The Yezdi Scrambler. Go Braaaap!
The Yezdi Scrambler. A motorcycle that brings back the Yezdi brand back from the ashes. A motorcycle that brings a true blue scrambler in the "affordable" price range of Rs. 2.5 lakhs. A motorcycle that makes you Go Braaaap!
When Mahindra owned Classic Legends decided to relaunch the iconic Yezdi brand in India, they did it with not one, not two but three platform sharing motorcycles. The Roadster which is a modern classic street motorcycle, the Adventure which is well, an adventure motorcycle and the Scrambler which is, as the name suggests, a scrambler motorcycle. So what makes the Scrambler so special? The Roadster is entering an already crowded segment with the Royal Enfields and the Hondas for company. The Adventure too is late to the party since the Himalayans and the KTM Adventures have already finished off most of the booze. But the Scrambler has opened up a virgin territory. The next cheapest Scrambler is at least Rs. 7 lakhs more expensive and that makes this launch very, very interesting to me. Is it as interesting to ride? Lets find out.
Look at this Yezdi from any angle and the design is unmistakably Scrambler. You would be forgiven for even mistaking it for a larger scrambler from the Great Britain or Italy. The minimalistic design, the front beak, the 19 inch front wheel, the tall handlebars, the long travel suspensions and the on/off road MRF Kruze tyres they all come together in giving this motorcycle that distinctly scrambler look. Overall quality, paint, fit and finish are improved from the earlier Jawas but not yet Honda territory. That's livable to be honest. It gets an offset round shaped all digital display which is a bit of a strain to read in direct sunlight. The tiny fonts for everything apart from the speedometer don't help either. You don't get Bluetooth connectivity as standard. You do get three ABS modes from the most intrusive rain mode to off road centric supermoto ABS for having some fun in the gravel. All in all, the minimalistic design language of the Scrambler gets spilled over to the features list as well.
At the heart of the Yezdi Scrambler sits a short stroke, 335 cc, single cylinder, liquid cooled motor, running a fairly high compression ratio of 11:01. The result is, a free revving, lively power mill with a sucker punch of a mid range. The gearing is on the taller side and you need to be in the right gear to get the most out of this motor, especially at slow speeds. High gear, low speed coasting is not something this motor enjoys. Refinement levels are fairly decent given the kind of power this motor generates. Again, not in Honda territory but nothing unlivable either. Give this scrambler the beans and boy oh boy she goes. It's not a KTM like, predator type acceleration. It's a lot more naive, a lot more curious, a lot more pure form of power delivery that eggs you on to go faster.
The soul of this motorcycle definitely sits in its chassis set up. The motorcycle is light for its category, it's narrow, the pegs are neutrally set, the seat height is low, the handlebars are tall and wide. The result is, confidence inspiring comfort for every size of rider, for every style of riding. You want to sit back and enjoy a relaxing ride, no problem. You want to stand up and scramble through the rough road, no problem. You sit upright and the wide handlebars give you that open chested, king of the road stance. The wide bars also give you better leverage to make the Scrambler dance like a ballerina with minimal steering inputs. The short wheelbase makes it extremely flickable in traffic and you feel like dodging each pothole on the road. Not because you want to, but because you can. The 200 mm ground clearance is adventure motorcycle territory and the fact they've achieved it despite keeping the seat height at 800 mm is commendable.
The Scrambler gets a 100 section tyre upfront and a 140 section at the rear. Both tyres are MRF Kruze which are known to provide fairly good grip on tarmac at least. The ride quality overall is flat for the most part. Only the very hard thuds can cause a shift in your spine. You can dial down the preload on the rear springs to make the ride more pliant. The braking is on the dot too. The bite isn't too sharp but the progression is good and overall this 180 kgs juggernaut drops anchor in a jiffy. To sum it up, open roads, bad roads, urban roads, broken trails, forest roads, mountain roads, this Yezdi will blaze through them all and plant a big wide smile on your face while at it. That sharp steering, that flickable nature, that mid range grunt, it all comes together to elevate the scrambling experience to a different level altogether.
So is there a flipside to this Scrambling fairytale? Unfortunately, there is. For starters, there's still a lot more work that Yezdi needs to do in the engine NVH department. You can hear a lot of clatter of moving parts in the engine and that doesn't give you the confidence that this engine can go lakhs of kms without major repairs. The lack of low end grunt and the tall gearing doesn't help if, for a change, you wish to take things easy and soak in the scenery for a bit. The motor likes to be kept on the boil to feel happy. The result? Kitna deti hai goes for a toss. Time will tell but I'm not expecting anything more than a 25-30 kpl from this mill. Moving on to the impressive handling. The wheelbase is short and yet the turning radius of the Scrambler seems slightly longer than that of the RE Classic and much longer than the Honda CB 350s. Cutting through traffic at a signal would not be something that the Scrambler would enjoy. The upward sloping pillion seat isn't exactly comfortable either, nor does it look too roomy. Riding two up for that dream Ladakh bike trip? You might just want to reconsider which motorcycle you take along. The kit that you get with the Scrambler falls short in the face of the competition, even from its own sibling, the Adventure. You don't even get a mainstand with the Scrambler, even as an accessory. The pay and park guy outside office isn't gonna be your best friend. Cleaning and lubing the chain will require a paddock stand. It may seem trivial, but it's a big miss from Yezdi. Finally, the price. At around Rs. 2.5 lakhs on road, Mumbai, the Scrambler is priced at a premium to the Hondas and the Royal Enfields. The Yezdi Adventure too is on an average just Rs. 5-6k more expensive. In that money you get a beautiful monoshock, a marginally more powerful and more refined engine, Bluetooth connectivity and a lot more.
Buying the Yezdi Scrambler then, is much like investing in a startup company. There's not enough track record or available data for you to run your sophisticated analytics on. You just go with your gut. If you fully understand the downside risk, the payoff can be huge. Huger than you ever imagined it to be. Would I buy one? Let me put it this way, I'm a TCS, HUL, Asian Paints kind of investor. I prefer quality above everything else. Should you buy one? To get your answer, I suggest you head to the nearest Yezdi showroom for a test ride, put the Scrambler in gear, dump the clutch and Go Braaaap!!!!
