Yamaha YZF-R3

The bike feels large with its 2090 mm length, 720 mm width and 1135 mm height. There is 165 mm of ground clearance, and a much shorter by comparison, 1380 mm wheelbase. The pointy R1 style nose hides a twin headlight setup. Going backwards the wide front, give way to a narrow windshield. Being a fully faired bike, the engine is almost completely covered by the fairing. This is great for an entry level bike. The proportions of the bike are well thought out and do not look out of shape anywhere. The tail section ends sharply and while there is a pillion seat, only the bravest souls will ever use it. The pointy tail end, houses an LED taillight. The bike executes the big bike look very well, which is the route taken by most of these design exercises. The only bad criticism can be levied against the indicators, which seem like an afterthought. Available in Race Blu and Raven Black colours, it looks equally good in both. The Race Blu option does get you body matching blue wheels though. Speaking of wheels, the bike rides on 17-inch wheels with 110/70 and 140/70 tires. The analog tachometer with the digital instrumentation is especially informative with a shift timing indicator lamp as well as a gear position indicator.

Yamaha’s chassis engineers have been hard at work honing the lightweight diamond type frame for better handling and acceleration. It comes with a long R1 style aluminum swingarm that gives it a stable ride. Largest in class 41 mm Kayaba telescopic front forks and the monocross are tuned for comfort with a lot of travel. But the whole setup makes the bike a very good handler and the lightweight 166 kg bike can carve up the road as long as it is smooth.  The 780 mm seat height can serve very well for riders of all heights. The windshield works very well and sends most of the wind over the helmet. The mirrors are large and don’t vibrate at any speeds. The rubber could have been wider though.

Power comes courtesy of a liquid cooled and fuel injected inline twin with 4 valves per cylinder DOHC engine. This produces a whopping 42 PS at 10750 rpm and 29.6 Nm of torque at 9000 rpm. Pit this against the Ninja’s sub 40 PS power output and suddenly it will start making sense. As can be seen from the rpm figures, this engine needs to be wrung hard. Thankfully the bike likes this. The bike really comes into its own from 7000 rpm to 10000 rpm. Moving through the 6 speed transmission gives you power on demand with just a downshift. Fuel economy is rated around 11 kmpl.

The lightweight nature of the bike makes the single front 298 mm disc with the four piston caliper setup more than enough. If that isn’t enough the rear gets a similar but smaller disc brake. The brakes are alright for the most part but hard braking is not the most promising. Which is where the lack of ABS comes in as a shock. The presence of this system in other markets with the 2017 upgrade makes this even more annoying.

The Yamaha YZF R3 works very well as an entry level sports bike. It has enough power and handling characteristics like that of a super sports bike. It might even be a very good bike for learners. To put a cherry on top, it is considerably cheaper than the nearest competition. A real steal of a deal.