past the mirror thereby misaligning it.

Well good for you brother, what I do in counter steer is slow down, crouch a bit and be ready for any wind gush...

OF Sir, thanks a ton, it has cleared everything

Sir you defined in the most minutest way one could have ever had.. kudos to you

thnaks once again you said it all Sir, specially in cross winds you have to be more vigil and alert.... and with a bike like R15 where you get slapped very badly with the strong winds, its better to slow down.....

No Anas17, one or few accidents should not shake anybody's confidence if he/she is planning to ride for his life. The only thing one should do is that learn from the accidents. Like how Tibby said... learn from it. My moto has been, if ever one feels something wrong with his/her riding, come down to basics. Lower down the general speed of your riding and follow the rules you had set for your riding - be it your posture, be it your acceleration, be it your braking, be it negotiating traffic and all.... and once when you feel that you have the confidence gradually increase the speed as per the limit.. and I am sure you will feel good about yourself and your bike... It is said that R15 is such a stable bike, that one needs to work to get this bike fall. So, all the best and keep riding,

Abhijeet can you post a pic of the aftermarket mirrors on R15 which you thinking to go ahead with. The OEM mirrors are designed in such a way so that at high speed the mirrors dont fold on its own. What i know is that any folding mirror after some usage will get loose and can fold on its own at high speed, which is not safe

I have no idea if something like these are available in India or not. Just wanted some pointers!

Dude, no need to worry i had my share of accidents and falls with my R15 but every time i had my fall i rose back and rode it again and practised more, In last 6 months i had one major accident where my left wrist was in fracture for one month and plus some minor which left bruises on me, but i love my machine the way it responds to me. I realised if you take your machine for granted it will toast you but again the R15 is very forgiving machine so learn the lesson and practice more and ride more, no need to do 3 digit speeds like others do.

Simple logic : ride in your own comfort zone.

Has someone ever tried the tyre hugger for the R15 because i remember that some guys were experimenting with it....i dont remember them ...!! And the yamaha site doesnt specify the racing hugger they previewed at the expo in there. No wonder why??

hey guys its been 20 days since i've been R'd and i noticed that the rear tyre tends to skid a lot under mid-hard braking.
on my first service i asked the mech to check the tyre pressure and he said its all right.
and today again i went fishtailing in front of speed brakers.
do you think i am a bit too harsh on the rear brake?
i used to ride a p180 before the r15 and am used to its rear drum brake, can that influence my riding?
whats the recommended tyre pressure for both the tyres?
P.S.- i follow 30-70 rear-front brake ratio and apply rear just before the front...

Congrats for getting the Rrr'd brother.. well I think you doing it wrong way, dont apply the rear brake before the front one, as the rear brake has a tendency to lock and hence you are fishtailing. the ratio of 70:30(front:rear) seems to be good. The front brake is more than enough, specially since you would be in the run-in period not pushing the bike above 5500rpm. So try it and let us know the tyre pressure recommended is 28front and 33rear psi respectively.

bigger rear tyres

guys can stock tyres be replace by bigger tyres wid stock rim ?????