Yamaha R3 18,000km Long Term Wrap-Up

Two years and 16,000-odd kilometres later, our resident Yamaha YZF-R3 has gone back to its makers. The bike has been with us substantially longer than most long-termers normally do and the entire ZigWheels team had grown quite fond of it.

After being delivered to us in December 2015 the R3 stayed at the Pune office for most of its first year. She changed hands from one to the other before coming to me in May 2017. With around 10,000 km on the odo, the sheen was starting to wear off her ebony black fairing. Some short stints in Mumbai hadn’t done her any favours and the salty sea breezes had chipped away some of the unpainted metal parts.

And yet, the R3 soldiered on in a manner that only precision-built Japanese machines can deliver. With 43PS and 29.6Nm on tap from that silky smooth parallel twin, she was a hoot to ride both in town and out on the highway. The gearbox is uber smooth and so perfectly spaced that not once did I encounter a false shift, nor did I have any problems taking off in any gear, no matter at what rpm.

It is also a lot friendlier machine than the smaller R15, this thing. Despite her focused supersport looks the R3 is comfortable and always behaved well on my weekend jaunts touring the beaches and the hill stations of Maharashtra. Even my pillion found little to complain about, not even the absence of grab handles. And despite not being built on high-spec underpinnings like a Deltabox frame and upside-down forks, the R3 corners beautifully as well, turning in fluidly and maintaining lines well without being overly eager.

The only worry throughout my time with her was the R3’s rather extravagant drinking habits, which forced this humble auto hack to wince every time I pulled out my credit card at a fuel pump. The BS-III engine doggedly refused to deliver anything above 25 kmpl no matter how careful I was with my right wrist even out on the highway. After a few weeks, I had come to resignedly accept this aspect of the R3 as just one of the necessary downsides for all the fun her parallel twin provides.

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Living and caring for the R3 for more than half a year has really made me appreciate the abilities of this underrated bike. Other than the inevitable dings and scratches that happens every so often in our traffic, the R3 haven’t given us any mechanical mishap that a thorough service didn’t fix. Sure, the lack of ABS was a bother and so were the MRF tyres she was hobbled with. That said, they lasted longer than properly sticky rubber from the likes of Pirelli and Metzeler would have.

It is sad that the R3 didn’t set the sales charts on fire like its makers had hoped, thanks in large part to its exorbitant pricing that saw the KTM RC390 stealing not just its thunder but the whole storm.

However, the BSIV-compliant R3 is coming as soon as this Auto Expo, and so there’s hope. And if Yamaha manages its shortcomings such as the lack of ABS or more sporty tyres, without a jump in the price, this capable machine should finally get the success it’s always deserved.

Date Acquired: December 2015
Total km to date: 18,370km
Efficiency: 21.9kmpl
Costs Incurred: Nil
Cheers: Accessible performance, Stylish looks, Comfort
Sneers: Lack of ABS, Poor choice of tyres