2022 Yezdi Roadster first ride review
The Roadster is a bike that pays tribute to the Yezdi motorcycles of yester year. The most from the current Yezdi line-up at least. The rounded headlamp, taillamp, the singular centered dial (though digital), the old-school fuel-filler lid, the ignition under the tank and even the handle lock all come together very nicely to lend this bike some sweet old-world charm.
The level of fit and finish is a lot better on this bike than with the Scrambler though there are some exposed wires that look a bit out of place. I particularly like the shape of the side panels lie just under the seat which house the toolkit and some fuses, along with the ribbed engine head and side covers, as well as the twin- peashooter exhausts which are all very reminiscent of the Yezdi models from the '80s. Design-wise, the blend of modern day motorcycle meets retro roadster comes across as a commendable effort. It's the only Yezdi of the three that's road biased â€" as you can tell by the neat Yezdi branding-embellished alloys.
The Roadster misses out on a good amount of kit that come stock with its siblings. There's no Bluetooth connectivity, switchable ABS modes or even any charging sockets for that matter. Even the rear springs are rather simplistic. And strangely, this is the only one of the three new Yezdis to feature a Zorashtran symbol on its rear fender. Moving past that, here, the 334cc motor makes 29PS of power and torque and it just loves to be revved, but like with the others here, it can also get quite loud at higher revs.
Though it's got the look of a cruiser, the Yezdi Roadster has got a sense of urgency about it that makes it feel like a proper roadster and less like a cruiser. And the double cradle chassis which is a rendition of that which the Jawa Perak sits on manages very well when you take on some long sweeping bends. Cruising at city speeds is fine and you'll be most comfortable pottering about in fourth gear. The disc brakes here, just as on the other bikes, perform very well at shedding speed rapidly with the ABS, while I found the MRF tyres to hold up very nicely on all road surfaces, even some loose gravel too.
The Roadster is an easy bike to get used to riding, even for short riders, because it sits nice and low and though the bars are a bit wide, they're never out of reach even while taking a sharp low-speed turn. Although it is rather comfortable, I found the suspension to be stiffly setup which made the bike feel more at ease at higher speeds rather than low cruising speeds. So it might not be the most comfortable bike to ride around the city on. However the twin rear shocks can be stiffened or softened as per your riding preference. Though there's 175mm of ground clearance on offer here, you'll want to slow down for the bugger ruts on the road which can get uncomfortable if you're travelling alone. Cruising at 80kmph at around 4,250rpm was a cake walk but once you hit triple digit speeds, the engine can get a bit loud and feel a bit strained. That's when the vibrations really kick in through the pegs and handlebar. Even with its tall gearing, pulling off an overtaking manoeuver on this bike at any below 100kmph will never be a problem. It's Roadster nice bike to ride, but it just seemed to be lacking something for me, and though I didn't have a great deal of time to spend with this motorcycle to really put my finger on the one thing that I found it to be falling short of, I'd have loved for the footpegs to be in a slightly more relaxed forward-set position.
The Yezdi Roadster definitely has its own unique style and mannerisms when going about doing what it does out on the road, but it somehow doesn't impress me as much as the other two Yezdis do. The reason behind that is simple - it isn't as overly outstanding in terms of its capabilities as the Yezdi Scrambler and Adventure bikes. On its own, it comes across as a fairly decent machine.