This motorcycle introduced me to the unhealthy world of unsafe motoring.

Some Context

In my previous posts, I briefly glanced over how I got into motorcycles after showing apathy toward two wheels all my life and the journey I had since then. I slightly alluded to a bike that started this all for me when I hoped on it for the first time and since then there was no turning back for me from this mad world of two wheels and an engine.

This tale started with one fateful afternoon in January 2019, & I reluctantly out of peer pressure hoped on my friend’s newly bought R15 V3, opened my eyes to the possibility of unadulterated fun I could be having if I just gave into the temptation of riding a motorcycle. The chain of events that proceeded after that, is briefly documented in my previous articles where I have documented the journey of getting my first bike.

In this particular article, I want to talk about this bike, the bike that started it all for me, whose charms seduced me to give up on my lifetime hatred of motorcycles and embrace them and on top of that to treasure the very flaws that I used to resent about motorcycles.

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Yamaha’s R15 has been a heartthrob for new bikers and teenage college-goers for more than a decade and it ruled its segment like a king even with some worthy adversaries lurking around to take snatch the crown away from it, many came and went but never matched the fandom and success enjoyed by the R15.

The likes of the Honda CBR 150, KTM RC200, etc, came had their share of the pie and enjoyed relative success but never really came close to dethroning the mighty Yamaha R15, through R15, Yamaha were able to build a unique brand identity that only sells performance bikes and the relative conception among general buyers is even Yamaha’s basic commuter motorcycles are performance-oriented – so in a way I am saying R1555 acted as a Halo product for the brand and despite selling some flagships products like Yamaha R1 etc, but the fact remains Yamaha R15 still holds that title.

Five Years Ago…

Five years ago when I got the chance to ride My friend’s newly bought Yamaha R15 V3 I took the chance and boy am I glad that I did, it wasn’t love at first sight, but the idea of experiencing speed at such ease on the pocket and on the talent was something commendable for me who all his life meticulously believed that four wheels are better than two and hated motorcycles with all my might – so the seed of appreciation was sown into me by this bike and resulting rides in the coming days I was convinced I needed to have something similar of my own- which resulted in me buying The Apache RTR 2004V you could read about it in my other articles.

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For someone like me to accept motorcycles is just as good as any car, would’ve felt like perjuring myself, but now all for it, very much in love with all the reasons I used to cite against them is what I fell in love with, and here I am five years later trying to masquerade my way into the horde of a massively talented journalist, leaning my back on motorcycles.

I didn’t want to write anything on this bike more so to publish it on the Cornea Impression, because I didn’t want it to get repetitive since I’ve written a review on this on a certain now-defunct (sort-off) Website. but when I was scrolling through my gallery and came across a couple of pictures of the Yamaha R15 V3 from 3 years back and it made me realize, there are thousands of reviews on this bike and thousands of proud owners probably who have their very own first-time story and I just wanted to tell mine and since some of my previous Articles were on my journey of going from hating on motorcycles to absolutely adoring them.

So, here it goes…

In January 2019, my friend bought a brand new Yamaha R15 V3, he offered to take a test ride around the block and reluctantly I took up his offer, rode the bike around the block, came back home didn’t think much about it for a while, then a few days went by got the opportunity to ride the motorcycle again and this time, got the go-ahead to put it to the ringers and that’s when I was impressed by what two wheels with an excellent chassis and engine combination can do for your dopamine levels

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It was quick, it picked up pace like any other motorcycle I rode up until then, and mind you before riding the R15 I had a few minutes for myself with the KTM Duke 200 which is plenty quick for its kind and arguably more rapid compared to R15 at least on paper, and despite that, R15 felt like a breath of fresh air.

I wasn’t sure how to tackle a corner on two wheels but when I took the Yamaha R15 around one I knew then and there that I wanted to keep at it 24/7, and that is when the motorcycle ecstasy kicked in for me and I was convinced I needed, no I wanted one for myself and soon began the journey get one for myself – you can read about it on my other article here- https://thecorneaimpression.com/altering-perspective-with-apache-rtr-2004v/

What makes this bike special

I often wondered out of curiosity or envy and apart from its striking resemblance to its big displacement brother I failed to understand why it was loved by the masses and the more diversified class of motorcycles I rode that question became more prominent – Why would anyone buy this over any other bike in its class? – Now that it is way more expensive and barely justifies its on-paper credentials.

But, a few months back I got to ride the Yamaha R15 again, and this time I was honed with more knowledge and experience on two wheels than the first time I rode it in full anger, and as soon as I got around the first corner I came across and my only word was ‘this thing is ridiculously quick’ and followed with ‘shockingly easy to go fast on’.

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Incredibly easy to ride, picks up pace in a rapid manner, stays stable at high speeds, maintains its composure even on badly paved roads doesn’t feel nervous on a sudden change of direction, and is plenty forgiving in corners.

All in all a great starter bike if you want to step into the world of Motorcycles and learn the tricks of the trade with a tutor that goes easy on your Yamaha R15 is a no-brainer – couple that with great looks and surprisingly good ride quality, it is a bargain.

I decided to not put numbers and figures from the brochure but as I kept writing and got near to the end I realized to put some context I might need to shed some light on the figures of this bike.so, here goes Yamaha R15 V3 produces 19hp of power from a 155cc single cylinder with VVA tech (Basically, Vtec for motorcycles) coupled to a delta box chassis making it a reliable handler and the fact that it closely resembles Yamaha’s MotoGP representative ‘M1’ that went onto win multiple championships on the hands of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Fabio Quartararo.

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Now, this was my story with the bike that got me into motorcycles, and if I had a chance to go back and do it all over I wouldn’t do it any other way. so, what’s your story with a motorcycle or a car that made you fall in love with them?