Yamaha RayZR Scooter - Razor sharp or not?. Review on Yamaha Ray ZR

High there! The following are my two cents on this offering from Yamaha. Do take your time to read the entire review before choosing to decide whether you hate the vehicle and the review or not!(I wink at you at this point!)

If you are an average urban commuter breaking your back every day in the heavy city traffic and planning to buy yourself a fresh pair of wheels you are probably out on the hunt for a scooter in the automotive jungle. Indeed scooters have come a long way since TVS launched the Scooty and Honda launched its first generation Activa. Scooters are sleek, sexy, solidly built and don’t burn holes in the wallets, either at the time of buying a new one or grinding one in heavy traffic. Even the hardcore macho bikers look at some of the new scooters these days with much adulation! So when I, the true blue R15 guy, got in to the shoes of the quintessential urban commuter there was only one thing in mind – to get me one of these new sexy scooters.

I had had a rough list of sorts and after weighing all the pros and cons of all the entries in the list I ended up homing in on two scooters – the TVS Jupiter classic and the Yamaha RayZR. The TVS Jupiter Classic was a safer bet. It has been on the roads longer than the RayZR and it looks cool! In fact it is a sight for sore eyes from every angle – the poor man’s Vespa, if you will! The short windscreen can take any scooter aficionado’s breath away!  But then it struck me – I was this wild beast recently fettered by work obligations. Would the Jupiter Classic suit my inner free spirit? I was still jagged at the edges and there was not a chance in hell that all of those could be polished down in to a sober executive kind. So I went for the RayZR, albeit with some apprehensions in my mind.

I distinctly remember my first day on this scooter. Taking delivery of a modest 110cc mill is never exciting for someone who is married to a sports machine. So, a sedate I took delivery of the scooter and hit the road like a good and obedient boy. I had been warned not to twist the throttle too much during the run-in period. So I obliged for the first 500 meters or so and remained planted on the low saddle like a droopy owl in daytime. The scooter barely moved as the speedo read 20KMPH. What shit! But then the devil bit me! A stretch of empty tarmac with not a single motorized vehicle in sight for at least a mile, a whiff of cool air and a long forgotten racy number playing somewhere afar stung me like a bunch of hornets. I wriggled the throttle open and let the paltry 110cc motor speak to me. The exhaust outlet gurgled at first and then exploded in a gruff, throaty and loud growl! This was no scooter tone! The acceleration was fairly fast for a 110cc mill and it pulled me and my little buddy all the way up to 95KMPH without a hint of objection! 100 could not be achieved quite simply because we ran out of empty tarmac. All the traffic came back buzzing soon enough at the intersection with a busy town street. But I guess time and patience can take this little baby to the ton. But be warned, such speeds are not healthy for either man or machine if you are riding a scooter.

I have owned this scooter for close to a year now and I have done highway and off-road stints in equal measures, other than the usual city commutes of course. The suspension travel is short and understandably so – this is no Aprilia SR 150 with big 14 inch wheels! It is sprung slightly on the stiffer side. Your hands and shoulders will ache after long rides and your pillion will complain about back aches. I know because my wife does. But the front disc and rear drum brake combo is good enough. The front disc has good bite and feedback. The rear drum locks up hastily - telltale signs of ABS not being present!

I guess Yamaha was planning to put more of these machines in the hands of college goers from the beginning and to that end they have succeeded, let me tell you. The design, although lifted shamelessly from the Honda Dio, is stunning. The sharp angular lines, the broad front section with a bat-mobil-ish handle-bar cowl and the matt black, military green combo paint scheme make it bad-boyishly attractive.  The quality of plastic is good. I have taken it through extremely undulating and rather punishing forest tracks, run across dried up river beds and once even got into bit of a pickle in a quicksand patch. But it has passed all the tests thrown at it with flying colours. It was not supposed to do all that mind you, but it did all that stuff all the same without a hint of complaining. The plastic panels will buzz and rattle slightly after sometime. Technology is yet to marry plastic and metal. But nothing will fall apart, rest assured about that. This is a Yamaha after all and this moto-giant’s legendary build quality exudes from every part of the scooter. The motor is a bit buzzy till about 35KMPH, after which all the way up to 80 KMPH it remains butter smooth. But if you want to extract the best mileage out of it ride in the economy zone between 30 KMPH and 60 KMPH. I get around 45kmpl with sedate city riding. But if I happen to take it on to the highways on days I am feeling a little naughty and just happen to wriggle the throttle a bit too much, this machine guzzles up fuel pretty quickly. At 95KMPH it will return a fuel economy of no more than 30kmpl, I believe.

So if you have a budget not upwards of 70 grand and are looking to have a fun machine that you can torment at will without necessarily restricting it to mundane city commuting go for this scooter! Have no second thoughts about it! These are the unbiased words of a certified R15 freak and - make no mistakes - I am not married to Yamaha!

P.S.: My scooter has been subjected to the load test as well. I have taken two hefty pillions with me comfortably sometimes without the engine complaining until about 65KMPH. After such speeds the engine did complain with a throaty growl but never showed signs of giving up either. But saying so, I would never encourage you to break traffic rules and engage in activities that can potentially harm you and the person(s) you are carrying, not to mention the motor itself. So don’t do what I did.

So here’s the summary:

(1) Mileage – 40-45kmpl depending upon you riding habits.

(2) Comfort – As good as a scooter can get, for both rider and pillion.

(3) Reliability – It’s a Yamaha!

(4) Road Grip – Good enough on dry and wet surfaces but nothing to write home about.

(5) Appeal – I love the looks and the paint scheme. The love affair is on a steady incline, must say! But, as they say, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!

(6) Negative Aspect(s) – Give it a freaking 150cc mill Yamaha! This scooter literally begs for more power!

If you have come to this part of the review then I do sincerely hope that you have not been astronomically bored by the passage and have made a buying choice!(I wink at you once again at this point!)

Warm Regards!