Yezdi Scrambler & Adventure: Close look & ride impressions

The power felt unimpressive compared to the Honda CB300R

BHPian drt_rdr recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The paltry couple km of test rides that showrooms provide you is nowhere enough to make a good appraisal of vehicles. If media\youtube test rides are honest and balanced, they would then help you out when you go for your test ride, and all you have to do is verify what they say about the bike and riding dynamics. Otherwise, there would be a lot to look for and process if you're discovering it on your own.

I had a close look and a few km test ride of the scrambler and adventure. I agree with other members who posted their impressions as far as build finish goes. Not that great. I spotted rusted screws on the exhaust, kind of meh quality of paint on the chassis, engine and exhaust, paint already rubbed off the side stand, footpegs and brake pedals, non-uniformity in manufacturing of certain peripheral parts between different units, the screen of the instrument pod seemed flimsy and prone to scratches, switches were cheap. But, keeping in mind you're getting a competent 300cc bike for this price, these can be lived with, I think.

Now, build quality in terms of durability and longevity is a different matter from build finish. This, I cannot comment on from a mere look-see and test ride.

As far as riding went, again, I agree with the opinion that the Scrambler's engine is gruff and the throttle needs better calibration. The engine gruffness or lack of "refinement" comes from the amount of mechanical noise it makes, but I didn't notice any bothersome vibrations or anything like that. So, I don't really care about this as long as the bike runs well. But if you compare this to the CB300R, the Honda engine is just sweet. The engine heat on the Yezdis, though, I think heat management is something that CL needs to work on, I felt a lot of heat on my legs. Also, the gearbox is not something I notice if it works well. But something about the shifting didn't sit well with me, can't articulate what.

Anyway, apart from a jerky throttle response at the low end, the bike rode just fine, at least the way I rode today, which is with heavy doses of throttle and clutch. The power felt unimpressive compared to the CB300R, so much so that I was slipping the clutch looking for more go at some points even when I thought I was in the powerband. That's not to say this is a slow bike or anything, just that this ain't got enough poke for me. But on the bright side, the power is not overwhelming for our roads like the abortion punch to the theoretical womb-gut you get when you go WOT on the KTM 390s (really wonder what kind of eye-bulging difference just basically 50 ccs can make to the riding experience). Then again, getting off the Yezdi and getting on my Impulse felt like I was riding a bicycle. So...

Brakes lacked feel but otherwise are adequate. Bybre equipment, steel braided lines as standard. ABS kicks in too early on the rear though which is irritating. The brakes on the FZ25 and Pulsar250 are beautiful in comparison. Clutch is heavy and requires effort, but not as much as on the Himalayan.

The stiff suspension really isn't as much of a bother as Powerdrift made it out to be. If you can live with the Duke, this one didn't feel bad at all. The rear did feel a bit rebound happy and bucked me off the seat over a couple of small humps, but at least the seat felt soft and comfy to compensate for the stiff suspension. The seat is roomy and the seating position is comfortable.

I jumped over a few road humps and bad patches and this thing felt absolutely confident. I see how petrolhead_neel was impressed by this. Also felt this thing can take hits and hold up, thanks to the stiffness. Rear sus is from Gabriel. Let's keep in mind this is a scrambler, not a dirt bike or dual-sport. This is a package that's built to do a lot of roads and some dirt in between. Stiff sus is not out of place, people's expectations are. Curb your enthusiasm, men. Overall, I'm not gonna complain about the suspension. I think I can live with the package.

The handling dynamics felt quite friendly like typical Honda, Suzuki. Easy to live with, not a drama queen like Duke. The 180 kg heft is felt while parking and moving it about, especially for hopping off from my 135 kg bike. But on the move, it's quite alright and no big deal for the average joe. U-turns are easy. But if this jerky throttle at low revs is a feature and not a fault of the bike, then you gotta have the leg strength to keep yourself from falling when the bike stalls. I kept blipping to keep the revs from falling too low for low-speed turns.

The adventure seems to be running a slightly more mellow engine tune and a softer suspension. Linked mono-shock at the rear. The linkage allows more travel on the suspension. It really does one-up the Himalayan. It's the more gentlemanly bike among the Yezdi duo. Feels markedly more difficult to move around the parking area, but the riding feels well sorted as far as big front wheel setups go. The throttle felt less jerky but still needs better calibration, learn a thing or two from Bajaj, guys. U-turns easy here too and come with the same caveat. I think this is a great travel bike for the money if things hold up well in the long run.

Conclusions: Overall, for the scrambler, not overly impressed, but far from underwhelmed by the ride. I've not got much to complain about, would gladly have taken a chance on this if it came in 20 kgs lighter. The looks, though, killer price, to say the least. And the Adventure seems to be quite the well-rounded package for the price. I'd anyway pick this over the Himalayan if I had to choose. But I'm not buying either, safe to say.

And even though the grunt is a bit lacking for me, honestly, power doesn't account for much at the end of the day, rideability does. These bikes seem to be enjoyable packages if CL sorts out the low rpm throttle hitches. Then again, the older KTMs and CB300R feel jerky too.

These are just my impressions based on a few km of good and bad roads. Take it with salt per your taste.

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