[KrishnaMohan]

Hi Teambhp members,

I would like to share my views on the Yamaha R15V4M. I am not a professional reviewer, and the opinions expressed here are only my own.

The Story:-
My first bike was the Bajaj Pulsar NS200 during my college days and it was just perfect for me in every sense. But due to some delightful memories turning sour, I thought of letting it go. The bike had clocked around 30,000 km by then.

I was always a corner junkie and had this itch inside me to get myself a Supersport. Had thoughts of exchanging my NS200 for a new RC390 but it was way out of my budget. An opportunity presented itself in the form of a barely used Yamaha R15V4M in silver and blue. The story goes, that one of my mutual friends was leaving for the United States and had to let go of his 9-month-old,7500kms run R15 V4. The first thing that crossed my mind was the lack of power of coming down from a 200 to a 155. Heedlessly, excited at the idea of a true blue supersport and the sour memories with the NS200, I pushed forward and sold my NS200(Wolfie) at a knockdown price and bought the R15V4M.

Initial impressions:-
The machine is an absolute looker, that too with the silver and blue paint job resembling the elder R1M sibling making it look even sweeter. The M edition gets an additional quick-shifter(Up only), a special silver-blue color, and blue fork caps, and the rear seat has an embroidered R15V4M moniker over the standard model. It's good at turning the heads of college kids, but the sweet thing about it is how the school kids point out and shout superbike, superbike. It always makes the kid inside me glimmer with joy cause I was once that kid. The shift lights are cool and the driving position with a leaned body posture to the bars and rear set pegs is very supersport-esque. It handles brilliantly and the engine is always eager to be revved out, more on this in the views column.

Specification and features:-

• 155CC Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4-valve
• 18HP & 14NM Torque
• VVA
• Aluminium swing arm
• Quick shifter
• Traction control
• Slip & assist clutch
• Upside down forks
• Lap timer and two riding modes
• Dual channel ABS
• Bluetooth connectivity

In my purview, this is the most sophisticated and technologically advanced 155cc bike in the segment.

Engine:-
This engine is an absolute gem, I have no complaints whatsoever. It's always ready to be revved out till the redline. You can hold the bike wherever in the rev band you want and it never complains. This engine has an ace up its sleeve in the form of VVA abbreviated for Variable valve actuation. VVA allows for better top-end performance and greater breathability of the engine. The activation of VVA is displayed on the LCD screen post 7,000RPM. Bash the engine as hard as you can but the Fuel efficiency never drops below 42kmpl. Drive the bike at a good pace and with proper gear shifts, you will be averaging around 50kmpl. In terms of NVH, the engine never sounds brash but the vibrations are there and will leave your hands ringing if you spend a few hours on the saddle at 7-8,000 RPM. The tractibility of this little 155 is amazing leave it in 3rd gear at 20kmph over a speed bump, it will gladly pull through. The engine is a screamer and screams away till it's 10,800-11,200 RPM redline. Yamaha, the pioneers behind the best-sounding LFA could have made it sound better but I admire how the decibels increase and reach a screaming crescendo at the redline. Being a high-revving small single the engine is dead below 4,000 RPM, the bike only gets moving post 5,500-6,000 RPM. Therefore overtakes demand a downshift every single time. I am okay with this as it is a small displacement single.

The M edition is equipped with a quick-shifter for upshifts only. Upshifts can be done when the throttle is open. Quick shifts in 1,2 and 3 gears are a bit jerky and the 4,5 and 6th gear shifts are fine. It feels gimmicky but it's just a good-to-have add-on. The slipper clutch works like a charm and the rear wheel never locks up under the hardest of downshifts. The gearbox is your usual Japanese smooth but occasionally finds neutral while juggling between first and second gear on the move. The clutch is very light and can be operated with one finger, this is a boon as it reduces the strain on the wrist and fingers due to committed riding position.

Handling/Suspension/Braking:-
This is one department where the bike shines. The seat height is low, so you are sitting inside the machine. It's a supersport to the tee. It's like a ballerina always on its tippy toes ready to turn in wherever you point it at. Not only that it's also quite forgiving when you mess up your lines. All it needs is a small flinch on the foot pegs with your toes to change direction. The bike weighs in at merely 138-142 Kgs dry making it very maneuverable and easy to push around in traffic. The handling is always predictable and the bike does exactly what you expect it to. The stock MRF tires do not wow you but are up for the job. I advise changing to softer compounds before trying out sharper lean angles. The perimeter frame dubbed deltabox, is stiff as you'd expect from a supersport and I have never noticed any flex in fast-flowing corners. The aluminum swingarm finished in silver for the M edition is delightful to look at and adds to the handling quotient. However one drawback of this machine would be, that it WILL unsettle in the middle of a corner in case of any undulations on the road surface. So much so it will throw you in the air midway of the corner if there's a bump on the road. I remember this very vividly because I was doing good speed over a corner and there was a sudden bump on the road while riding the NS, the NS took it like a champ and did not lose composure, but the R15 did. I somehow feel this has to do with the soft setup of the rear monoshock on the R15 which we will be talking about next.

The front suspension with upside-down forks in gold from KYB is plaint and comfortable. It has just the right balance between comfort and sport. The rear monoshock is a completely different story, it is a bit on the softer side and I feel it is tuned much towards the comfort side of things. God forbid if you face a mid-corner pothole at a good speed, the rear will bottom out and throw you around. Also, the rear mono shock doesn't inspire much confidence to carry sharper lean angles due to the soft setting. I advise bumping up the stiffness, but it will only make the saddle height come down on what is already a low-height seat. I'm 175 cm and the bike does feel puny between my thighs. The very low kerb weight of the bike steals a bit from the confidence quotient. But the suspension is not without its merits, it's good for day-to-day city use and soaks bumps and potholes well. The ride is never jarring and the soft rear suspension supports your back, a sigh of relief due to the committed riding posture.

The bike can do much better with superior brakes. What's annoying is that the front brakes are from Bybre and the rear is from Nissin . Yamaha charges a premium for this baby 155cc and cuts corners like this, more on this later. The bite and feedback are never up to the mark and the bike could benefit from a bigger disc and better pads. The brakes are there to serve the purpose nothing more. The ABS is on point and never too intrusive and only steps in when you need it and you expect it to.

Console:-
The console has many features:-

• Two trip meters and Reserve trip meter
• Avg. fuel economy
• Instantaneous fuel economy
• Engine coolant temperature
• Shift lights
• Traction control -On/Off
• Message and call indication via Bluetooth
• Engine overheating indicator
• Fuel gauge
• Tachometer
• Street/Track modes

The console is white-lit at the back and has a very comfortable color temperature, it's never irritating or distracting to the eyes. There is also an option to adjust the backlight brightness. The Street/Track modes do not offer any change in engine maps. The tachometer starts reading from 6-7,000rpm in track mode and there is an option to start the lap timer when in track mode. A traction control system is also provided on the R15V4M, not sure how much of a safety aid it is on an 18 HP machine, I never had any use for it and there is also an option to turn it off. But hey, there can never be too much safety, it might save the life of someone/someday, somewhere.
One of the best things about the console is the shift lights, as the RPM crosses 7,000 RPM the first shift light comes on and other shift lights follow in an ascending fashion as revs build till the red line. On the red line, all the 5 shift lights blink in unison and this is very exciting to look at.

Pros:-

• Absolutely pretty to look at, the silver-blue paint job is a personal favorite.
• The engine is downright perfect for a 155cc.
• The FE never drops below 42Kmpl, kudos to Yamaha engineering.
• Handling is very good despite the soft rear.
• Proper true blue supersport, no other true supersport in the market up until the 457cc Aprilia.Thanks to stupid reviewers who expect an apple to be an orange too. The KTM RC is now a sports tourer.
• VVA & Aluminium swingarm add to the performance quotient.
• 0 rattles from the fairing.

Cons:-

• Average brakes at best
• The motor is absolutely dead in lower RPMs.
• The dealerships/service centers are bad in Vizag, so bad might need to **insert cussword here**.
• Quality issues with the paint.
• Strictly inadequate headlamp both in terms of throw and spread.
• The turn indicators that keep breaking over and over.

Issues:-
A premium 155cc sportbike from a reputed Japanese brand with a track record for bulletproof reliability, you would expect 0 issues right, read on.

Rear seat cowl design issue
The seat cowls on the rear seat break when mounting/dismounting from the bike. Since the rear seat is high, only reasonably fit people can get on the bike, the cowls bulge outwards and these break under the weight of the pillion. The cowls cost 3600/- a pair. I have replaced them twice and since they keep breaking I'm currently managing with zip ties and discourage my friends from riding shotgun. This issue is not present in R15V3 and the design team should have put better thought into this.

Rear brake pump issue
The Yamaha R15 has rear brake pump issues where the rear brake pump fails after 15-20,000kms or after a second rear brake pad replacement. My friend's V3 had it, my V4 has it too. The worst part, the pump only takes more than a month to arrive in stock, thanks to the sad state of service centers. In all my 3 years and 30,000 km with my NS there were absolutely 0 part failures. I took the NS to places where the R15 could only imagine going, through the roughest of terrains and the muckiest of dirt but it never had any part failures. Something or the other keeps breaking on the R15V4M, it needs to be treated like that fragile hot girlfriend.

Battery drain due to Bluetooth module
If you are away from town for three days and return to start your bike, you are welcomed with a dead battery, the console doesn't light up, and the horn doesn't blow. You have to resort to a push start and keep the engine running until the battery is charged. The culprit, the advertised Bluetooth module with connectivity features, none of which are of much use. It is an inconvenience rather than a convenience. It takes a good 5 minutes to connect before you start the ride and all the app telemetry is available on the console itself. The service center's solution is to disconnect the Bluetooth module and continue using the bike. The irony of having to pay for a feature that you cannot use and also which cripples the bike if used. There are several videos on YouTube about this issue, I'm unaware if Yamaha has fixed this in the updated version of the bike. But Yamaha should have known better.

Fragile indicators
Take the bike along a rough patch of road and get it pressure-washed, there you have it, your indicators in your palms. This issue has been prevalent since V3 but Yamaha launched the V4 with the same indicators and later fixed it in the updated V4 model with LED indicators having bendable necks. I have replaced the rear indicators multiple times, finally opted for aftermarket indicators, and have had 0 issues to date. So much talk about 6-sigma yet a simple matter of indicators has been overlooked, corporate greed? Maybe.

Cutting corners
Yamaha offers BYBRE disc callipers at the front and NISSIN callipers at the back. The brake disc plate has visible signs of surface rust. Yamaha wanted to save 5/- and left the disc plate naked. I understand that by the time the disc rusts and crumbles to pieces it would have served its intended purpose and need a replacement due to minimum disc thickness requirement. But still, it is a sore eye on a pretty bike, and my NS which cost exactly half of the on-road price of R15 back when I bought it in 2017 had black paint on the disc plate to prevent this. The NS also had BYBRE callipers at the front and back. The deep blue paint on the front rim is chipping away and chips even further off if pressure washed. I always prefer to wash my machines myself and rarely get them washed outside and the paint on the wheels of my NS never came off. The V3 model had steel tubular footpegs which are updated to aluminum ones on the V4, NS had aluminum ones since launch. The dark blue fork covers lost their lustre in the first year itself and is just pale blue now. The same is the case with other specimens of the bike even with less age.

Pathetic state of dealerships/service centers:-
If you stay in Vizag and are planning to buy an R15, you just pay up and get the bike, there will be no test drive/demo of the vehicle. The salespeople are careless and you have to follow up on everything, it seems as though they are not interested in selling the bike, this is from my friend's R15V3 buying experience. There are currently only two Dealerships/Service centers in the citylimits and the third one recently shut shop. The big service center near Dondaparthy has bikes racked up at the front like they are to be sold for scrap. If you are to give your bike for service be prepared to allocate your complete day for the task, the service advisor is least concerned about your bike's troubles and talks to you as if you owe them money. The other SC is at Pendurthi whose staff are half decent. For the brake pump issue that I mentioned earlier, I had to drive to the SC to diagnose the issue first and then an order for the said part was placed which took more than one month and 10 days to arrive at the dealership. Sapthagiri motors-Pendurthi does not provide a computerized bill for parts or labor. You just have to trust them when they say a part is 1500/- and pay up no questions asked. You have to be grateful that your bike got serviced rather than expecting a good service. My front right fork oil seal was leaking and the oil was leaking over the disc so the front disc was slipping. So essentially with a slipping front disc and failed back brake, the bike was unusable for the whole month. I suspected the oil seal would need a replacement and have asked them of the price for the same. Since these are KYB USD forks I did not want to get them done from a local mechanic. But as I am aware most of the SC of different brands don't do the repairs of forks in-house and get the job outsourced. I also know the mechanic who does these fork jobs. It was a mistake on my part here and I should have asked them if it was done in-house. When I returned to collect the bike, I have queried them regd. where the fork job was done, they simply mentioned they outsource it and they charge triple the amount that the mechanic would charge. I know this for a fact because I had my NS fork seal replacements done from both Bajaj SC and the local mechanic shed from where they get their forks done. What irked me here is that remember the fork caps that I mentioned earlier, the letters R15V4M are etched on them, and when they refitted the fork, they missed the symmetry, and the right fork's etching misaligns with the left one. It's right in front of you and you notice it all the time. When confronted about the same, they mentioned it would be taken care of in the next service. Charging triple and doing a shabby job, are just Yamaha SC things in my town. I paid up and left with the bike. The service is not better at Platinum motors-Dondaparthy, well that's a story for another day. Yamaha if you are reading this please improve the state of your dealership and service centers.

Also the rear brake pads cost 1000/- rupees and the front ones cost 500/- rupees. These are just your regular brake pads and are not sintered/advanced material pads. The latest model NS200 brake pads cost 500/- both front and back. Yamaha should tear a page from Bajaj/RE service books and part costs.

Little things:-
The R15M 3D emblem on the tank is a nice touch. The embroidered R15V4M on the rear seat is nice to look at. The blue stripes stickers on the tank feel like an afterthought and look like they are done using insulation tape. When the bike crosses 7,000 RPM one bar stays where the last rev was during gear change and picks up when you cross the rev mark, like in those vintage sports cars with two needles on the tacho. The side stand engine cut off is cool, I just come to a standstill and put the stand down so the engine cuts off before I put my foot on the ground, Arriving in style.

Final thoughts:-
The R15V4M is a small peppy fun to drive sports bike. It is a must-have in every enthusiast's garage so you can have the fun of bashing and pushing a 155cc to its absolute limit. It has great sophistication and technology built in. It's a good weekend toy rather than a comfortable daily. It's only because YAMAHA has a solid product in their hands that the bike sells in good numbers, given the state of their dealerships and service centers.




He is Mr.Sleek in silver, I named him INDRA. Did anyone notice that the number plate reads LU-Love You 15. (I know LU doesn't stand for Love you, but I'm not going to listen).

P.S.:- Moderators kindly move the post to an appropriate thread if needed and also do the necessary corrections if any.
Fellow team-bhpians let me know your thoughts on the bike and my views.

[R15M_Rider]

Originally Posted by KrishnaMohan

Hi Teambhp members,

I would like to share my views on the Yamaha R15V4M. I am not a professional reviewer, and the opinions expressed here are only my own.

Congratulations @KrishnaMohan! Glad to see another R15 review on TBHP, that too, this was my first bike too before I upgraded to the 2024 R3 in October. I used to daily ride it to office, take it on tours and did a stint on a race-track. Same color, and possibly, the same model year too where the R15M didn't get the TFT display like it gets today. Trust me you have gotten a very special machine. I hope you get a chance to take your R15 on a track too. The capability this machine has, the corner craving, forgiving and friendly character, it will leave you spell-bound.

Originally Posted by KrishnaMohan

Battery drain due to Bluetooth module

Pathetic state of dealerships/service centers:-

The battery drain problem is something which seems to be common with R15s in general. I guess its useless to have this bluetooth feature offered.

One thing I faced was radiator fan failure. It happened to me twice in my ownership of two years. I guess, getting a radiator guard will be wise. I also heard from a local FNG that, the V3's radiator fan is more reliable, not sure to confirm about this though.

Regarding the dealership part, the test-ride availability issue seems to be common pan-India I guess for Yamaha. Even here in Chennai, it is the same case. You're absolutely right, the product alone is driving the sales of Yamaha in general.

Looking forwared to hear more of your experiences with this machine as you progress thorugh ownership.

Ride Safe and please make sure to invest in good quality gears!

[hikozaru]

R15 deserves a case study in how customer surveys and MBAs trying to increase margin by any means ruined a great product. I have never seen anyone use bluetooth on a bike. That money could have gone for a good set of indicators like you say. The new TFT dash is an atrocity. I have yet to come across a responsive TFT dash on bikes. Unless the display puts out at least 120Hz with good response times without ghosting, a 20hp bike should stick to a simple LCD dash. It was such a joy to see the tacho dance like an audio visualiser to the music conducted by the throttle wand (granted my nostalgia could be imagining it to be better than it was). Or we can go back to the classic analogue needles. But no, Yamaha had to justify overpricing the R15 in the most stupid way possible.

[RD150]

Congratulations on owning the best 150cc bike. Very detailed and informative review

After R15 V2, the engine and features on the R15 kept getting better but the built quality, fit and finish and parts quality deteriorated. I hope Yamaha works on all the existing issues on V4, and we get a much better built R15 V5

[saikishor]

Congrats on the purchase. I must say you have posted some beautiful photos. Please do invest in riding gear(if you haven't already), as you seem to take corners as they should be taken but without any safety measures.

[KrishnaMohan]

Originally Posted by R15M_Rider

Congratulations @KrishnaMohan! Glad to see another R15 review on TBHP, that too, this was my first bike too before I upgraded to the 2024 R3 in October. I used to daily ride it to office, take it on tours and did a stint on a race-track.

Thank you for the kind words @R15M_Rider, hopefully, I get to go around a track one day. I have checked out the TFT display and I prefer the LCD to the TFT. The infamous radiator fan issue is common among R15s and maybe I should be preventive and get a radiator guard installed. My NS200 had a plastic guard for the radiator from the factory. I don't have pictures with the riding gear on.

Originally Posted by hikozaru

R15 deserves a case study in how customer surveys and MBAs trying to increase margin by any means ruined a great product. I have never seen anyone use bluetooth on a bike. That money could have gone for a good set of indicators like you say. The new TFT dash is an atrocity. I have yet to come across a responsive TFT dash on bikes. Unless the display puts out at least 120Hz with good response times without ghosting, a 20hp bike should stick to a simple LCD dash. It was such a joy to see the tacho dance like an audio visualizer to the music conducted by the throttle wand (granted my nostalgia could be imagining it to be better than it was). Or we can go back to the classic analog needles. But no, Yamaha had to justify overpricing the R15 in the most stupid way possible.

Exactly my thoughts @hikozaru, I have had 0 use for the Bluetooth even when it was connected. They should have focused on the overall product and customer satisfaction rather than justifying the price. But I feel that's how the market is driven, Bluetooth connectivity and LCD dash are becoming the norm in the industry and I am afraid none of the automakers will be offering an analog dash anymore. An afterthought, automakers if they could, should provide nice-looking gauges rather than these stupid LCD which have 0 character. Case in point, if you have ever driven a Tata Tiago, the rev needle on the tacho turns red from white when you approach the red line. I used to rev it out to just see the needle turn red. Yeah, I am a caveman.

A handwritten bill in 2024 is a joke, a shabby job of just refitting a shock is a shame. But such is the state of Yamaha service centers.


Pictured below are the deep blue fork covers on an ready to be delivered brand new bike.

After R15 V2, the engine and features on the R15 kept getting better but the built quality, fit and finish and parts quality deteriorated. I hope Yamaha works on all the existing issues on V4, and we get a much better built R15 V5[/quote]

Correct, the quality just kept dropping after the V3. Since the bike has almost all the features that a bike could offer, they should maybe focus on quality this time. If you ever want to check the bad quality on an R15, just press down on the tank shrouds and voila, they just pop open.

Originally Posted by saikishor

Congrats on the purchase. I must say you have posted some beautiful photos. Please do invest in riding gear(if you haven't already), as you seem to take corners as they should be taken but without any safety measures.

Thanks @saikishor, I have a knack for clicking pictures. yes, I am a corner junkie and do have the gear. Stupid as it may sound I did not put on the gear for that particular shoot.

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by KrishnaMohan

Cons:-[*]The motor is absolutely dead in lower RPMs.

As a fellow R15 owner (but V3) this comes as an absolute shock, it must be the BS6 tuning to be blamed for this, since my bike is BS4 and a little bit up on power (1 bhp or so), it has absolutely no issues in the lower end, infact it is eager to go from the very beginning and just keeps on gaining power, yes, if you talk about higher gears you feel the lack of grunt but that still it more in the mid range rather than low end. VVA is there just for that and these were the claims they made when they introduced this engine. It always had a great top end but then with single cam profile it was a compromise and low end suffered, with VVA they got in 2 highly optimised cam profiles 1 to take care of low end, other for even better top end.

But with BS6 and 6.2 this must have dulled it down and at the end of the day even Yamaha couldn't make up for it, maybe if they spend even more R&D and use even more exotic materials in the engine, they can regain that power but then that would cause a further shot up in price.

Anyways, what a great all rounder bike! I absolutely love mine to bits, only problem, it has only done 5k kms in 6 years! Sadly!

[Aditya]

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