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Clocked 5000kms in 10 months on my Yezdi Adventure: Observations so far

25th June 2023, 11:02 by Dev Shah

Highly competent weapon of choice for touring long distances. You can easily sit for hours without taking a break. Seats are firm but not too firm,

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5000 km update:

It's been just 10 months and I have already crossed 5000 kms on the Yezdi which is surprising because on my scooter I average an yearly usage of around 3.5k kms over the last 7-8 years. I am in a much more better position to comment on things now that the bike feels settled completely and I too feel much more comfortable, gel with it pretty nicely!

Starting off straight with the important areas:

The Engine & Riding Nature - Will pull you back and shoot forward with no hesitation when you open up the throttle. What a sensational machine! Punchy acceleration throughout all the gears. The engine never feels lazy, it always is wanting you to rev it and take it to the next gear and go on. It does need a high level of self-restraint when driving inside the city. I have to actively remind myself and exercise control over the right hand in city traffic.

It's a joy to push through the gears. The clutch is hard and requires you to pull it all the way in. But once you get accustomed to its nature, it makes each gear shift feel blazing fast since the gears are slick. On the stiffer side, but the satisfying sounds you get when slotting gears is sweet. It is a bit notchy sometimes when going from 1-2 and sometimes feels vague with no feedback when shifting down multiple gears continuously but apart from that, it is delightful. Makes that satisfying loud chunk sound when you put it in 1st. The power delivery at the top of the rev range is monstrous. I still don't know where the rev limiter is because it keeps revving even after 8k rpm and the meter is marked upto 12k rpm. I tried it only once and scared myself enough with that. At 6-6.5k rpm, you do experience that peak pull of the torque and after that it does keep going on but at this point the engine becomes noisy to the point where it overpowers even the exhaust note. However, you won't find yourself doing these extremely focused performance runs unless you're on a race track.

Coming to real world usage, it is a fairly smooth and reliable engine with enough punch to keep you entertained. I did a Chennai to Bangalore trip at sustained triple digit speeds and never once did the bike feel stressed or out of its element. After taking a break, I thought the engine would be a bit stressed out as I was on constant 100-110 kmph speeds for more than an hour or two but it never felt that way and kept going smoothly and happily.

Heating is a non-issue when on open roads. However, it does hit you particularly on the right leg in slow-moving traffic. The riding nature in bumper-to-bumper traffic does get annoying at times as the hot air flow to your right leg feels like a never-ending affair. It does get better when you get moving a bit but if your primary riding is in high-traffic routes, you might be better off on another bike. The bike will not stall and die or become grumpy in slow speeds, it's just the inherent rev-happy nature of the engine will make you feel more comfortable on lesser-densely packed roads or highways. It will make its way in traffic and get you to your destination but honestly if you understand engines, love your machines and treat them like a friend/person (which you do anyway otherwise you wouldn't be on this forum), you wouldn't want to subject it to the heat and the long periods of idling anyway. Moreover, it's the traffic more than the engine which can get to me easily, unsettling the mental composure and spoiling the mood.

I have adapted my riding style of upshifting very early, riding inside the city to keep things smooth and free-flowing without much aggression. For context, I am riding in 3rd gear when doing 30kmph when the same engine will easily do at least 2-2.5x that speed in the same 3rd gear when pushed outright. I like these numbers because it gives me the feeling of taming a large monster which can go ballistic when needed. Shifting up in the 4-5k rpm range helps in the smooth refinement levels and the engine is also happy with the early upshifts. In fact, there are times where you can sense that it feels better in the higher gears.

Overall - Manages city usage decently well, prefer to have minimal to moderate level traffic routes. Excellent on highways, overtaking grunt is fierce due to the tall rev range. Can maintain its own pace for hours without stress. High-traffic roads are a pain and best avoided for you and your bike's comfort, unless you have no other choice.

The Handling - Surprisingly nimble for a bike this size. The wide handlebars and the leverage they give you is a boon. Can do a U-turn without going into the other lane! However, due to the wide nature of the handles, you cannot take certain gaps in traffic which you otherwise would be able to in other bikes.

With that being said, it is easy to throw around wide open spaces and make your way past. As I said earlier, I am not much of corner-carver but this will surely do it with ease should you want it to do just that. Even with the 21-inch front wheels, it feels well connected to your inputs even though you can't see the front tyre. One-time I had a puncture in the front-tyre and after fixing it, the guy had overinflated the tyre after which it started feeling a bit disconnected and braking felt vague. However, it has slowly started back to feeling more responsive as the tyre pressure wears down to a more optimal level.

The Braking - 340mm front disc is massive and confidence-inspiring. Braking performance is flawless and stops without a fuss even in high-speed braking scenarios. The brake-dive does require some getting used to especially if you're not used to ADV's. It did scare me the initial few times but even in those moments, it never went out of control and maintained its line. It has saved me on many occasions. Rear brake is also top class and is pretty usable. In fact, in city rides you can get by just using the rear brake alone with minimal front brake input.

However, one thing I feel missing is the sharpness and responsive in both the brakes. It was there when it was new. Even a little tap would respond so well and that has spoiled me. It does work well even now but that ultra-sensitive sharpness is gone as the brakes have settled/bedded in. Now it feels like you have to squeeze it a lot more to get the same effect. This seems to be a common issue with modern ABS-equipped brakes, going by what I read on tbhp posts from other members. It can be mitigated to some extent by tightening the brakes while servicing but that sensitivity cannot be regained fully. In fact, on some of my recent commutes in the city, there were moments where I realized the brakes never kicked in to the extent I wanted even though mentally I knew I was engaging the levers in. One possible factor could be accumulated dust as I have not had the bike washed from a fairly long time and I will get that done soon.

Overall - Top notch braking performance, keeps the bike steady even under panic braking situations. ABS is a life-saver, as usual! Hail Bybre.

The Comfort - Highly competent weapon of choice for touring long distances. You can easily sit for hours without taking a break. Seats are firm but not too firm, Yezdi has really nailed this right out of the gate. I never felt the need for any seat mods. Another noteworthy and unexpected point I noticed is it masks speeds well on the move. I have found myself doing unintended speeds and then one look at the speedo gives you a mildly pleasant surprise. I am 6'3 and at my height, windblast doesn't feel disturbing at highway speeds, provided you have a proper helmet. It does get slightly noisy and unstable when using my normal city usage helmet (which is also a full-face one anyway) but with the SMK helmet, it doesn't bother it at all!

The suspension is a marvel of engineering. It just gobbles up bad roads for snacks and then some more. Reviews kept mentioning it's on the stiffer side but trust me it translates that into the stability you need on high speed runs. Even with city usage, it doesn't feel too stiff to me. No it will not transmit every minor undulation, roughness on the road to your back. Not at all! Quite the opposite, when everyone else will be slowing down you'll be gliding ahead. Bad roads/patches are overtaking opportunities for me with this and I am not even joking with this sentence.

I did some off-roading too and once you start saddling, you will realise this is a proper ADV. It just eats up whatever you throw at it without breaking a sweat. Thoroughly impressed. Don't ask me for the off-road trail location though. It's a relatively unknown one here in Chennai and I would love to keep it away from the public eye otherwise it will end up as another trashed-up mainstream destination. If you know, you know!

Other points:

Fuel Efficiency - If you're the type of person who is obsessed with "kitna deti hai?", you will be disappointed with the numbers. It returns around 25-27kmpl depending on your riding style which is low for a 334 cc engine but it has the bhp to counter that point. Anyway, I have felt other people not being happy with this answer but I am not one of them so it doesn't bother me. I am not some affluent kid, it's just that my usage is less so it doesn't affect me to that extent. I use it only for long tours or weekend fun. I have a scooter for my daily commutes (which thankfully doesn't heat up like this does) which strikes the perfect balance of commuting and fun!

Refinement - Smooth in the lower and mid-range rpms, does get vibey at top end, being a high-revving single cylinder format. Overall, pretty good for a first-gen product! Will definitely need improvements in their further iterations if they want to do well as a brand otherwise this will also die down as another failed brand effort by Mahindra.

If you would remember from my initial review post, the engine felt unrefined/unsettled. Safe to say, that has improved by leaps and bounds and heating is also well controlled, only appears in dense situations. It took approx 2.5-3k kms for the engine to completely open up and feel at ease.

Lighting - Perfect at the moment for me. No aux lights installed.

Pillion Comfort - Excellent, not a single complaint.

Service Experience - Wherever you stay, please research the Google reviews of the dealer before going ahead. I say this because in Chennai there are multiple dealerships but I went with the one with good reviews even though it's quite far from my area. Right now, I have no major issues with the experience as it has been largely positive. Service costs and spare part costs also are affordable and will not drain your account.

For some reason, it does not like revving/showing-off to bystanders when you try to do it. I tried doing that out of excitement and the engine cut off on it own and after that, the check-engine light came on which was immediately anxiety-inducing but upon visiting the service centre, they cleared it off with the scanner within a minute and said that there was nothing wrong. The sensor has some issue when given too much throttle input at standstill.

The first time I did it, the engine cut off and the bike was unable to start up for 2-3 minutes after that but no warning light came on. After the second time, I just gave up and no more show-off, rev-battling for me here on.

Low-speed riding without frequent gear shifts - It is possible to do it once you get used to the characteristics and the nature. You need to keep the revs past the 2-2.5k rpm to pull it off. I learnt doing it on my own and it is useful in low-speed traffic situations, speedbreakers etc but sometimes it does feel a bit lazy taking off after that. Again, that might be due to the fact that I don't rev it too high but it is manageable if you just want to get by. I have also started from standstill in 2nd gear at times but I don't want to make it a habit so I don't do it frequently. 90% of the time I will shift down and immediately shift back up when we're moving. Also, it feels more comfortable and eager to go starting from 1st.

Fit & Finish - This is where it takes a hit. Everything can't be hunky-dory everywhere all the time, sadly. Lots of surface rusting in places where you wouldn't like it to be, even some on the brake discs. Paint and metal quality used seems to be the weak link. Thankfully, nothing has fallen off or crumbled to pieces yet and it needs care with cleaning and repainting bits each time it goes for a service. This seems to be a common issue with the bikes as reported from other owners in the group.

Contrastingly, the bike feels solid and well-put together with no squeaking, rattling from anywhere. Everything is either metal or hard-plastic and gives that well-built feeling but the rusting is inescapable.

Mods/Accessories planned:

Centre Stand from madoverbikes.com but worried about it affecting the ground clearance so still undecided on that.
Magnetic tank bag/soft luggage options.

I think I have covered all the relevant points. Let me know if I have missed something.

This brand seems to have a lot of potential for growth and a considerable alternative to the other mainstream products. After reading the complaints about these bikes on tbhp/online reviews/sentiments in general, most of them feel silly and uninformed to me. Whatever their motives, I won't react to it. I must admit initially it did get to me and I too felt bad about my choice however I understand my own mind better now and I am in love with my machine. I bought a bike which suits me well given my physical dimensions and keeps me happy. However, I should start riding more and invest more on riding gear. Have some good stuff planned in mind, will need to work on my mental health a bit more before I can do that.

The feeling I get when I look at my own silhouette riding this beast in the shadow, on the highway is just unmatchable. I made it, this is the stuff I dreamt of as a kid and now I've turned it into reality. Maybe the SBK dreams will also come true in a similar sense! Anyway, riding off into the long open highway till then.

Some pictures to follow:

In the Depths of the Darkness: