Yamaha MT15 Review: The Dark Side Of Japan

Yamaha brings MT15 in Indian two wheeler market with more focus on design and positioned it as street racer. This is the naked version of R15 with slightly different capabilities. The overall look of the bike remains same as MT series. The bike is more oriented to city like driving conditions and priced at 1.36 lakhs which is slightly on the higher side for a 150 cc bike. Will MT15 carve out a niche for itself? Let’s find out.

How does it look?

Well, as soon as you see the bike, your eyes get stuck on it. The bike looks muscular and its headlamp makes it more special. The headlamp cluster is equipped with twin-LED position lamps which gives the impression of eyes and a LED projector lamp positioned beneath it.  Hence it appears to resemble with Transformer (fictional character) and makes it unique in its segment.

The 10-litre tank is shaped in such a way that it provides a muscular look to the bike and fake air-intakes accolade it too. The handlebar is a single-unit and keeps you in an upright and comfortable riding position, unlike the committed position on an R15. The quality of bar end weights and switches could have been better. The placement of the horn button and indicators are exchanged, so get ready to say hello to the Learning Curve.

Coming to the rear of the bike, tail lamp seems integrated at the rear of the seat. Exhaust sound complements the feel of a sports bike and has a nice tune to it. The single-seat design and rear fitted foot pegs give you slight aggressive riding position on the bike. The seat though is plushy for the rider but not so much for the pillion. The radiator shroud is precisely incorporated below the scoops.

How It Performs?

The MT-15 gets the same 155cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that we have seen in YZF-R15. For MT15, the engine gets even more refined low-end torque. It generates 19.3hp power at 10,000rpm and 14.7Nm of torque at 8,500rpm. The motor is mated with a 6-speed gearbox.

Since the engine is refined for more low-end torque, handling traffic and congested streets is a much easier task for the bike. This has been possible due to 52-teeth sprockets compared to 48 teeth on the R15. It helps in initial faster acceleration but after 100kmph, the R15 leaves MT15 far behind. The maximum speed we attained was 130kmph but R15 can go above 140kmph. The bike gets telescopic forks at the front and a mono-shock at the rear which can save you from small potholes although harsh bumps will have no compassion on your back.

Ride & Handling

The MT15 is a clear winner for the city like driving conditions. The riding for a long period is not a problem for it. We once took it to Jewar from Delhi which is approx. 100km just to check for fatigue and comfort. It really performed its role well and didn’t disappoint us at all. Riding in lower gears at traffic situation is not a problem for this bike. Second gear can touch 40kmph speed easily and mid-range punch is striking too. The bike remains stable at lower speeds even on higher gears.

MT15 gets VVA tech which adds some more power to the ride but still lacks at the top speed. It also get a slip and assist clutch facility which reduces the chances of wheel locking. The bike only gets single-channel ABS while R15 get dual channel which is just 4 thousand bucks more expensive. Cornering is not really an issue in this bike. Sometimes you can find that pillion foot and rider foot collides due to rear fitted footpegs which is a little annoying. Braking was almost up to the mark and it can stop from 60-0 kmph in approx. 3-4 seconds.

Verdict

To sum up, it will not be wrong to say that bike is practical for all purposes and can astonish you with its striking looks. The point where it lacks is its price (1.36 lakh-ex showroom) which is just 4 thousand bucks less than R15 making it quite costly for a naked motorcycle. The bike can be used for day to day riding, if you want nimbleness and fun bike then MT15 perfectly fits in your bracket.