Yamaha Rs 15- ready for a mid –life makeover

The tech-laden, performance-oriented motorcycle is ready for a facelify, reports Amit Chhangani

IT’S been more than two and a half years since amaha launched their R15 motorcycle in India. The performance- oriented bike, with its liquid cooled engine, forged piston, rising rate mono-suspension and an array of other technological firsts made the rest of the bikes in the market look almost obsolete. And the technology translated from paper to performance as well! The R15, with its superior handling and great engine beat several bigger 200cc motorcycles in India around the racetrack.

Two and a half years on, there seem to be a need for an upgrade. The top performance honours have been snatched by the Bajaj- Kawasaki Ninja 250R. But the bigger threat comes from the soon to be introduced Honda CBR250R. The new Honda 250 is expected to be priced between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs - 1.8 lakh, which not only is much closer to the R15’ s price tag, but is substantially more powerful too.

Responding to the competition, amaha have readied a new, refreshed version of the R15 and will be launching it in January 2011. Some of our readers managed to click the pictures of the new bike when it was being tested on the highway, and it seems like with the new version amaha India have addressed the grouses of a majority of R15 fans.
Anirban Chaudhary, one of our avid readers, a bike enthusiast by passion and a graphic artist by profession ( he calls his firm ASP Art) has come up with the rendered images of the new bike based on the test bike pictures. Through the renderings, Anirban has made an effort to bring to life the 2011 amaha R15 much before its official launch.

We must, however, add that the rendered images are developed using vague pictures of an on- test bike and are not the official representation of the motorcycle by amaha Motor India.

The 2011 R15 may look slightly different from the images here when it gets officially launched.

In the latest version, the new R15 looks more proportionate and balanced than earlier, and should address the concerns of those who found the earlier version very ‘ slim and low’ from the rear.

Nothing drastically new is expected from the new bike in terms of engine and mechanicals. However, there will be a whole lot of visual changes. For example, the rear tyres, which were earlier slimmer for better acceleration, have been replaced by fatter rubber for a more imposing stance. The height of the pillion seat has been increased and the new version will now incorporate a step seat unlike the earlier model’s single seat. The changes are based on customer feedback that the company received when they went to the amaha fanboys in search of some insights.

The 2011 version of the R15 also features a pair of really snazzy looking 5 spoke ( actually 10, if you count a pair as 2) alloys, a high pillion seat and LED tail lamps. The new, 2011 amaha R15 will be launched in January 2011. Price is expected to remain unchanged and deliveries will start a month after the launch.