Till date the R15 has not lost its charm and is still a head turner on any road. It is the sports bike that’s instantly recognized and ever since its introduction, everyone’s been asking for a bigger engine, which the company has not paid any mind to.

However the YZF-R15 has been accused of having thin tires, poor response at lower rpm and lack of any style at the rear section. Three years into its launch Yamaha, it seems, has finally decided to refresh the YZF-R15.

It all started when the first spy images of an odd-looking R15 were posted on the internet. The test mule was spotted repeatedly and the final product’s image in production form without any camouflage arrived soon after.

So what’s different in the new YZF-R15?

To begin with I don’t expect the new R15 to have drastically different engine specs. However this is my hunch and nothing can be taken for granted until the final version is made official. Why would Yamaha increase the horsepower when the game is moving to the 250cc category? Instead of increasing the power and torque of the 150cc and missing out on fuel economy, Yamaha could bring a 250cc and position it above the R15.

By looking closely at the spy shot, it becomes obvious that Yamaha has performed significant changes to the cosmetics of the bike.

The design of the new R15 has been designed by the man who did the YZF-R125. The entire rear section appears to have been carried over from the R125 and this includes the alloy wheel design. The split rear pillion seat with a raised stance makes the bike sportier. The tail light has been redesigned as well and expect it to have LEDs embedded in them. If you look carefully at the images you will notice that the rear grab rails have been omitted. The rear number plate and the rear indicator set looks very similar to the YZF-R125.

The exhaust system sports a new design which to me feels like an ordinary effort. Since it is a new exhaust, expect it to serve you with better acceleration. But the biggest disappointment to me has been the rear wheel hugger which is the ink mark on the designer shirt.

Since most of the images have been of the side profile, it is hard to guess the fatness of the rear tire. The tire size is the most hotly debated topic among Yamaha fan boys. The engine has received a matt black treatment, along the lines of the Pulsar.

Coming to the front half of the bike I don’t see many changes except for the newly designed side panels with fancy graphics. The handle bar, the instrument console and the ignition area looks the same. If Yamaha could enhance the aspects we’ve discussed here, even marginally, without a drastic price increase, the new R15 should do better than the current model.

As of now the launch date or the price for the new R15 is not known.

The big question is will Yamaha reserve the launch for the Auto Expo 2012? Whenever it is I hope Yamaha has done the homework and eliminated weaknesses of the previous model.

Rendering sourced from – Motoroids.com

A new concept called “Race” from Thai tuners Ride IT is in the design and development phase in where are pondering over giving the CBR250R a thorough makeover. The new paint and sticker job could just be stage 1 of the tuning operation.

They have also used light weight carbon fiber wherever possible and equipped the bike with an all new exhaust. The entire stickering and the rear seat cover makes the bike fit for display on a racing track.

It would not be a bad idea if HMSI seek some ideas from these concept models and introduce one in the Indian market. After all no one minds an extra option specially in our country where products sell more because of their looks rather than the capabilities.

Coming back to the Honda CBR250R in India I’m yet to see one on road yet. I’m glad that at least one bike manufacturer has taken this step of introducing a 250cc bike while keeping the price within the range of most of the people.

But soon after the launches Yamaha fans realized both models deserved larger engines with better power and torque figures which would have complemented their looks well. Some felt Yamaha had chosen fuel economy over power, right from the company’ and industry’s perspective, but criminal according to Yamaha aficionados who seek thrill even when commuting for a carton of milk.

In order to fulfill this breed of young customers Yamaha tried out the Daytona kits for both R15 and FZ16 but there were not road legal and were reserved for racing tracks. Soon after other after-market racing and performance enhancement kits came by but none are impressive as Race Concepts’ package.

Race Concepts will be launching a Big Bore kit for the FZ16 which enhances the cubic capacity of the bike to almost 20% making it a 180cc motorcycle. On top of the Big Bore Kit a free flow muffler increases power by 10-15%. The combination of the Big Bore Kit and the free flow muffler raises overall torque and power figures by 30%.

Joel Joseph, the founder of RaceConcepts and the man behind these performance enhancement kits has also tried to improve the fuel efficiency of the FZ16.

If demand for performance kits on Yamaha R15 improves, will Yamaha offer factory-installed kits for the FZ16 and R15 in the future?

Source – RaceConcepts.in

What are the features on the TVS Max4R LX?

Few points to talk about on this motorcycle are the mobile charger point, tougher body and well cushioned seat. The mobile charger facility is a very handy feature of this bike as we all know how important mobile phones have become in our life. For a vendor who is always on the move, this is very useful.

What are the interesting bits on the Max4R LX’ construction?

Apart from this TVS has ensured that most body parts are made of steel instead of fiber or soft plastics. Rear indicators and stop lamp have been protected to prevent breakage. To make the riding experience more comfortable, seats come with extra padding.

Another interesting feature of the bike is its rear shock absorbers. The motorcycle has two pairs of shock absorbers, almost like a truck fitted with helper springs to share the load with the primary suspension when its past the permissible levels. The padded seat, two pair of shock absorbers and rigid body makes this bike perfect for rural areas where the road quality, if there is any, is usually bad.

What about the Max4R LX’ engine and gearbox?

The Max4R LX comes with an air-cooled, four-stroke, single cylinder, 109.7cc engine producing 8.4bhp at 7,500rpm and a maximum torque of 8.3 Nm at 5500rpm.

And the Max4R LX price?

The TVS Max4R LX is priced at Rs. 39,090 (ex-showroom, Delhi) and has been targeted at rural areas of the country. The bike will be available in shades of red and black and will be sold through the TVS dealerships across the country.

It is quite startling to see that TVS has not listed the MaxR4 or the LX variant on its official website.

Before you get excited let me tell you that the SlingShot Plus has no pluses except for a small visor over the meter console (Along the lines of Yamaha FZ-S).

Except for the price, everything else remains untouched. The Slingshot Plus costs around 1,000 rupees more than the previous model.

The Slingshot plus is available in three variants which are:

Drum, Alloy, Kick start
Drum, Alloy, Self Start
Disc, Alloy, Self Start

Suzuki Slingshot Plus

The top-end model of Disc, Alloy, Self start costs INR 52,905 on-road Delhi

The SlingShot was only available in two variants of Drum, Alloy & Self Start and Disc, Alloy & Self Start. With SlingShot Plus you have an extra variant to choose from.

Let us see if the Suzuki Slingshot is able to help the company inch closer to the competition.

In order to further benefit on the popularity, the company has decided to give customers upgraded models.

However the picture is not clear at the moment as to what these upgrades are as the talks are still in discussion phase. The Apache is expected to have the same name and body structure. Technology might be bettered and certain plastic body work might be reworked.

We recently reported on the Apache ABS which was displayed at the Auto Expo last year.

The upgraded products will see a slight increase in the cost as well. The company says it is trying its best to keep the price as low as possible.

Lets hope that TVS brings in a high capacity Apache through these upgrades and not something like the Apache HyperEdge which was nothing but a cosmetic job, or sticker job to be precise. We all have been waiting eagerly for a 200cc+ Apache. Will it come this year given Honda, Yamaha and Mahindra are looking to penetrate the quarter liter space with attractive bikes?

Then came the news that a new R15 version was going to be launched on 26th of this month with some tweaks to the engine for more power and better low to mid range response.

However there is still no confirmation regarding this news either. The test mule spotted carries many a resemblance to the YZF R125 Notice the split rear seat and the height at which it has been placed. The alloy wheels are also same as the R125. Having said that the front is almost the same as the existing YZF R15.

Our impression of Yamaha's new R15 for India

So what this test mule is? Well its too difficult to answer this question for now. It is not the European YZF R125 for sure. So can it be a new R15 version for 2011? Could it be an all new 125cc motorcycle mounted on R15 chassis?

You never know, Yamaha might launch a new 125cc bike (not the European YZF R125) and position it as the younger brother to R15. Or it might just turn out to be a the R15 with some cosmetic changes.

Yamaha YZF-R125

In 2010 Yamaha launched the YBR110 which was nothing but Yamaha Alba in a new outfit. Similarly the other products like YBR 125 and SZ series are based on the engines from Gladiator 125 and FZ series respectively. So this one might also fall along the same lines.

This test mule appears to be a mix of YZF R125 and our very own YZF R15. So we thought of taking help from our photoshop expert SRK and bring our readers a rendering of the 2011 YZF R15.

Even we didn’t expect this rendering will turn out to be such a killer. If the 2011 R15 resembles our rendering then I think this one will sell and create more ripples than the existing version.

I feel that this looks even better than Honda’s CBR250R. Just a slight change in the rear seat and the alloys make the existing R15  sporty and attractive. If Yamaha dons the new R15 with wider rear tire (130/70-17 should be enough as per my understanding)  it will win the hearts of many who blame the R15 of having thin rear tire. From what we observe in the spy pics we expect this one to have LED tail lamps.

When this mystery unfolds, we hope for surprises. Till then enjoy reading IMB.

Bajaj which has launched so many variants of their best selling Pulsar range of motorcycles is expected to bring in a bigger Pulsar this year Zigwheels is reporting. The 135cc Pulsar is the latest addition to the lineup (the most advanced of the lot in terms of technology).

The Bajaj Pulsar 220F is the biggest Pulsar available today

The Pulsar 135LS is a fine example of what Bajaj is capable of bringing in when it comes to technology. Tie-ups with KTM and Kawasaki means it won’t be long before Pulsar turns into an international brand.

The first step in achieving this will be by bring in a high displacement Pulsar, maybe in the range of 250 to 350cc which we expect to be priced somewhere around 1.5 lakh.

A higher displacement Pulsar by the year end is such exciting news!

Source – Zigwheels.com

In order to book your CBR250R you have to deposit Rs.5000 at a Honda dealership. As we all know that there would be two variants of this 250cc bike from Honda, one with the ABS and the other lacking ABS. The non ABS version will cost around Rs. 1,50,000 whereas the ABS version will cost somewhere around Rs. 1,80,000 as told to me by one of the Honda dealerships in Delhi.

However the Honda dealerships are  not clear about the CBR250′s details. They are just taking down the contact details of the potential customers and will get back to them as in when they have more info regarding this bike.

It seems that 2011 will be year of high displacement bikes with Honda being one of the first brands to enter this segment. Let us see if Yamaha, TVS and Bajaj and various other motorcycle manufacturers have some surprises for us.

Honda CBR250R Technical Specifications

Sales name – Honda CBR250R
Model type – Honda MC41
Overall length × Overall width × Overall height (m) – 2.035 × 0.720 × 1.125
Wheelbase (m) – 1.370
Ground clearance (m) – 0.145
Seat height (m) – 0.780
Curb weight (kg) – 161 (STD) 165 (ABS)
Riding capacity (No. of people) – 2
Minimum turning radius (m) – 2.5
Engine type – CS250RE, liquid-cooled 4-stroke DOHC single cylinder
Displacement (cm³) – 249
Bore × Stroke (mm) – 76.0 × 55.0
Compression ratio – 10.7
Fuel supply system – Programmed fuel injection system (PGM-FI)
Starter type – Self-starter
Ignition type – Full-transistor battery ignition
Lubricating type – Wet sump
Fuel tank capacity (L) – 13
Clutch type – Wet multiplate with coil springs
Transmission type – Constant mesh 6-speed return
Transmission gear ratio 1-speed 3.333
2-speed 2.118
3-speed 1.571
4-speed 1.304
5-speed 1.115
6-speed 0.963
Reduction gear ratio (primary, secondary) – 2.808 / 2.714
Caster angle/Trail (mm) – 25º00´/ 95

Tire size
Front – 110/70-17M/C
Rear – 140/70-17M/C

Brake type
Front – Hydraulic disk
Rear – Hydraulic disk

Suspension type
Front – Telescopic
Rear – Swing arm (Pro-link suspension system)

Frame type – Diamond

From the pictures our new friend Vaibhav Saigal has shared on xbhp.com we can easily make out that majority of the work has been done on the rear section which till now has been accused of being very thin and disproportionate especially when compared to the front half of the bike.

To begin with split seats have been installed, its placed a bit higher than the existing model which I think will make it a bit difficult for the shorter pillion to to sit. This one has a newly designed tail lamp followed by a new rear fender.

The grab rails have also been changed and looks similar to the ones present on the Honda CB Twister.

The exhaust also looks totally different from the existing model. Another visible change are the alloy wheels which sport a new design. The front half remains pretty much the same.

Looking at the images I don’t think that the size of the rear tire has changed.This might disappoint a lot of people who complain the tires to be very thin. Fuel economy is important, even if the Indian buyer is paying a lakh of rupees for a 2-wheeler.

Now coming to the technical specs of the bike I feel that if this variant comes into the market it can have higher engine displacement and power figures. Till now the R15 has only received paint jobs and graphics to it and this is the first time I am seeing so many changes been brought into it.

I have been closely following the people at the Yamaha dealerships and recently I came to know from one of the official there that a higher displacement bike could be in the pipeline. Since these images show that Yamaha is testing a new version of R15 I am sure Yamaha has something exciting in store next year. Excitement need not mean higher displacement, but if it is, we’re not complaining.

So this is what I would expect to see in the new version of R15-

1) New bodywork
2) More power and torque
3) Wider tires
4) Better low to mid range rpm response
5) Projector headlamps
6) LED tail lamps

It would be too early to say how the final product will look like but somehow I am not satisfied with the looks of this new version. The rear seat seems to be placed too high, the tail light is very small. Overall the design doesn’t looks a flawless one from these spyshots.

Spyshot courtesy – Indiancarsbikes.in

Special (and important) credit to Vaibhav Saigal for taking these pictures. We appreciate his efforts and laud his eagle eyes for bringing this picture into the public domain.

Extra credit – xbhp.com where Vaibhav first posted these images.