• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

S. Muralidhar

OF THE Japanese trio of bike manufacturers, it is a no-brainer that Honda is the most popular. Thanks to its extremely successful joint venture with the Hero group, Honda has managed to size up the Indian two-wheeler market like no other overseas manufacturer and has gone a step further and applied that insight into the products that its own subsidiary has produced in the last four years.

But while Kawasaki has been satisfied with its joint venture with Bajaj Auto, the other Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer, Yamaha, has quietly gained confidence, knowledge and experience about the Indian market during the last decade.

After its mutual separation with the Escorts group, with which it had entered the market, and despite maintaining a fairly low profile for long since the heyday of the Yamaha RX100, this Japanese manufacturer has managed to learn constantly, albeit discreetly, from its Indian experience.

And, this is increasingly evident in each new bike that sports this marquee.

Yamaha's strategy for the Indian market was on the right alleyway, but somewhere down the lane, the company missed the turn towards four-stroke engine technology, as was the case with the other domestic two-wheeler manufacturers also. By the time they all caught up with Hero Honda, the latter had already stolen a march in the market.

But after teething troubles with finding the right four-stroke two-wheelers for India, Yamaha was quick to latch on to the qualities that are best appreciated by the discerning Indian two-wheeler buyer.

The last three bikes from the Yamaha stable — the Crux, the Enticer and the Libero — are all standing, rather running, testimony to Yamaha's growing understanding of the Indian two-wheeler market.

What is better — though the sales numbers may suggest otherwise — is that the three bikes reflect qualities that Yamaha wants to be at the core of its bikes: Quality materials, high performance and optimum handling.

These qualities have now percolated to Yamaha's latest, and most promising offering — the Fazer.

Pedigree and design

The Fazer is, in many ways, truly Yamaha, as the company's new tagline aptly says. Focussed wholly on peak performance and classy ride and handling, this Yamaha has more in its genes that is common with the legendary RX100 than its predecessors. Interestingly, this Indian 125cc Fazer shares its name with much bigger, muscle bikes such as the FZ1 and the FZ6 that have attained cult status in the European and American markets.

Yamaha has also opted to make bold moves with out-of-the-ordinary design and styling for the Fazer, a trend that started with the launch of the slightly quaint looking Libero. After the staid, uninspiring design of the previous bikes such as the YBX and Cruz, the Libero and now the Fazer almost seem to ooze shock value.

The Fazer's design at the front is clearly dominated by the twin headlamp and the stubby, deeply angled fairing. The "Martian-eyed" twin headlamp, clear-lens type construction gives the Fazer a somewhat difficult to like and yet strangely beautiful, new age countenance. It is another matter that it also improves the bike's lighting efficiency. The short, half fairing in tinted plastic also houses the twin-pod instrument panel that displays the speedometer and the engine rpm meter. But a fuel gauge is not part of the set up, a surprisingly obvious miss.

The fuel tank is chunky and has deep knee recesses that, unlike a few competing bikes, are positioned perfectly to suit most rider types. Additionally, the fuel tank features two plastic air scoops (like in the TVS Fiero F2) fitted to either side that make the bike look fuller and are also designed to keep the bike's design lines flow uninterrupted. The seat and handlebar positioning is perfect. The seat is broad, offers adequate support even for a heavy rider and steps up to accommodate the pillion. The quality of switches and knobs are on a par with bikes in its class.

At the rear, the tail-lamp cluster is one unit. It also incorporates the turn indicators and has been elegantly designed to gel with the overall design theme. Right above the rear lights, the aluminium die-cast grab rail has been elongated to perform the function of a tail-lamp protector, sari guard and also has pegs on the lower side to allow some luggage to be tethered. The paint job is good and the bike is a looker even without the use of decals. While the silencer and chrome heat shield combination with the cruiser-style chopped edge looks is compatible with the overall design, it also gives the bike a soft, low noise, and yet sporty exhaust note.

Chassis and engine

The Fazer comes with a light-weight diamond type tubular frame and rectangular swing arm. The chassis offers excellent balance and rigidity to the bike and though there is a bit of hesitancy while putting the Fazer through a tight turn, there are no signs of any body flex.

It gets even better thanks to the extra-long 1,300mm wheelbase of the Fazer and the slightly higher ground clearance of 160mm. Foot-pegs for the pillion rider are also positioned right and are mounted on neatly finished, light weight, aluminium die-cast sub-frames on either side.

The Fazer's engine is a 123.7cc, four-stroke, air-cooled SOHC, 2-valve single cylinder mill that generates a peak power of 10.8 bhp at 7,500rpm, similar to the Bajaj Wind125.

The engine, which is not a stressed member, has been packed smartly into the area below the fuel tank. The Fazer's mill is also a free-revving delightful engine that delivers a maximum torque of 1.06kgf-m at 6,500rpm. The low torque curve also ensures that the engine does not knock in the fourth gear even at speeds of 30 kmph.

Unlike the other bikes in its class, the Fazer features a Mikuni BS carburettor, which has been combined with a fuel saving feature that the company calls Yamaha Throttle Position Sensor (YTPS). Through 3D digital mapping, the BS carburettor works in tandem with the YTPS to provide precise adjustment of the ignition advance based on the degree of throttle opening, which in turn depends on the rider's demand for power. Essentially, this ensures that fuel supply to the engine is optimised and wastage is reduced. Despite this feature, fuel efficiency is not the Fazer's forte. Mileage in the long run in city conditions will be only about 45-50 kmpl.

Ride quality and suspension

Riding comfort and ease of use, despite the first down, rest up configuration of the gearbox (pretty much the hallmark of Yamaha's bikes) are clearly above par in the Fazer. This Yamaha bike's front and rear suspensions have been given extra long cushion stroke and while the front fork adopts 35mm diameter inner tubes that provide a wheel stroke of 120mm, the rear suspension adopts a five-step adjustable, light weight unit with a built in large diameter rod and cylinder combo and an optimised lever ratio.

The Fazer meets the proposed India 2005 emission norms thanks also to innovative air intake mechanism and catalytic converter. Yamaha has also managed to reduce engine noise and vibration by suppressing these at source rather than employ such vibration dampers as rubber mounts and bar-end weights.

The Fazer's silent type cam chain, thicker fins on the engine cylinder head and plastic resin gears for the oil sump also help reduce noise. Atop our test bike, vibration was amazingly low even at speeds of over 85 kmph on top gear and engine noise was just about beginning to jar. The 150mm drum at the front and the 130mm drum at the rear offer adequate braking power.

Priced at about Rs 44,000 (ex-showroom), the Fazer is a convincing proposition for even the 100cc bike shopper. Arresting design, great performance and excellent build quality should attract buyers. Though disc brakes are missing, even as an option, and the bike only offers a four-speed gearbox, these should not be big deterrents for aspiring buyers.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Investment Quiz

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line