Bike Reviews in India

A fantastic dual-purpose bike is finally here!
The long wait is over

We have ridden the Hero Impulse and are glad to say that we have liked it! Hero MotoCorp has taken a bold step of launching proper dual-purpose bike for the first time in India and they haven’t gone wrong with it at all.

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The bike is powered by a 149.2cc air-cooled, 2-valves engine that produces 13.2 PS peak power and 13.4 Nm peak torque. The bike’s geometry looks promising for off-roading action. Here are some details from the Hero Impulse. For a complete first ride review, wait and watch for the BIKE India November 2011 issue!

Good quality plastics and bright colours make the Impulse an impressive looker	Mount for saddle bags is a good thought for the tourers
LEDs for the taillights look amazing	The 149.2cc engine delivers linear and smooth power

A great stunting machine with its light front end and good bottom end torque

All about the new R15

 

How Does Version 2.0 Look?
It’s sharper and more aggressive in overall styling. This is the result of excellent implementation of the feedback received from the customers. The R15 now takes a number of cues from the R125 and a few from the R6. This basically applies to the new tail-piece that incorporates an LED tail-light and a split seat. There is a wider rear tyre, a radial one from MRF that measures 130/70-R17 and in front an upsized 90/80-R17. There is a new mid-cowl that is wider and suits the wide nose of the R15 better now. There is a new rear tyre hugger and a tinted visor too. As a whole, the bike looks more muscular and aggressive than before.

Anything More Than Styling?
Yes. An excellent aluminium swing-arm has replaced the basic steel one. The new swing-arm is 55 millimetres longer than the old one, increasing the wheelbase. The seat height has been raised from 790 mm to 800 mm, making the revised R15 a little taller than the original. The bike looks superb with its new tail-piece and split seat, which will attract more attention. But it also entails a lot of pain for the pillion rider, as he/she will sit much higher and on a narrower seat. Yamaha have incorporated a few changes into the R15’s ECU mapping too, and claim better response to the throttle input, making the power and torque delivery linear than before. However, do not expect this to reflect in the output figures, which remain the same at the same revs as the earlier R15.

How Does It Ride?
To start with, the 55mm longer wheelbase offers a little additional mid-corner stability in case you hang off the bike more. The elongated wheelbase has taken away the sharpness and high agility from the motorcycle while turning in, but, at the same time, added a little forgiveness in case your riding style is such that you hang off the seat excessively while cornering. Yamaha claims improved acceleration and top speed, but we have to wait for the complete road test to match the figures.
Yamaha have retained the power and torque output from the earlier version. We noticed a huge 47-tooth sprocket at the rear (as against a 42-tooth one in the earlier version), but then we also noticed that the overall gearing has been maintained as before. The new bigger sprocket has been used to compensate for the bigger tyres. Thus, there isn’t any noticeable change in the in-gear speeds of the R15 version 2.0.

Here are some of the highlights of the Yamaha R15 v2.0:

1. New styling
a. Middle cowl
b. Tail-piece and LED tail-light
c. Split seat
d. Wider tyre
e. New tyre hugger
f. Tinted visor

2. New parts
a. Aluminium swing-arm
b. Bigger rear disc
c. Bigger mounting for front disc

3. Internal changes
a. Modified ECU
b. Throttle body

Photography: Sanjay Raikar