[COMMUTER]

Congratulations on your purchase. The price made me gasp. Have a pleasant ownership experience. You have got the first class motorcycle.

I hate the way our taxation makes us opt for the less than first grade things. If priced without being riddled by disproportionate tax, this might have been the bike for the masses.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Samba

Let me have the privilege of being the first one to congratulate you!
Brilliant review of a brilliant bike. Wish you 1,000's of happy miles. Rated 5*.

At this moment a blue Yamaha R3 or a green Ninja 300 will be my top contenders, if am looking for a bike in this segment.

Thank you.

Ninja 300 with the reduced spare part prices, bigger fuel tank and Slipper Clutch makes it a better proposition, only if the Kawasaki dealers stop looting in the name of handling charges and bring in customer centric approach.

Originally Posted by Ani0404

Hey Krishna. Congratulations for your R3. Hope you have safe miles on it. I am considering a used 2018 R3 and have few questions. Was hoping if you could answer them.

Thank you.

1. You have mentioned about the pillion comfort is next to nil. Wanted to know if its so bad. Was hoping if I could do long distance cruising on this bike with a pillion.? Presently i ride a 2010 Honda Unicorn.

Short rides its manageable. Long distance cruising would be more like dishing out punishment to the pillion. No comparison on the Pillion comfort provided by Unicorn vs the R3. Unicorn will hands down.

2. Did you face any other issues with bike other than ones you have mentioned in your posts?

Absolutely none. Fork oil is unexpected. But on most of my bikes, I manage to bust it. So benefit of doubt to Yamaha. Parts dont pinch the pocket either.

3. I am interested in bigger CC bikes (who does not want one!) and was considering used ones as all of them new would be out of my budget. I want a good upgrade and am not interested in a mere bump of 100 odd CC from the existing 150CC bike. Was looking for Kawasaki Ninja 650cc but good used ones are costing upward of 5 Lakhs. So next available bike seemed a yamaha R3. Well I simply love the looks of this bike. Do you suggest i look at other fully faired options before taking the plunge?

Used bikes especially 650 would be a good option in case you find one in the right condition. However, do note that the R3 with the face-lift which is due, will bump up the price by at least 20-30K making it costlier than the current high sticker price. Do try the other bikes in the price range. Ninja 300 and R3 are more than a mere 100 cc jump in CC, Bike character is very much different to the single cylinder ones.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Wow! The blue and white paint scheme looks amazing on the R3. Except for the split seat, I don't think I can point any flaws (I'm nitpicking here). While not into biking myself, I do appreciate a good Japanese machine.

Thank you.

I would also like to know if there were other factors to select the R3 over the Honda CBR 250. Most of my friends who have this bike swear by it and find the service experience pleasant as well.

Keep riding and exploring new destinations on 2 wheels!

CBR 250 is decade old now and Honda though have the CBR 300 in other markets, they are least bothered to bring it here. I wanted to move to a twin cylinder anyways, so gave the CBR 250 and RR 310 both a miss.

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

Congratulations on your purchase. The price made me gasp. Have a pleasant ownership experience. You have got the first class motorcycle.

I hate the way our taxation makes us opt for the less than first grade things. If priced without being riddled by disproportionate tax, this might have been the bike for the masses.

Thank you.

Partly blame the Karnataka Govt. Road tax works out to 19% odd for bikes carrying ex showroom price over 1 lakh. So all vehicles across the range, the road tax amount almost got doubled.

Secondly, the insurance costs went up due to the compulsory 5 year third party insurance rule. Luckily, I have taken the 5 year Zero Depreciation policy so insurance costs on the head for the next 5 years. Net landing price increases, yearly expense decreased which is in a way a trade off.

[aabhimanyu04]

Congrats on the R3 nkrishnap, I ride a glossy black 2017 R3

Yes you are right on the braking part, it does feel spongy, however, with your Metzeler tyres there should not be any nervous moments, mine is the pre ABS model and I had to immediately upgrade my tyres from the stock MRFs to feel more confident with braking.
on another note, a lot of people in our R3 owners WhatsApp group have chosen to go for frame sliders, give them a thought.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04

Congrats on the R3 nkrishnap, I ride a glossy black 2017 R3

Yes you are right on the braking part, it does feel spongy, however, with your Metzeler tyres there should not be any nervous moments, mine is the pre ABS model and I had to immediately upgrade my tyres from the stock MRFs to feel more confident with braking.
on another note, a lot of people in our R3 owners WhatsApp group have chosen to go for frame sliders, give them a thought.

Thank you,

The spongy feel is very much even with Metzelers, but like you mentioned, no nervous moments.

I do have the frame sliders, but a local make or an unbranded one.

OT: is there a specific WhatsApp group for only R3? I got bugged with the blue streaks one, too much spam.

[aabhimanyu04]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Thank you,

OT: is there a specific WhatsApp group for only R3? I got bugged with the blue streaks one, too much spam.

Unfortunately, You can't avoid spamming in any whatsapp group today, the one I am a member of is rich in content as well . DM me your details, and I will have you added should you choose to.

The admins of this group need your RC copy picture to know your full name and bike registration details along with your WhatsApp number.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by aabhimanyu04

Unfortunately, You can't avoid spamming in any whatsapp group today, the one I am a member of is rich in content as well . DM me your details, and I will have you added should you choose to.

The admins of this group need your RC copy picture to know your full name and bike registration details along with your WhatsApp number.

I will PM you my number, kindly ping me on WhatsApp to send you the RC Card Details.

[Nitish.arnold]

Congrats,

As a fellow R3 rider, I know what this machine is capable of.
Be it cruising on the highways, or crawling at 10 in the woods,
this machine does all that, and then some more,
without breaking a sweat.

I have installed a full system exhaust (imported from China), a tail tidy (local), deleted the saree guard, and Metz tires. Let me know what all upgrades you plan.

The weight reduction plus elimination of catalytic converter helps in the performance and a very throaty bass exhaust note. It also helps in a boost of acceleration & Top speed.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Nitish.arnold

Congrats,

As a fellow R3 rider, I know what this machine is capable of.
Be it cruising on the highways, or crawling at 10 in the woods,
this machine does all that, and then some more,
without breaking a sweat.

I have installed a full system exhaust (imported from China), a tail tidy (local), deleted the saree guard, and Metz tires. Let me know what all upgrades you plan.

The weight reduction plus elimination of catalytic converter helps in the performance and a very throaty bass exhaust note. It also helps in a boost of acceleration & Top speed.

Thank you.

Completely agree on the versatility of the R3. Looking forward to some serious mile munching on the R3.

Possible to share details on the full exhaust system? Tech Specs and cost. Did you remap the ECU post full exhaust swap?

PS: Saree guard was the first thing I removed after bringing it home

[nkrishnap]

A quick update on the mileage numbers and the milestones.

Mileage Numbers



Odometer Milestones

[coolmind]

Great review sir.
I just have a doubt. Does it not make the warranty void by changing the brake wired to braided one as it falls under category of modification?
Did you have a word with Yamaha service team regarding this?

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by coolmind

Great review sir.
I just have a doubt. Does it not make the warranty void by changing the brake wired to braided one as it falls under category of modification?
Did you have a word with Yamaha service team regarding this?

Thank you.

I am very much aware that the warranty would be void if at all it exists as Yamaha does not have anything officially mentioned as Warranty for R15 and R3 on their website. It is a trade off, I bargained in favour of better brakes.

Not sure about warranty thing, so went ahead with the brakes upgrade. Did not bother about getting in touch with the dealer.

Have a look at this.



Link - https://www.yamaha-motor-india.com/s...-warranty.html

[rohitoasis]

Sir, thank you for your timely post. Your posts are drawing me to the R3 very very much. The dealer in Chennai in fact says availability of 2018 model bikes in stock in the lovely blue livery you own. I am rushing off from office for a test drive of the R3 today before i do a test drive of Ninja 300 over the weekend.

Your experiences are enlightening and a wonderful read as well. Wishing you wonderful miles ahead.

[nkrishnap]

Did a short drive yesterday night. A total of 120 kms and the ride was pretty nice and decent speeds were possible.

This time I tried to adjust the mirror in all possible ways, a few benefits of these mirrors on the R3 is to see yourself or majorly your shoulders when you ride. A reason why Yamaha did not bother to put the regular warning of "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" as anyways you would not be able to see them.



Need to figure better mirrors to ensure you have a good view of what behind the R3.

Originally Posted by rohitoasis

Sir, thank you for your timely post. Your posts are drawing me to the R3 very very much. The dealer in Chennai in fact says availability of 2018 model bikes in stock in the lovely blue livery you own. I am rushing off from office for a test drive of the R3 today before i do a test drive of Ninja 300 over the weekend.

Your experiences are enlightening and a wonderful read as well. Wishing you wonderful miles ahead.

Thank you.

Please do test ride both the bikes and take a call. You should not go wrong with either choice.

[Nitish.arnold]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Thank you.

Completely agree on the versatility of the R3. Looking forward to some serious mile munching on the R3.

Possible to share details on the full exhaust system? Tech Specs and cost. Did you remap the ECU post full exhaust swap?

PS: Saree guard was the first thing I removed after bringing it home

Sure, It's a titanium exhaust, replacing the stock header joints, mid-pipes (removing the catalytic converter), and the end pipe.
It is then joined to a 1st copy SC project muffler, which is 90% same in terms of build & sound to the original one.

The entire operation was done at home in under 2-3 hours. The videos on youtube that show the fairing removal is not necessary.

The ECU is not remapped since I am not having any problems with the current power delivery. (Saved 20-25k here)

The top speed is reduced by 3-5%. [tested under closed circuit]

I am on the lookout of some mods like (R1 tank), (tank pad), and fatter tire at the back.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Did a short drive yesterday night. A total of 120 kms and the ride was pretty nice and decent speeds were possible.

This time I tried to adjust the mirror in all possible ways, a few benefits of these mirrors on the R3 is to see yourself or majorly your shoulders when you ride. A reason why Yamaha did not bother to put the regular warning of "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" as anyways you would not be able to see them.

Attachment 1844268

Need to figure better mirrors to ensure you have a good view of what behind the R3.

How about something like this - https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Extend.../dp/B01M7RN9E3