A Sharp Pocket-knife

The Yamaha YZF-R3 has always been close to many a heart. The latest one is no exception

- Charan Karthik

WE HAD ONE OF THE MOST beautiful experiences in Thailand when we rode the R3 for the first time last year. But then, first rides are, well, first rides. You need to spenc some time astride a motorcycle to understand it completely. And that's exactly what we did when Yamaha sent us the bike for a road test.

Let us first consider all the changes in this bike as compared to the older version. The front is the most prominent one and catches your eye immediately. The fascia has been re-designed and gets two beautiful looking LED headlamps. Looking at the front feels like staring at Toothless the dragon from the film How to Train Your Dragon. The headlamps have ample throw and they give the bike a subtle and fresh character that it always needed. The fairing on the sides over the engine has also been tweaked and it looks much better and more streamlined now. The bike itself looks leaner and sharper. If the old one was a tiger, this one is definitely a cheetah. Moving on, the switchgear has been revised, the starter switch now has a cool spring type swipe down method which turns the engine over.