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2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 Review

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 Review

Motorcycle Test by Wayne Vickers – Images Rob Mott


I’ve been spending some time on a few of the smaller offerings of late. Having ridden Yamaha’s MT03 (Link) and more recently I was thrown the keys to the tuning fork mob’s latest little jigger, the YZF-R15.

We don’t have the history in Australia with this model, but Yamaha’s third iteration of the ‘R-15’ brings some solid updates over the previous models. It’s clearly intended to give Yamaha dealers something to compete with things like Honda’s CB125. And it’s hard to deny that this has a lot more flair. But can it back it up?

Yamaha YZF-R15

Well, it certainly looks the biz. Clearly some resemblances to its bigger brothers for those more sportily inclined amongst us. Styling wise it cuts a fine figure. Lots of nice touches. A familiar looking Deltabox frame and slightly larger swingarm to house a bigger 140 section rear tyre compared to the old model. Even the tail unit looks like the R1 setup – albeit smaller and with thinner plastics. Probably best to not compare them side by side, but in isolation it’s a pretty bloody good thing. Paint finish is nice too, and I rate the ‘Thunder Grey’ colour scheme – I’ve always had a thing for red, grey, silver or black though. Other than my current Tiger (which is white) and my race bikes – all of my bikes have been either red, grey, silver or black – or a combo of them all. I’ve only just realised that. Maybe I’m too predictable.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

The riding position is sporty but not uncomfortable. New riders won’t feel like they’re too far forward on their hands and it will allow them to explore the bike’s potential as they improve their skills. It actually steers surprisingly well for a bike that’s sub 5 grand new! The seat itself isn’t bad either – and the suspension does a decent job of soaking up bumps.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Controls are all quite simple and traditional. Clutch (a slipper!) and brake feel is good, and the box does its job. Single twin caliper disc up front does a reasonable job of pulling things up – and while that might seem light on in terms of power compared to bigger bikes, remember that this thing only weighs a little over 130 kilos.. And isn’t going to be slowing from big speeds. You’ll see the shift light come on in top gear at about 135 km/h if you have a long enough straight. And some assistance from a downhill or tail wind.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

The thing that I didn’t really gel with personally is the engine. While it’s new variable valve actuation (VVA – think Honda Vtec, but different) might have seen a 20 per cent increase in power over the previous model with it now churning out 18 horsepower, it comes with a mechanical engine noise that’s not especially pleasant to my ears at least. You could be generous and call it character perhaps? You do sort of get used to it… but it doesn’t feel refined at all. Maybe the exhaust needs to be louder to drown it out 🙂

Yamaha YZF-R15

While the fuelling is also not fabulous – you don’t really notice it all that much at that sort of power level as you generally just smash the throttle open, but it could do with some work – needs saying. Powerwise, well it does ok from a 150 cc single but it’s no race engine. Yamaha have made some updates to improve breathing and output compared to the older model, but it still doesn’t really like going up hills at speed very much – you’ll get used to pedalling the box, which in itself is no bad thing. It is kinda fun keeping the little mill on the boil. Its happy enough to rev.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Handling wise it’s fun enough to punt along. Everything gels together pretty well. You forget how much corner speed you can hold on a bike that weighs around 130 kilos… It certainly teaches you to maintain momentum. It’s actually good fun and a bit of a giggle. Suspension and brakes seem up to it with no obvious weaknesses there.

Yamaha YZF-R15

Nice dash too. Simple. Easy to read. But like a few other bikes I’ve tested lately – no engine temp? Is that a thing now? Apparently you can customise the ‘Hi Buddy’ greeting so it says your name on start up too which is kinda fun. You’d have to mess with your mates bike and change that wouldn’t you..? Surely I’m not the only one that thinks that way 🙂

Apparently this is the number one selling sports bike on the planet. Sure – that’s mostly in markets where they aren’t competing against bigger sportsbikes, but there’ no doubt that Yamaha considered that and the audience that it already has when deciding to bring it in.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

It will be interesting to see how the new YZF-R15 sells compared to the YZF-R3, the latter being the slightly bigger brother with a much nicer engine. That price though… less than 5 grand. For a new road bike with a factory warranty? Hard to argue against. Amazing value.

Final word, indulge me for a moment – Once upon a time (30 years ago!) Yamaha built a four cylinder FZR250RR that made 45 hp and revved to 17 thousand rpm or thereabouts. I nearly bought one as my first bike, but ended up with Honda’s gull-arm CBR250RR pocket rocket – and yes it was black and silver with red wheels. What a great little screamer it was too. I put nearly a hundred thousand kays on mine before trading up. Imagine what they could do now if they had a real crack at it… And it’d be a proper YZF-R. I know the market is different now, but still. With an emerging market in places like India for this smaller capacity stuff, is now the time to revisit the past and see just how much performance you can get from a proper 250 or 300 race rep that could sell in numbers? I hope so. Would make a great entry level proddy bike class platform and give KTMs RC390 a rival…

Yamaha YZF-R15

Why I like it:

  • Pretty amazing value really
  • Decent controls and handling
  • Fairly well finished for the money

I’d like it more if:

  • It had a better engine – that engine noise is not nice
  • Make it a real YZF-R for our markets, with the focus on performance
  • Or just bring in the MT15 as your entry level bike
2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 Specifications

Specifications
Engine 155 cc single, SOHC, four-valve
Bore x Stroke 58 x 58.7 mm
Maximum Power 18 hp at 10,000 rpm
Maximum Torque 14.1 Nm at 8500 rpm
Compression Ratio 11.6:1
Starter Electric
Induction EFI
Transmission 6-Speed
Drive Chain
L x W x H 1990 x 725 x 815 mm
Tyres 100/80-17 (F), 140/80-17 (R)
Brakes 282 mm (F), 220 mm (R) – No ABS
Seat height 815 mm
Front suspension Forks with 130 mm of travel
Rear suspension Monoshock, 97 mm of travel
Fuel capacity 11 litres
Kerb weight 138 kg
Warranty 12 months
RRP $4799 ride away
Fuel range up to 450 km

Source: MCNews.com.au

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 gets variable valve timing

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Low capacity motorcycles have often been overlooked in the Australian market and also by many manufacturers over the years, but that has certainly changed of late with a slew of new high-tech offerings in this space, the latest of which to hit Australian roads is Yamaha’s new YZF-R15 that Yamaha have dubbed ‘Version 3.0’.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Complete with variable valve timing and a 20 per cent boost in power over its predecessor to add a bit more bang to back up the R1 inspired sports-bike looks, Yamaha are hoping to stir the loins of a few young riders enough to welcome them into the Yamaha fold.

Engine boasts 20 per cent more power than before

Some will be sold on it from the first look and that $4799 ride away price tag should help get quite a few over the line, especially when they see that with Yamaha Motor Finance they can ride one home from only $22 a week. Despite the many improvements and big boost in power that new price is actually $700 cheaper than the list price of the outgoing model.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Yamaha call their variable valve timing system VVA, Variable Valve Actuation. The high-compression cylinder head is fed via a 60 per cent larger air-box that flows through to much larger ports than before.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Only a single cam actuates the four-valves, but the rocker arms on the inlet valves are shifted between lobes profiled with a duration and lift suited to low rpm situations, over to a second set of lobes that feature a more aggressive cam profile for high performance via a solenoid activated motor at a predetermined point in the rev range.


2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 Video


The frame is a new version of Yamaha’s deltabox backbone wrapped in some seriously sexy R1 inspired bodywork.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

The new frame has also allowed the fitment of a new internally ribbed delta-shaped swingarm and beefier 140/70-17 rear tyre on a wider four-inch ten-spoke rear rim.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15

Front brake diameter is up 15 mm to 282 mm while at the back a 220 mm helps slow the 138 kg (wet) show. There is no ABS system fitted.

Larger front brakes

Yamaha claim much improved economy from the new engine, stating that up to 450 kilometres can be covered before filling the 11-litre tank. As this is a smaller capacity machine Yamaha give only a 12-month warranty on the YZF-R15 compared to 24 months on its larger capacity models.

Yamaha claim a fuel range of up to 450 km

While road going customers are free to get out and enjoy the improvements of the 2020 YZF-R15 right now unfortunately competitors in the ASBK Oceania Junior Cup will have to wait until next season to test their mettle in the heat of national level road race competition on the new bike.

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15


2020 Yamaha YZF-R15 Specifications

  • Engine – 155 cc single, SOHC, four-valve
  • Bore x Stroke – 58 x 58.7 mm
  • Compression Ratio – 11.6:1
  • Maximum Power – 18 hp at 10,000 rpm
  • Maximum Torque – 14.1 Nm at 8500 rpm
  • Induction – EFI
  • Front Suspension – Forks with 130 mm of travel
  • Rear Suspension – Monoshock, 97 mm of travel
  • Brakes – 282 mm (F), 220 mm (R) – No ABS
  • Tyres – 100/80-17 (F), 140/80-17 (R)
  • Lx W x H – 1990 x 725 x 815 mm
  • Seat height – 815 mm
  • Wet weight – 138 with full tank and all fluids
  • Fuel capacity – 11 litres
  • Warranty – 12 months
  • Price – $4799 ride away

2020 Yamaha YZF-R15


Yamaha YZF-R15 Images

Source: MCNews.com.au