This is what you get when you strip down an R15 to its bare bones. But will this recipe of turning a full faired bike into a naked street brawler work? We ride the new MT-15 at the BIC to find out.
Allow me to explain. You see, like everyone else, I wanted my first bike to be a fancy faired motorcycle – in simple words, the Yamaha R15. However, after riding a friend’s R15 for months on end for my college commute, I realised that there weren’t many corners or straights where I could exploit the potential of this mini sports bike. On the contrary, it was agonising to ride in traffic because of its racy and aggressive ergonomics.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the R15. But I just wouldn’t want one for my daily commute. And while Yamaha has refined it consistently over the years, the new R15 V3 – although phenomenal by all measures – is still a bit too track-focussed to be used on the road, which renders it pretty useless for folks like me.
Now, imagine the R15, with all the fun and without the imperfections – would be nice, wouldn’t it? Well, that’s exactly what the MT- 15 aims to be – a naked street brawler that shares virtually everything with the R15, but promises to be more comfortable for everyday use.
Evil eye
This story is from the April 2019 edition of autoX.
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This story is from the April 2019 edition of autoX.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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