Yamaha FZ25 Ownership Review
Love first walked into my life when I was 8 months old. Dad brought home a shining red "Yama" Rx-100 back in 1987. Though I do not have memory of that rainy day delivery itself, it is my first memory of a motorcycle. 31 years from then, the "Made in Japan" tag is still intact on the engine cover and she still behaves like a teenager when given the beans. But this isn't about the Rx-100. You can't describe love in words. This is however, about her sibling born 3 decades later, brought home under similar circumstances. This is about the Yamaha FZ-25.
When I first rode the Yamaha FZ25 back in May last year, I had a herniated disc and walked like a car with two right punctured tyres. When I got a call from the Yamaha showroom that the test bike had arrived and will be available only for a few hours, I couldn't miss it. I somehow managed to hop onto my Royal Enfield Himalayan and with a face that grimaced with every pothole and undulation on the road, reached the Yamaha showroom. Once I rode the FZ, the grimace turned into a big wide grin. As I hopped on again on my Himalayan, the decision was made. The Himalayan had to go. The FZ came into our lives in June last year but I still couldn't ride enough, given my back condition. 9 months and umpteen hours of physiotherapy hence, I am back on the saddle. While I still can't ride as much as I used to, I can ride enough to write about it. So lets get started.
Starting with the looks, it's a thoroughbred naked and it's a thoroughbred Yamaha. The street presence is amazing and the one can easily mistake it for a middleweight naked. The twin LED headlamp does a decent job in illuminating the street. On the highway though, one would need to upgrade the torches for a better throw and spread. Moving on to the instrument cluster and this is the first place where Yamaha India leaves you wanting for more. While it does have an odo, two trips, a clock, average speed and a fuel efficiency indicator, there is only one toggle for all the options. So for instance, you can't have the clock and the odo displayed at the same time and that's a bit of a downer. The all digital cluster itself has an orange backlight and is nice and bright even in direct sunlight. Next up, the dynamics. The bike feels light on its feet and that's because it is. At 800 mm, the seat height is just right for an average sized Indian. The riding stance, though aggressive, is not tiring in the city, nor out there on the highway. What's lacking for the 800 kms a day tourers though, is wind protection and Yamaha should seriously think about adding optional accessories to this bike.
Moving on to the heart of the motorcycle, its engine and this is where the fun begins. On the specs sheet, the engine technology is well, not the latest. When you ride it though, it is in a league of its own. There is a tremendous amount of torque in the low and mid revs. The throttle response is just unbelievably instant. There isn't even a split second wasted in what your right wrist orders and what your rear wheel does and unlike its European competition, the engine is very tractable and doesn't knock at lower revs. For instance, you can pull comfortably from 45 kph in 5th gear without even the slightest hint of the engine knocking and before you know it, you're doing triple digit speeds. If you're into riding for breakfast rides with a group of 600+ cc motorcycles, you won't be left too far behind in the pack as this engine can sit at 120-125 kph comfortably all day long. It takes fast commuting and short distance touring to an all new level. Another great feature of this engine is heat management. The engine doesn't heat even in heavy traffic, in direct sunlight. In terms of heat management, it really feels like a 150cc motor. I have not ridden anything like it in this category of motorcycles. You have to ride it to experience it.
However, and there is a however, Yamaha India once again leaves you wanting for more in terms of a tall, overdrive 6th gear. I still try searching for it upwards of just 80 kph. Not that the engine loses steam or feels stressed at triple digit speeds. It just loses that relaxed, tractable nature and gets into that hungry for more mode beyond 80 kph. That brings me to the transmission. Though precise, the transmission is quite clunky. Yamaha engineers have promised that it'll improve post a few thousand kms and a few services but so far, it hasn't. Finding neutral at a traffic light is a nightmare at the moment. However, if you kill the engine, it slots into neutral like a hot knife through butter. That makes me think there is work needed in the clutch department, not the gearbox. The clutch doesn't seem to fully disengage and that's probably what's causing the clunky shifts.
Coming to the ride and handling, the bike is well balanced, stable at high speeds and eager to corner or change directions in traffic. It's not as sharp as the track focused Yamaha R15 or the KTM's for that matter but it does the job fairly well. Once again, cost cutting by Yamaha India is very evident in the tyre department. The stock MRF's are built for a longer tread life and do not instill much confidence in corners. It's a great chassis setup let down by the tyres. Thankfully, that's not much of a task to change that and I will be making that change soon. An area of concern that cannot be easily set straight though is braking. The brakes lack the initial bite and feel spongy. A harder pull on the levers and they provide enough feel, feedback and stopping power. Just the lack of initial bite once again lets you think that this bike was not designed for the enthusiasts. To top it all, there is no ABS available, even as an option.
All in all, this Yamaha is easy to own, easy to ride and easy to maintain. In the city, the bike returns a fuel economy of around 35 kmpl which is mind boggling for the amount of grunt it packs in. The spares are not expensive, the service costs are low and at 1.4 lakhs, OTR, Mumbai, it is a package hard to refuse. Where it leaves the enthusiast wanting for more is better braking, better transmission, better tyres and a more comprehensive instrument cluster. So whom is this bike for? It is for the ones who are seeking that balance between performance and practicality. It is for the seeker of joy, for the seeker of reliability. It is for that Valentino Rossi fan who goes to work wearing a tie and goes weekend riding wearing leathers!
When I first rode the Yamaha FZ25 back in May last year, I had a herniated disc and walked like a car with two right punctured tyres. When I got a call from the Yamaha showroom that the test bike had arrived and will be available only for a few hours, I couldn't miss it. I somehow managed to hop onto my Royal Enfield Himalayan and with a face that grimaced with every pothole and undulation on the road, reached the Yamaha showroom. Once I rode the FZ, the grimace turned into a big wide grin. As I hopped on again on my Himalayan, the decision was made. The Himalayan had to go. The FZ came into our lives in June last year but I still couldn't ride enough, given my back condition. 9 months and umpteen hours of physiotherapy hence, I am back on the saddle. While I still can't ride as much as I used to, I can ride enough to write about it. So lets get started.
Starting with the looks, it's a thoroughbred naked and it's a thoroughbred Yamaha. The street presence is amazing and the one can easily mistake it for a middleweight naked. The twin LED headlamp does a decent job in illuminating the street. On the highway though, one would need to upgrade the torches for a better throw and spread. Moving on to the instrument cluster and this is the first place where Yamaha India leaves you wanting for more. While it does have an odo, two trips, a clock, average speed and a fuel efficiency indicator, there is only one toggle for all the options. So for instance, you can't have the clock and the odo displayed at the same time and that's a bit of a downer. The all digital cluster itself has an orange backlight and is nice and bright even in direct sunlight. Next up, the dynamics. The bike feels light on its feet and that's because it is. At 800 mm, the seat height is just right for an average sized Indian. The riding stance, though aggressive, is not tiring in the city, nor out there on the highway. What's lacking for the 800 kms a day tourers though, is wind protection and Yamaha should seriously think about adding optional accessories to this bike.
Moving on to the heart of the motorcycle, its engine and this is where the fun begins. On the specs sheet, the engine technology is well, not the latest. When you ride it though, it is in a league of its own. There is a tremendous amount of torque in the low and mid revs. The throttle response is just unbelievably instant. There isn't even a split second wasted in what your right wrist orders and what your rear wheel does and unlike its European competition, the engine is very tractable and doesn't knock at lower revs. For instance, you can pull comfortably from 45 kph in 5th gear without even the slightest hint of the engine knocking and before you know it, you're doing triple digit speeds. If you're into riding for breakfast rides with a group of 600+ cc motorcycles, you won't be left too far behind in the pack as this engine can sit at 120-125 kph comfortably all day long. It takes fast commuting and short distance touring to an all new level. Another great feature of this engine is heat management. The engine doesn't heat even in heavy traffic, in direct sunlight. In terms of heat management, it really feels like a 150cc motor. I have not ridden anything like it in this category of motorcycles. You have to ride it to experience it.
However, and there is a however, Yamaha India once again leaves you wanting for more in terms of a tall, overdrive 6th gear. I still try searching for it upwards of just 80 kph. Not that the engine loses steam or feels stressed at triple digit speeds. It just loses that relaxed, tractable nature and gets into that hungry for more mode beyond 80 kph. That brings me to the transmission. Though precise, the transmission is quite clunky. Yamaha engineers have promised that it'll improve post a few thousand kms and a few services but so far, it hasn't. Finding neutral at a traffic light is a nightmare at the moment. However, if you kill the engine, it slots into neutral like a hot knife through butter. That makes me think there is work needed in the clutch department, not the gearbox. The clutch doesn't seem to fully disengage and that's probably what's causing the clunky shifts.
Coming to the ride and handling, the bike is well balanced, stable at high speeds and eager to corner or change directions in traffic. It's not as sharp as the track focused Yamaha R15 or the KTM's for that matter but it does the job fairly well. Once again, cost cutting by Yamaha India is very evident in the tyre department. The stock MRF's are built for a longer tread life and do not instill much confidence in corners. It's a great chassis setup let down by the tyres. Thankfully, that's not much of a task to change that and I will be making that change soon. An area of concern that cannot be easily set straight though is braking. The brakes lack the initial bite and feel spongy. A harder pull on the levers and they provide enough feel, feedback and stopping power. Just the lack of initial bite once again lets you think that this bike was not designed for the enthusiasts. To top it all, there is no ABS available, even as an option.
All in all, this Yamaha is easy to own, easy to ride and easy to maintain. In the city, the bike returns a fuel economy of around 35 kmpl which is mind boggling for the amount of grunt it packs in. The spares are not expensive, the service costs are low and at 1.4 lakhs, OTR, Mumbai, it is a package hard to refuse. Where it leaves the enthusiast wanting for more is better braking, better transmission, better tyres and a more comprehensive instrument cluster. So whom is this bike for? It is for the ones who are seeking that balance between performance and practicality. It is for the seeker of joy, for the seeker of reliability. It is for that Valentino Rossi fan who goes to work wearing a tie and goes weekend riding wearing leathers!
