Yamaha YZF-R3 long term review: After 3,780km and 7 months

Life has been a bit busy at OD, so the R3 hasn't been seeing as much action as I'd like it to. But since my last update, I've managed to have a small incident on the bike. And thanks to that the front left fairing had some scratches on it and the clutch lever had snapped off at the end. I wouldn't have minded just having the lever replaced, but the guys at Yamaha wanted the bike looking spic and span, so it went off to have the fairing replaced.

The bike has come back and other than some delays due to parts availability, the service went without incident. But what I'm really impressed about is the way the bike has come back. While at the service centre, the motorcycle also got its full service done. Again, I'm truly impressed by the way it has come back. I don't know what the guys did, but the R3 is running as smooth as butter. The shifts are smoother, the engine revs smoother and every little bit on the bike feels tighter. Good job, Yamaha. The broken and scratched up bits have been replaced too. The left fairing cost about Rs 6,000 and the clutch lever just Rs 320.

An unfortunate encounter with tarmac meant the left side fairing and clutch lever needed replacement

Now I was waiting for a set of fresh tyres, and while a set of Pirellis did arrive at the office a few days ago, it wasn't the right ones. Turns out, Pirelli had a small mix-up and sent us a Sport Demon/Sport Dragon set-up instead of the Diablo Rosso IIs. But they've told me that the Rosso IIs are on their way, so I'm not complaining.

There've been a lot of motorcycles coming our way over the past few months, and most of them have been large capacity motorcycles. But even among this continuous barrage of higher capacity motorcycles, the R3 doesn't fail to impress. In fact, every time I come back and sit myself on the Yamaha, I've massively entertained. Even on the rides to Pune with Shumi and Ferine, the R3 doesn't feel left behind. Most of the time, it is able to keep up right behind Shumi, and this isn't thanks to my skill. All credit goes to the R3 here. Any motorcycle that doesn't let you miss big power when you come back to is a fantastic motorcycle if you ask me. Even in the city, the nice torque spread comes really handy. Pulling off those quick overtakes and those lazy third-gear-all-the-way commutes are made a breeze. But as I said last time, I'm really waiting for those new tyres. Hopefully by the next update, they'll be here and I'll have put some mileage on them.

Date acquired: Jan 2016, Total Mileage: 3,780km, Last report at: 1,986km, Fuel: 130 litres, Economy: 28.9kmpl

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Yamaha YZF R3 long term review: After 1,986km and three months