Entry Level Crisis

Yamaha R15 or the Honda CBR150R is the question on mouths of many people planning to buy an entry level sports bike. Quiet a dilemma for an enthusiast.

Yamaha R15 was launched in India quiet some time ago and has thrived since the day it was launched with a hefty price tag of Rs. 1.1lakh in 2008. But contrary to popular beliefs the bike was legendary and was something in terms of performance, handling, dynamics and looks that India had never seen before in entry level segment. 

Honda motorcycles and scooters India(HMSI) launched the CBR150R with aspirations of killing the well established R15 in 2012. But R15 has also upped its game with the version 2.0. Lets see how they fair against each other.
Both the bikes are very good looking and are sporty with R15 borrowing its looks from its dad R1 and CBR150R looks like a smaller version of CBR250R which further draws its looks from the Honda VFR1200F which rather than being a race bike is a sports tourer. Still Honda has managed to make it look sporty by adding sporty graphics and flashy colour schemes. The R15 has very sporty and dedicated riding position which takes time getting used to and is not recommended for long rides, while the CBR has more relaxed riding position and better suited for long rides. 

Build quality of Yamaha R15 is fabulous and its very hard to find anything wrong with it. The panels though made from plastic feel very premium and you never feel once that you wasted your Rs. 1.35lakh buying this bike. On the other hand the Honda has disappointed everyone with the CBR in terms of build quality that even some 100cc Honda bikes are better built than it or at least make you feel that you are getting the max worth of quality you can buy. The plastics used are very cheap and the fit is also very bad. There are panel gaps so large that a midget can live in it. The speedometer console has no housing in it and you can see all the wires and piping behind it. The switchgear is used from Hero splendor and there is no pass and engine kill switch which even the Honda stunner has. So negative points to Honda here.

The Engines.

Both the bikes come with 150cc single cylinder, fuel injected engines. R15 produces 17bhp power while CBR150R produces 17.5bhp so you'd be thinking that the CBR would be faster obviously! And in straight line IT IS a bit faster but the difference is so small that it is insignificant. But same power doesn't mean the same riding experience!The tuning of both the engines is very different. The R15 though being a sports bike, its engine has been tuned to produce phenomenal mid range torque so that you never have to shift down in traffic for overtaking. The CBR's engine on the other hand is truly an engine of sports bike which is a drawback in India because you never get to revv the engine hard enough to reach the peak power which is the sweet spot of this engine. So you have to shift down quiet a lot to perform overtaking manoeuvres. But the CBR's mill is definitely the better sounding of the two and has better peak performance. So if you want to buy an engine purely based on your priorities, go for the CBR if you like peak performance and go for the R15 if you like better mid range torque. I, personally would go with the R15.

The Ride.

Both the bikes have pretty stiff suspension setup and it is quiet difficult to differentiate both on this front. The suspension though being stiff, is not hard like a rock so both are ride able in India without thousands owners breaking their backs everyday. But with stiff suspension comes ferocious cornering and you can take a corner at atleast 10kmph faster than your brain allows you with lean angles so high that if you lean a bit more you can kiss the road. literally. Also put a humongous smile on your face. So both these bikes will entice you without posing any threat to your backbones.

So what we have here are two similar bikes with same engine capacities, different delivery styles and awesome handling. These aren't very powerful and you get used to them very easily. Both the bikes come from manufacturers which are renowned for their reliability. These bikes will only be able to enthral you in the city traffic but for the open roads they are just not meant to be. What these bikes give you is a glimpse of what it would feel to ride a super-sport bikes and what might be waiting for you if you someday choose to buy their high performance counterparts.

As a better buy i'd suggest you to go for the Yamaha R15 because it is a better bike overall in terms of riding dynamics, build, power delivery and quality. It gives you a feel of quality that the CBR is not even remotely capable of providing.Also there are more aftermarket parts available for R15 if you choose to customise your ride. It is also much better equipped and is also cheaper by Rs.10k.

Honda even though being one of the premier 2 wheeler manufacturer in India has failed in this segment and failed very bad. Yamaha whose other products have failed miserably in India have played a masterstroke with the R15 bringing the company back in the competition. Well played Yamaha.

The Ultimat'3'

BMW has the motto of producing cars which are the ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINES and they have always lived upto this motto. Can the new 3 series live up to the mark?

The previous generation 3 series was a cracker of a car in terms of looks and driving dynamics. But BMW has always been designing cars which look much ahead of time. Though BMW cars are STRIKING to look at they are not good looking. Because the cars look different, we choose to think that they are good looking. It is the same the case with the new 3 series. Its design has been a controversial one and there only 2 views about it- one of those people who like it and one of those who don't and still think previous gen 3 series is better looking. I choose to be amongst the latter ones. The thing around which all this controversy are the headlamps which merge into the signature double kidney grill. 

Otherwise the car looks very elegant with very strong lines which define the character of this car. The rear looks very similar to the 5 series the only difference being the single exhaust pipe instead of 2 in 5 series. The exhaust was also better in the previous gen 3.

The car has grown in length which is quite prominent and a very welcome change with more than enough space for everyone in the car and this one being the benchmark in terms of interior space.

The 3 series is available in 3 models with same diesel engine or 2 petrol versions with 2 engine options. I drove the diesel version. The price of the diesel cars start at Rs 38lac and Rs 42lac both on road indore. The cheaper version is called just the 320d while the costlier one comes in 2 trims, one the sport and luxury.

The diesel engine that comes with the cars is the same 2litre turbocharged diesel that comes with the 1 series but here it produces 184bhp while the 1 series has to make do with 143 bhp. The torque is also increased from 320nm to 380nm. So the car is no slouch and with the awesome ZF eight speed gearbox this car makes mincemeat of most of the competition. The speed climbs the speedo like a squirrel climbs a tree and if you find an open straight of road, it is not long before you are going at speeds in excess of 160kmph and you wouldn't know that until you look at the speedo. The engine in itself is masterpiece and anyone can tell that just by looking at the specific output of this engine. This type of output is petrol territory but somehow BMW have managed to do it in a diesel. Okay! So it has high specific output, but when you make high specific output diesel engines it has its share of drawbacks like enormous after-runs and turbolag but kudos to the engineers who have tuned this engine have escaped all of this. So you have an engine which has output figures of that of a petrol, which revvs as fast as a petrol, produces torque like it made for a truck and is more efficient than petrol. This is where it shows how passionate people at BMW are to make their cars perform no matter whatever fuel is used.

The car has very good sound deadning but you can still hear engine noise at low speeds. Not that the engine note is bad! The steering though is and is quite heavy at slow speeds and takes time getting used to but if you want to avoid gym you can just go round the city strolling in the car at 10kmph, that would be quiet a workout! 

I drove the costlier 320d in the sport trim. The interiors in this car are sporty and come with a single tone dashboard with a red line going through the center. The seats come in 2 different configurations in sportline while the luxury line comes with dual tone dashboard and beige seats!

The Ride.

I drove the sport line and it had an absolutely, spine shatteringly, jaw breaking ride. The suspension even after being softened for Indian roads is still too hard and is absolutely undrivable. Though hard suspension calls for better stability in corners but i don't want to take corners with a broken back! The luxury line which has a softer suspension setup has got it absolutely spot on! The car handles almost as well without breaking your back.

Another issue with the car is that it is big and it feels that when you drive it so you have to be VERY careful when you drive it, you don't want to total an car this expensive and especially when it is not yours! This reduces your confidence when you drive this car enthusiastically, which in turn reduces the amount of fun you can have with this car and of what it is capable of delivering.

Overall the car is very nice and with the amounts of luxury, performance and space it delivers, makes it far more desirable than the competition. The 3 series is much more exclusive than the competition and when you own one you would like to save its use for special occasions only. That is quiet strange coming from me but it is a fact. The car pampers you and makes you feel like you are the king of the road. This car is just a better place to be in than other cars. The car is undoubtedly the segment leader until next year when the all new mercedes c-class comes to india.
With the new 3 series BMW have done a wonderful job and yes it has not just lived up to the mark, it has overshot it!
Ultimate driving machine it is!