Dude open the MRF site and lodge a complaint with them, as i also replaced my tyres when i had got 6 punctures within a short span of 4000 kms. Hope you have not toasted the tyre by doing burnouts or something like that as that voids the warranty.

After spending close to a year with the stock R15 and with 20,000km on the ODO, I was beginning to look for bigger thrills. the Ninja seemed very enticing except for the hefty price tag. Was browsing my options on the net when I happened to read KwokFist's and Abhimanyu's reviews again. Suddenly convinced myself that spending on the parts would work out much better than investing in a new bike itself. Immediately bombarded poor Joel with SMS's askin him when I could come over and buy the parts. He responded promptly and I headed there first thing in the morning.

Joel's got this first-rate mech who dis-assembled the bore in no time at all! Was quite impressed.. He told me he's done these mods to 1000s of bikes. Does anyone need any more reassurance? lots of bikes running on Joe's mods with no complaints! So, got the big-bore kit fitted, while I had a good chat with Mr. Fieroid about the mod scene in India and how he became a tuner. Is an interesting person to talk to!

Poured in mineral oil that i'd brought along and I was off. Could immediately feel the difference in low-end power! Joel had instructed me to keep it under 6k rpm for abt 500km, and frankly I didn't feel the need to rev beyond.. The bike pulled so EFFORTLESSLY! yes thats the word to describe it. the engine note had turned a little gruntier, which I was enjoying, plus riding in Bangalore's hellish traffic was much much more enjoyable. The bike did feel a lil vibey in the beginning, but that was only because of the tight new engine. Now it is really smooth and rev-happy!

I rode about 250km in the first two days of owning the bore, and then decided to ride to Hyderabad to meet a buddy. So on a Friday evening I changed the oil to a mineral one again, tightened and lubed the chain, fuelled-up and set off for Hyd. Yes, on a 250km old bore. I rode at moderate speeds of 70 - 80kmph as I didnt want to stress the new parts. Kept modulating engine rpms to run-in the engine properly. After riding for 300km, I took a break for 15 mins, and then slowly began increasing speeds. I must mention here that highway riding is a breeze as you dont need to get lower than 6th gear, even if you slow down to 35 - 40 kmph. The bike will pull smoothly and effortlessly. Again I didnt do very high speeds coz of the new bore, so touched a max speed of 110 kmph on one stretch, and got back to cruising between 80-90kmph (Bike felt smoothest at this speed too). reached Hyderabad in 8 hours and was surprised to find that I still had some gas in the tank! Hyd is about 576km one way! Rode another 10km in the city and filled fuel again as I didnt want the bike to die out on me. So that translates into almost49kmpl!!! Was thrilled to bits!

Rode back to Bangalore with my friend as pillion on Sunday night. With rider+pillion+2 HUGE bags and speeds of 100+ almost constantly we still got a very acceptable 35kmpl! With this ride to Hyd and back, my run-in was done and I immediately changed my oil filter and oil (Agip fully Synth). Continued enjoying the bike for my daily commute to work and also on my weekend tours. Now comes the interesting part..

Met two friends of mine for chai late at night. We were riding alongside each other and chatting, my two buddies on a Pulsar 220S and me on my R165. We reached one of our favourite stretches of tarmac and my friend winked at me and took off, being fully used to the P220's power I accelerated too, but not WOT since I knew my bike wouldn't keep up, but surprise of surprises!! My bike felt equally fast and I found I was closing the distance on him really fast! I pulled alongside my friend, he gave me a surprised look, downshifted and pulled away only to have me catch up and fly past! Boy, was he surprised! He vented his surprise during our chai session and wanted to drag, saying that him riding wit a pillion was why I outstripped his 220. I agreed, we headed to a desolate stretch and let loose all the horses under our seats.. Did one.. the two.. then three 1/4 mile runs, and I was beating him by almost 3-4 bike lengths! My friend went home VERY disappointed that night never expecting a R15, or rather a R165 to beat his P220 so easily.

After this, I was very thrilled with my bike and wanted to test it's limits. Did a top speed run on the N.I.C.E road. In stock form, my bike used to do a top whack of 145kmph. This time found I was able to touch 148kmph! May not sound like much of a difference, that's because the difference lies in how quickly and easily the bike reaches there. In stock form, the bike wouldn't pull past 125kmph without me crouching. On the big-bore I managed upto 138kmph before the wind became too much to bear and I crouched to hit the highest speed my bike ever clocked - 148km/hr! I wanted a touring setup, and this was awesome coz I could now cruise at 120-130kmph without having to 'sleep on the tank'..!

Now I had the big-bore and the Simota filter that I'd bought a few months ago, realised that I needed the exhaust, cam and ECU to make this a full Stage-I R165. Hardly a month of running this setup and I'm itching to get the rest of these parts. This is a statutory warning Joel MUST put on his parts "These parts contained herein are evil, and will provoke you to push the speed envelope on a constant and thrilling basis"

I heard from Joel that he will be setting up a proper workshop soon, to make it easier for people buy and enjoy. Was thrilled to know that the site of the proposed workshop was quite close to my house! He also said he might have a fully kitted-up R165 for people to demo and get a taste of the monster that can be unleashed on their stock babies.

Great things are happening within the biking world in India. As more companies are looking at India as a market for their big bikes, and with world-class tuners such as Joel, the situation will only get better and better. Kudos to you man, and keep the parts comin!

ohk thanks bro..

Good to know you're having fun.

& not intending to be rude, please start a new thread for this.

& yes, stop visiting this thread now on. You don't have an R15 any longer.

Tibby...!! Rest of the components are pure R-15 na, so I still belong here!

Other R-165 owners, lets team up and start a R-165 Ownership Thread. I hope it goes down well with the moderators!

My intention of posting this here is for other R15 members to read about stuff that can be done to our babies to make em much more fun to ride.. And with availability of bolt-on parts courtesy Joel, people looking for more power need not upgrade to a newer bike! Think about it, it works out cheaper to upgrade our R15s rather than buying a brand-new bike, plus we get to keep the bike that introduced most of us to world-class biking quality.

The chassis and riding dynamics are capable of handling so much, that there's no harm in trying to get the most out of this wonderful piece of machinery. The new upcoming R15 will give us the wider tyres we need. Btw, not everyone is looking for the tyres just for looks. Personally I want a set of wider tyres on my bike for the added stability over broken surfaces that the stock tyre tram-lines on.. And the added weight will aid stability in crosswinds and high speed riding.

Other than this, all of us should just take our bikes out when the roads are desolate and just riiiiiiide to experience the same smile we had when we first went WOT on our R15s. It is a beautiful machine, something that is your partner on the road.. I never feel alone when i'm out on a long ride, its me and my buddy, taking on the road as ONE.

~Cheers, Ride safe & Ride long.

How much did it cost u?

+1. This bike really talkes to the rider all the time. One never feels lonely.

PM Joel for the pricing of performance upgrades. Value for money is what I feel.

+1000 Awesome bike man.. Couldn't be happier!

i got break pad changed day before yesterday.

Hi Guys,

I want a Tank pad for my R-15 [blue].
where can I get a decent one in Delhi NCR esp. Noida??

do let me know if anyone has some info.

No, you don't belong here. This thread is for R15, not R15 spare-parts.

There is no special tankpad for the R15, except the one being sold for INR 700 by Yamaha.

For online purchases in India, check out PlanetDSG : Motorcycle Riding Gear, Accessories, Apparel and..
For purchase in Delhi/ Noida, you will get best response if you post in the Delhi g2g thread.

Ouch! Lets settle this on the black-top brotha..

I wonder if those new add-ons can be used on our existing old ones...

Used R15

Hey Guys,

I am getting a 2008 R15 which has run 15k kms for Rs.70,000. Is the price? Please suggest.