Motorcycle Test by Wayne Vickers – Images Rob Mott
I’ve been spending some time on a few of the smaller offerings of late. Having ridden Yamaha’s MT03 (Link) and more recently I was thrown the keys to the tuning fork mob’s latest little jigger, the YZF-R15.
We don’t have the history in Australia with this model, but Yamaha’s third iteration of the ‘R-15’ brings some solid updates over the previous models. It’s clearly intended to give Yamaha dealers something to compete with things like Honda’s CB125. And it’s hard to deny that this has a lot more flair. But can it back it up?
Yamaha YZF-R15
Well, it certainly looks the biz. Clearly some resemblances to its bigger brothers for those more sportily inclined amongst us. Styling wise it cuts a fine figure. Lots of nice touches. A familiar looking Deltabox frame and slightly larger swingarm to house a bigger 140 section rear tyre compared to the old model. Even the tail unit looks like the R1 setup – albeit smaller and with thinner plastics. Probably best to not compare them side by side, but in isolation it’s a pretty bloody good thing. Paint finish is nice too, and I rate the ‘Thunder Grey’ colour scheme – I’ve always had a thing for red, grey, silver or black though. Other than my current Tiger (which is white) and my race bikes – all of my bikes have been either red, grey, silver or black – or a combo of them all. I’ve only just realised that. Maybe I’m too predictable.
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15
The riding position is sporty but not uncomfortable. New riders won’t feel like they’re too far forward on their hands and it will allow them to explore the bike’s potential as they improve their skills. It actually steers surprisingly well for a bike that’s sub 5 grand new! The seat itself isn’t bad either – and the suspension does a decent job of soaking up bumps.
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15
Controls are all quite simple and traditional. Clutch (a slipper!) and brake feel is good, and the box does its job. Single twin caliper disc up front does a reasonable job of pulling things up – and while that might seem light on in terms of power compared to bigger bikes, remember that this thing only weighs a little over 130 kilos.. And isn’t going to be slowing from big speeds. You’ll see the shift light come on in top gear at about 135 km/h if you have a long enough straight. And some assistance from a downhill or tail wind.
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15
The thing that I didn’t really gel with personally is the engine. While it’s new variable valve actuation (VVA – think Honda Vtec, but different) might have seen a 20 per cent increase in power over the previous model with it now churning out 18 horsepower, it comes with a mechanical engine noise that’s not especially pleasant to my ears at least. You could be generous and call it character perhaps? You do sort of get used to it… but it doesn’t feel refined at all. Maybe the exhaust needs to be louder to drown it out 🙂
Yamaha YZF-R15
While the fuelling is also not fabulous – you don’t really notice it all that much at that sort of power level as you generally just smash the throttle open, but it could do with some work – needs saying. Powerwise, well it does ok from a 150 cc single but it’s no race engine. Yamaha have made some updates to improve breathing and output compared to the older model, but it still doesn’t really like going up hills at speed very much – you’ll get used to pedalling the box, which in itself is no bad thing. It is kinda fun keeping the little mill on the boil. Its happy enough to rev.
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15
Handling wise it’s fun enough to punt along. Everything gels together pretty well. You forget how much corner speed you can hold on a bike that weighs around 130 kilos… It certainly teaches you to maintain momentum. It’s actually good fun and a bit of a giggle. Suspension and brakes seem up to it with no obvious weaknesses there.
Yamaha YZF-R15
Nice dash too. Simple. Easy to read. But like a few other bikes I’ve tested lately – no engine temp? Is that a thing now? Apparently you can customise the ‘Hi Buddy’ greeting so it says your name on start up too which is kinda fun. You’d have to mess with your mates bike and change that wouldn’t you..? Surely I’m not the only one that thinks that way 🙂
Apparently this is the number one selling sports bike on the planet. Sure – that’s mostly in markets where they aren’t competing against bigger sportsbikes, but there’ no doubt that Yamaha considered that and the audience that it already has when deciding to bring it in.
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15
It will be interesting to see how the new YZF-R15 sells compared to the YZF-R3, the latter being the slightly bigger brother with a much nicer engine. That price though… less than 5 grand. For a new road bike with a factory warranty? Hard to argue against. Amazing value.
Final word, indulge me for a moment – Once upon a time (30 years ago!) Yamaha built a four cylinder FZR250RR that made 45 hp and revved to 17 thousand rpm or thereabouts. I nearly bought one as my first bike, but ended up with Honda’s gull-arm CBR250RR pocket rocket – and yes it was black and silver with red wheels. What a great little screamer it was too. I put nearly a hundred thousand kays on mine before trading up. Imagine what they could do now if they had a real crack at it… And it’d be a proper YZF-R. I know the market is different now, but still. With an emerging market in places like India for this smaller capacity stuff, is now the time to revisit the past and see just how much performance you can get from a proper 250 or 300 race rep that could sell in numbers? I hope so. Would make a great entry level proddy bike class platform and give KTMs RC390 a rival…
Yamaha YZF-R15
Why I like it:
Pretty amazing value really
Decent controls and handling
Fairly well finished for the money
I’d like it more if:
It had a better engine – that engine noise is not nice
Make it a real YZF-R for our markets, with the focus on performance
Or just bring in the MT15 as your entry level bike
Motorcycle Test by Wayne Vickers – Images by Rob Mott
Eh? Why are we looking at these two at the same time? Sure they share a 150cc sized stump puller within, but other than that they couldn’t be much more different. The short answer is that we thought it might be interesting. They are two very different approaches to the entry level market after all. So let’s see what we’ve got.
Honda ADV 150 versus Yamaha YZF-R15 head to head
In the red corner, weighing in at 133 kilograms and setting you back around six-grand, we have the new Honda ADV150 ‘adventure scooter’. No, I didn’t know that was a thing either, but apparently it is. And in the blue corner, weighing in at 138 kilograms dripping wet and full of fuel we have Yamaha’s updated YZF-R15. Team blue’s littlest brother to the R1. From another mother.
Let’s start with the ADV scooter. Honda describes it as being ‘Adventure Ready’ but I think the marketing team might have gotten a little carried away (they also describe it as having tough, muscular styling.. just saying). For a scooter – which I tend to associate with quick, convenient shorter trips, it has a rather complicated and confusing key fob system with three buttons and a start-up process that involves a push-and-turn dial on the bike as well as requiring the side stand be up and the brakes on to start it. A simple key would have probably been more convenient… but once you figure it out and get used to it, it’s quick enough.
Wayne found the Honda ADV150 annoying with many needless steps required before you get on the move
Anyway. On the go it’s a nice thing actually. Quite refined, auto clutch take-up is seamless, engine is smooth and quiet, ABS stoppers feel up to the task. It has quite a nice, nimble lightness to it that I think a lot of folks would find appealing. In traffic it’s able to hold its own against most cars from the front of the lights.
Honda ADV150
Out on the highway? Well after only 40 kilometres of boring highway work I was already feeling it in my lower back and hips. I got used to it with some more time aboard, but its worth noting that the seat is quite firm and there’s not a lot of soaking up of serious bumps going on for longer trips. It was fine on another full day of riding that was more dynamic. Stop starts, corners etc. But boring highway work is not really it’s forte.
Highway work is not the natural environment for the ADV150 scooter
So, fine for around town and shorter jaunts, and certainly the slightly bigger than average sized wheels (for a scooter) help navigate rougher urban roads, potholes and tram tracks etc. But I wouldn’t want to spend extended hours touring on one out in the countryside.
Honda ADV150
An eight-litre fuel tank is going to force you to stop fairly regularly anyway I guess. I was averaging around 3.5L per hundred kays overall, but was seeing 4.5 – 5L/100ks on the dash while holding it pegged at 110 down the freeway (tucked in behind the slightly adjustable screen), so don’t expect to be getting any more than 200ks per tank. I’d suggest it’d get better mileage than that on full time urban work. Especially with the auto start enabled via the simple switch on the RHS.
Honda ADV150 instrumentation
And speaking of dash.. It has a display that shows you the day and month once you figure it out (and it also shows you ambient temp’).. But doesnt show you engine temp. I can’t explain it either. And where I was expecting a tacho is instead replaced with an ‘Inst. Fuel Cons’ readout.
Honda ADV150 cuts a fairly nice pose
Styling wise it seems nicely executed if a little busy, with lots of intricate surface details. That said, they’re all quite nicely finished with good quality materials. Plenty to look at while you’re sipping your latte. I did seem to have to keep wiping the bike down in that colour scheme, the footrest areas in particular just kept showing up dirt.
Fairing pocket with power outlet
Although there’s plenty of useful storage space, note that the underseat storage didn’t fit either of the two full faced helmets I tried which I thought was weird. It was about an inch short of closing. Probably would have if I forced it, but I’m not going to do that to a helmet with venting on it… I’d expect its made for open faced helmets.
Honda ADV150 underseat storage
The centre-stand is easy to use on such a light weight bike for even the most physically challenged amongst us. Super easy to put on and off the stand. It also has a great price tag at a bit over 6k ride away with a 24-month warranty. And for that sort of money you can ignore some quirks in the dash etc. I actually think it’s a pretty solid offering. Plenty to like.
Honda ADV150
Now on to the Yamaha YZF-R15
The ‘R-15’ that Yamaha are dubbing version ‘3.0’ (yes I can’t help but think of the vegemite thing either), is quite a different pot of seafood. It certainly looks the biz. Clearly some resemblances to its bigger brothers for those more sportily inclined amongst us. Controls are all quite simple and traditional. Clutch and brake feel is good, seating position pretty comfortable too (I was more comfortable after the initial 45mins on this than I was on the scooter). It does a decent job of soaking up bumps and it actually steers surprisingly well for a bike that’s sub 5 grand new.
Yamaha YZF-R15
The achilles heel with this one though is the engine. While it’s new variable valve actuation might have seen a 20 per cent increase in power over the previous model with it now churning out 18 horsepower (incidentally that compares to the scooter’s 14 ponies), its character is.. well.. let’s just call it a little agricultural due to mechanical engine noise that’s not especially pleasant in the upper revs.
Yamaha YZF-R15
A vibe sets in as the variable time thing gets all variable to the point that it almost sounds as though it’s pinging and generally not having a good time. Character perhaps? You do sort of get used to it… The younguns might love that little reminder that they have it pegged and are in boy-racer mode. And the bike does look the biz for your social media selfies and the like…
Wayne is not a big fan of the engine in the YZF-R15
Fuelling is fairly abrupt in the transition from off to on and back again, and it’ll have the occasional hesitation here and there as well. It doesn’t really like going up hills at speed very much though. And you’ll see the shift-light come on in top gear at about 135 km/h if you have a long enough straight. And some assistance from a downhill.
Yamaha YZF-R15
On the road it’s a fun enough little thing to punt along though once you start to ignore the engine noise. Everything else works pretty well. The little R15 teaches you to maintain momentum. You can certainly hold some corner speed on a bike that weighs around 130 kilos… It’s actually good fun and a bit of a giggle. Suspension and brakes seem up to it with no obvious weaknesses there.
Yamaha YZF-R15
Single front disc only, but it does the job. Nice dash too. Simple. Easy to read. But again – no engine temp? Is that a thing now? Apparently you can customise the ‘Hi Buddy’ greeting so it says your name on start up too…
Yamaha YZF-R15
Turns out this is the number one selling sports bike on the planet. Sure – mostly in markets where they aren’t competing against bigger sportsbikes, but it’s worth taking that into context. Should it have a better engine in the Aussie/Euro/US market? Yes it probably should. Especially if it wants to have the YZF-R name on the side, but it’s built to a price point and I dare say it’ll sell here too. It looks as though it is doing 100 mph standing still and that certainly adds a lot to the appeal.
Yamaha YZF-R15
Although if Yamaha wanted to really have something for the lower end entry level market I do wonder why they haven’t brought in the MT15 yet – or even instead of. It’d be cheaper again and probably take the expected drops from beginners a lot more robustly without as many fragile plastics on it. But again, I guess it is all about the look. It’ll be interesting to see how the new R15 sells compared to its slightly bigger R3 brother that sports a much nicer engine. That price though… less than 5 grand. For a new Yamaha road bike with a factory warranty? Albeit only 12 months due to its small capacity compared to the 24 months warranty on a larger Yamaha motorcycle but still, hard to argue against. Amazing value.
Yamaha YZF-R15
Summaries…
Yamaha YZF-R15
Consider the YZF-R15 if..
You see yourself getting out on the open road and finding some corners to explore
You want to learn to ride with a clutch and gearbox
You aren’t going to have anyone on the back
You see yourself maybe getting a bigger sportbike one day
Honda ADV 150 and Yamaha YZF-R15 compared
Consider the ADV150 if..
You’re all about buzzing around town
Twist the throttle and go is your thing
You don’t see yourself doing big kilometres on the open road
You fancy something with a bit of in-built storage
Honda ADV150
Yamaha YZF-R15 and Honda ADV150 spec’ sheets compared
ASBK season 2019 kicked off today as competitors blew out the cobwebs and got down to business on the first of a tw-day test being staged across this weekend, February 2-3, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
Early indications are that this year will again be another step up. With live TV and live streaming to the world, ASBK has been getting stronger and the line-ups throughout the classes, as well as the introduction of the Oceania Rookies Cup for the juniors, sees the championship is in the healthiest state it has been in for quite some time.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of who was fastest and who did what, lets take a look at how the Superbike field will shape up as there has been many rider movements in the off season, as well as a few newcomers, with a few returning for another dip in the premier class.
Cru Halliday #65
For those that came in late, lets have a look at how the major protagonists will face off in the battle for championship glory in what is anticipated to be a stellar and intensely contested year of road racing.
The ones with the targets on their back are defending champions Penrite Honda, after Troy Herfoss claimed the number #1 plate in 2018 for the second time in three years.
In 2018 the Penrite squad was primarily a one-rider outfit, although ex-Moto3 pilot and speedway rider, Arthur Sissis was under the Penrite pit tent from Morgan Park onwards. However for this year the team has expanded to a two-rider outfit from the get go, with Mark Chiodo joining the team after a rookie Superbike year with Team Ecstar Suzuki alongside Josh Waters.
Troy Herfoss
“We were down here on Wednesday for a ride day but it was really too busy to do anything too much, but at the end of the day we got done what we wanted to do and that was run the bike in with a new engine, make sure that things were working. We ticked that box and now we are here for the official ASBK test today and went really well. Compared to this time last year we are light years ahead. I was fast and consistent and we are on the race tyre. The results from today are no reflection of where everyone is at. I am sixth fastest today but I am pretty confident that in reality we are a lot further up the order than that when it comes to race pace so we’ll see how things pan out. I was 8th here last year and I won the first race of the year, so I think everyone gets a bit carried away.”
Troy Herfoss
With a larger team comes more staff, and the vastly experienced Stewart Winton has been appointed as Mark’s crew chief, with Tiger Clay also in the young Victorians corner once again. Chiodo impressed last year and went oh-so-close to claiming the “Rookie of the Year” title.
With Chiodo’s departure from Suzuki late last year it appeared that Ecstar Suzuki might only field on rider for season 2019, with the rumours suggesting that whoever finished the better in the championship between Josh Waters and Wayne Maxwell, would get the ride.
However after a fair bit of negotiation, and the can being kicked for a bit more coin by the concerned parties, the Team Ecstar Suzuki unit will remain a two-rider team with Maxwell joining Waters in what makes for a most competitive pairing of team mates. While they are good mates, on the track there is fierce competition and this is certainly going to be one aspect of ASBK 2019 that will be enthralling to witness as the seven round series unfolds.
Maxwell’s is currently hampered by a shoulder injury suffered in a cycling crash in Adelaide. His broken collarbone only operated on nine days ago, but he will be strong enough by the season opener.
Wayne Maxwell
“The day was good. We had a day here before Christmas where I ran the bike for 10 laps like Josh had the bike at the last round with his particular tyres. Then we tried the new tyre. Everything felt different for Josh and I the but then I had no real idea as I didn’t want to have an opinion on something I didn’t know about. We’ve come back here for the first official day on the bike and started where we left off, then went around in circles trying stuff. It’s been good for me because I have no previous expectation of how good the bike was or what the bike is supposed to be. I am getting to know the GSX-R again and its getting better at every roll out. The rear tyre is definitely… the middle is higher so I guess it has got less contact patch in the middle, and the edges are the same so it falls away different. The front tyre is bigger overall, so it changes the bike quite a lot. It’s a matter of getting a direction on paper, what it says compared to what the rider feels. Try one direction, if it doesn’t work come back in the other direction, and then find somewhere in the middle.”
Wayne Maxwell
Waters returns to race with his favourite numeral, #21, after Troy Bayliss – who used his old WSBKnumber in his return to domestic racing, — offered it back to Josh late last year after the championship had been decided at the penultimate round at Winton (Vic)
Bayliss will revert to the very first number he used in Australian road racing, the number 32 gracing the front of this Ducati, a number also made famous by another Aussie legend Robbie Phillis.
Bayliss had a stellar return to domestic racing last year aboard the Desmo Sport Ducati machine, winning a couple of races and was more often than not on the podium during the year as he finished third overall behind Herfoss and runner-up, Wayne Maxwell.
Troy Bayliss will ride the same v-twin Panigale R 1299 Final Edition in the opening rounds of the series before the team beds down the new V4R in to competitive race trim.
Troy Bayliss
“We’ll race these ones until the other one is faster than these ones. First up we have to get fairings, pipes and a few other bits and pieces. What is sitting in the back of truck (V4 R) is a road bike. It’s like having the keys to something you can’t use. We could sort of half do it but we could shoot ourselves in the foot. We haven’t got enough things if something goes wrong, and then if that happens you are riding between two different motorcycles and we know these old girls are pretty good. Everything is going very well. We are happy with the start. We hit the ground running and feel fit and healthy. Today was pretty hot and slimy so I’m happy with how we are doing, considering its pretty greasy and windy out there. Always after lunch its slower, so I am pretty happy with where we are going.”
Troy Bayliss
With the departure of Maxwell from the Yamaha Racing Team, the way was made clear for Australian Supersport Champion Cru Halliday to return to the Superbike class alongside Daniel Falzon, the South Australia returning for his second year at YRT.
The Next Gen Motorsport squad will again run three-times Australian Superbike Champion Glenn Allerton, and hopefully his year they Sydneysider can remain injury free after his last two seasons have been plagued by broken bones.
Allerton will be aboard the old faithful BMWS1000RR until the HP4 arrives, which may be at the second round but more than likely the third round at Tailem Bend in April. The major change for the Next Gen Team in 2019 is the switch to Dunlop tyres.
In the BCPerformance Kawasaki outfit Bryan Staring returns for a second year with the team and will be joined by Lachlan Epis, who replaces Kyle Buckley.The team will continue its association with Dunlop for 2019.
There is plenty of movement in the privateer ranks too, with a few more joining the fray to add to what is already a healthy field of entries.
Stepping up from the Supersport category, where he finished third overall behind Halliday and Tom Toparis, will be Max Crocker on the Mat Mladin Racing GSX-R1000R.
Making his debut in the Superbike ranks of ASBK will be Queenslander Aiden Wagner in a one-man privateer outfit. In the last few years Wagner has had his fair share of injury woes but now that he is back to full fitness he will be one to keep an eye on.
Aiden Wagner #28 – Expect to see podiums from him, privateer or not…
Technically, it is not his first foray into racing a Superbike as he had a ride on the Team Honda machine in the Formula Xtreme Australasian Superbike Championship at Eastern Creek a few years ago, where he made a stunning debut to top all comers before heading overseas in what proved to be a costly mistake.
Alex Phillis will be on a fully-supported satellite Team Suzuki Ecstar machine. 2018 Rookie of the Year, Arthur Sissis will also be Suzuki mounted, along with multiple New Zealand Superbike Champion Sloan Frost who returns for a full season.
Others in the fray include Ted Collins who returns to the Next Gen Motorsports BMW Team beside Allerton, and will no doubt be more competitive after his rookie season last year.
And that’s not forgetting lads who will be knocking on a Top Ten spot at every outing, the likes of Kawasaki-mounted Glenn Scott giving it a crack again, while Matt Walters can also score top results when in form.
So, what happened on Day One of Superbike testing for season 2019?
There were four sessions each for the Superbike Supersport, Supersport 300 and the Oceania Rookies Cup for the young pups .
In the Superbike category there were 25 riders on track, made up of eight Suzukis, five Yamahas, four Kawasakis, three BMW, two each of Honda and Ducati and a sole Aprilia RSV4.
Bragging rights as the chequered flag came out for the big boys went to Wayne Maxwell , with Bayliss in second and Staring third followed by Waters and Wagner. Herfoss was in sixth with Falzon, Halliday, Allerton, and Chiodo rounding out the top ten, just over a second separating them. The top 18 covered by just three-seconds.
Ted Collins and Bryan Staring
Another rider in attendance was Mike Jones, who stillhas not finalised plans for this year as he hope to secure a ride overseas, but there is also a real possibility of the Queenslander competing in the series that he won back in 2015.
Maxwell was the only rider to do a sub 1:33 during the day with a time of 1:32.913 in the final moments of the last session, but there is more to the story than lap times. While admitting that he was still feeling some effects of the shoulder injury, he also had put in a soft tyre for the end of the final session. In the previous session on more regular tyres, his fastest time was over a full second slower.
Herfoss was fastest in the opening session from Waters and Maxwell but Bayliss was atop for the next two sessions. TB was also well in the hunt for overall honours before being pipped by Maxwell by less than a tenth-of-a-second.
The consistency of Balyiss was impressive. In sessions 2, 3 and 4 the differences in his fastest laps was less than a tenth. Making that fact all the more remarkable was the ride in air and track temperatures across those sessions, and how the condition of the track dropped off later in the day, along with an increasing headwind.
But this test will prove to be two days of finding set-ups for each particular team as Pirelli and Dunlop have both brought in new spec tyres, every rider that was questioned came back with similar thoughts.
The new Pirelli tyres are now larger with more contact patch with an extra 5mm added to the surface width of both the front and rear tyres. These new characteristics change the steering into and the rive out of corners, and all riders were still trying to find the balance between steering and drivability.
Dave Fuller – Pirelli
“We have larger tyres for this season, a 125/70 front compared to a 120 and the rear is 265 up from 260mm (that is the surface measurement across the total arc of the rear tyre, thus your conventional off the rack sizing can’t really be comapred). Being a new tyre the smart operators are getting onto it now to try and work out a set-up for the new rubber. Some are flatter and some are higher in the rear, sometimes putting a bit more spring in the back, but pretty flat layout seems to be favourite at the moment as they have to be careful not to get too much wheelspin. Smart guys are chipping away and getting onto it. I think for the very hot conditions, and we had the classic here last week so it’s pretty greasy, I think the guys are doing a commendable job. Wayne did a 32.9 and that’s still pretty damn fast. There are no super sticky ones, Wayne just used a sticky one. These are the homologated tyres for the season so it is pretty important for us to have a good test and see everyone reasonably happy. Some guys are on the fence still trying to work out the previous grip over these new tyres. We will still have the SCX’s front and rear – the slightly smaller size – available from last year so there are options for them.”
