My wife's Yamaha Aerox 155: A game-changer in the scooter segment

The scooter grabs attention from people of all ages.

BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Starting with a small teaser, assuming you would not have scrolled through the pics before reading this.

What we like about the Yamaha Aerox 155:

• A game-changer, even if too late for ICE scooters! Dream purchase for wife
• Sporty, unique and attention-grabbing looks
• The colour! Was not our first choice, but loved the paint scheme and quality in-person
• Performance - 155 cc, liquid-cooled, VVA motor derived from the R15 produces 15ps & 13.9Nm
• Decent CVT with the rubber-band effect not pronounced under city riding conditions
• Excellent handling, courtesy stiff suspension and good quality, wide, 14” IRC rubber at both ends.
• Effortless in the parking lot. Very light and nimble, thanks to the low CG
• Good braking performance, disc brakes up front, good tyre grip and single-channel ABS
• Features - LED headlamps, digital instrumentation with a tachometer, instant and average FE calculators, battery voltmeter, side-stand engine cut-off, mobile app connectivity, phone compartment with 12V charging socket, etc
• Auto start-stop works seamlessly with the silent SMG start
• 24.5L under-seat storage. Can swallow a full-face helmet + small items extra
• Fuel filler positioning is very convenient. Good FE too!

What we don't mind about the Yamaha Aerox 155:

• Limited sales network. Had to take delivery of the scooter from a showroom 6 hours away from home
• No footboard storage. If you need it, this scooter is just not for you. Period

What we don’t like about the Yamaha Aerox 155:

• Pathetic handling of the launch! This is no superbike, Yamaha!
• The hometown showroom took booking 3 months back and is still sitting on a backlog of orders with not even a display vehicle in sight. No official communication from Yamaha either!
• Unnecessarily harsh ride quality at the rear. Evident cost-cutting just for India with a cheap, ill-suited setup
• Sporty styling compromises knee room for tall (~ 6') riders
• The character-less engine note, especially with the silent SMG start
• The fit and finish of some elements do not match the premium feel of the rest
• The front phone compartment accommodates but is useless for charging large modern-day mobile phones
• Connected features are made available using Bluetooth. Not useful as SIM-enabled tech in modern electric scooters
• The feature list is lacking by modern electric scooter standards - lacks onboard navigation, reverse assist, rear disc brakes, etc. Smartkey system also skipped for the Indian market

Without further ado - presenting our 2022 Yamaha Aerox 155 in Racing Blue.

In these opening posts, I’ll go over the following topics. The scooter has completed 500 km at the time of compiling this initial report. Relevant thread links will be updated below during various stages of ownership.

1. Likes & dislikes. Our Aerox 155 experience in a nutshell
2. Glossary & anecdotes
3. Why a new scooter? The Maestro story. Competition check. Why not an electric scooter?
4. Yamaha's totally incompetent launch of the Aerox 155 & the cancelled booking!
5. Booking and delivery
6. Introducing my Aerox 155
7. Aerox walkaround, in detail
8. Ergonomics and comfort
9. Power, Transmission and Performance. Fuel efficiency.
10. Ride, Handling and Braking
11. Features and instrumentation
12. Practicality. Touring abilities. Service Experience. Accessories

Starting on a lighter note:

• In April 2020, when Covid struck and all of us were confined to our homes, I finally decided to complete my 2019 Thailand travelogue. In it were the words:

Yamaha doesn't care about the Indian market, but the XMAX could be a welcome addition here. Or if nothing else, at least this Aerox 155 - which was caught in India back in 2018, never to be seen again. Such a beautiful little machine would totally stand out in a sea of boring scooters from competing manufacturers.

Little did I know that I would be owning one, in the exact same colour in less than two years.

• Life in 10-year cycles! Both the Punto and the Maestro were purchased in 2012. Both were white! The replacements for both - the Aerox and a new car should arrive in 2022. And maybe both can be blue!
• Filmy sequence - I went to the Trivandrum Yamaha showroom on my Aerox, to cancel my three-month-old booking of the same! It was the first time the showroom folks were seeing one! Almost all the staff members were outside, checking the scooter - while I was sitting inside writing a cancellation request.
• Takes my personal record for the longest drive from showroom to home, post-delivery. 210 km and 6.5 hours.
• "Is that an R15 scooter?", "Rear tyre looks big" etc seems to be the most popular questions from strangers, trumping the likes of ever-popular questions like 'kitna deti hai?'
• Grabs too many eyeballs at this point - from elderly folks on scooters to middle-aged guys on bullets, and even queries from women scooterists on the road - but the scooter seems to be most popular with college kids. Kids in Dio and NTorq are seen stretching their necks out the maximum to check out this newcomer, and the same observation came from the wife too.

Continue reading BHPian CrAzY dRiVeR's Yamaha Aerox 155 review for more insights and information.