Category: New Bike Review
For all non knowers, let us, at the very onset, inform that Yamaha YZ450F is a racing motocross motorcycle developed as a replacement for the YZ250. When Yamaha launched this bike in 1998 it was the first production motorcycle which directly competed against two strokers. In 2003, YZF received the biggest revamp with an increased displacement to 450cc (from the initial 400cc) with a peak power output of 52 horses. Then again in 2006, this bike went for a major overhaul and returned with over 300 changes.
And then came 2009 wherein Yamaha broke all barriers and came up with a devastatingly different and shatteringly innovative design. The 2010 YZ450F launched in 2009, had a rearward slanting engine!!! No we did not misprint it! The engine is tilted 9 degrees behind its vertical axis. The YZF revolutionary rearward slanting cylinder positions its mass closer to the center of the machine than ever before.
How was this achieved? Every year Motocross bikes goes through the very known improvements, frames get tweaked, materials added here and there, parts removed/ added, swingarms increased or decreased in length and rigidity, suspensions reworked etc. Yamaha wanted to achieve all this with some difference. Yamaha sat on a different stream and came out with a incredibly different concept for achieving the right kind of a balance by rearranging the engine and its components (obviously along with the above mentioned tweaks). The realization was that the singlemost heaviest component of the motorcycle, the engine needs some alteration. The tilt is such that it is moved rearwards by as much as 13 degrees as compared to the previous version.
The biggest hurdle Yamaha faced was that by tilting the engine rearwards, there was no place left for the carburetor. Yamaha replaced the carb with a Fuel Injector unit which instantly adapts to the varying air-fuel mixtures depending on different heights and temperatures. The battery less Fuel Injector is powered by a 14 volt /110 watt high output generator. With the induction system located at the front of the bike, fresh air is pulled into the engine through twin air intakes above both the radiator shrouds (Yes, two radiators!). It helps in delivering a cleaner, less dusty air inside. A 44mm Keihin throttle body receives fuel from a 12 hole fuel injector and is designed for easy starting with an integrated cold starting.
With the airbox moving to the front part of the bike, the underseat area became vacant which allowed Yamaha engineers to fit the rear shock absorber at the center of the chassis where it provided the right kind of performance and balance. Furthermore, both the radiators were lowered and tilted forward. Moving to the engine bit, the cylinder is also angled towards the front center of the crankshaft to keep the connecting rod more vertical during the compression stroke. This reduces friction between the piston and the cylinder walls translating into less wear and tear and better performance which goes along with quicker and a fantastic throttle response. The engine is also shorter by more than half an inch courtesy a bigger bore of 97mm and shorter stroke of 60.8mm. Another change in this edition is the introduction of the conventional four valve titanium design from Yamahas five valve cylinder in the previous iterations.
In the overall redesigning process the bike gained five pounds over the earlier iteration and now stands at 245lbs at the weighing machine with a full tank of fuel. The exhaust has also been radicalized and is now tornado swirling pipe under the seat which allowed engineers to enhance the low and mid range of the engine. The engine specs read something like this: a radical rearward slanting 450cc 4 valve DOHC engine which produces maximum power of 55.5PS at 9000 rpm and a peak torque of 4.8 kg-m which comes at 7000 rpm. The rearward slant enables unmatched centralization of the mass which is now concentrated towards the center of the machine.
The bike comprises of an advanced Bilateral Beam all aluminum frame with components assembled for a near perfect mass centralization. The new frame provides exceptional performance and superb rigidity which complements the engine which in turn helps during acute cornering and ensures razor sharp handling. The frame has been designed with absolute precision from a carefully chosen combination of forged aluminum for extra light weight and fantastic rigidity. The front and rear fenders, along with the number plate, side cover and front fork protector are redesigned for a fiery look and the use of plastic has been minimized to expose the lovely looking and functionally fantastic lightweight aluminum frame.
Having read so much about this engineering marvel from Yamaha must have given you a slight hint of the heavenly price this bike would/ could have made it to the sales counter. Let us shatter your estimates, this bike comes at a lip smacking MSRP of $7990 for the Team Yamaha Blue/White model and did we say only! Another variant in White/Red would set you ‘rear’ by $8090. These prices prove that innovation doesn’t need mandatory sky rocket price tags. For this amount you get a machine that delivers exceptional performance and precise handling anywhere and wherever you want!
- Saad Khan
Technical Specs:
ENGINE:
Type : Liquid cooled 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valve, rearward slantingsingle cylinder
Displacement : 449.7cc
Bore and stroke: 97.0 x 60.8mm
Compression ratio: 12.5 : 1
Max. Power : 40.8 kW (55.5 PS) @ 9,000 rpm
Max. Torque : 47.1 Nm (4.8 kg-m) @ 7,000 rpm
Lubrication : Dry sump
Carburettor : Fuel Injection
Clutch type : Wet multiple-disc
Ignition : Full Transistor
Starter system : Kick
Transmission : Constant mesh, 5-speed
Final transmission: Gear
CHASSIS
CHASSIS
Frame : Bilateral Beam frame
Front suspension: Telescopic fork
Front wheel travel: 310 mm
Rear suspension: Swingarm (link suspension)
Rear wheel travel: 312 mm
Front brake : Hydraulic single disc brake, Ø 250 mm
Rear brake : Hydraulic single disc brake, Ø 245 mm
Front tyre : 80/100-21 51M
Rear tyre : 110/90-19 62M
DIMENSIONS:
Overall length : 2,191 mm
Overall width : 825 mm
Overall height : 1,311 mm
Saddle height : 999 mm
Wheelbase : 1,487 mm
Min. ground clearance: 383 mm
Wet weight (including full oil and fuel tank): 111.9 kg
Fuel tank capacity: 6.0 litres
Oil tank capacity: 1.2 litres
Inquisitive and baffled?… Read more here.
This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog
2010 Yamaha YZ450F: The Motocross ‘Rear-volution’
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Category: New Bike Review
It all starts with a dream. When I was in 12th grade, I saw this Yamaha R1 one day in my area and I was overwhelmed by it. I went up to the guy and chatted with him for a while about the bike and clicked a few pics. I came home and updated my Hi5 profile (which I stopped using years ago, and had lost all the passwords), and wrote, “I’ll own this baby one day”. It can be seen even today! It was a 2001 R1, and I had clicked the pic sometime in 2003, I guess.
Present Day: Now coming to 2009. After I picked up the 220 DTSi, one of my good friends told me about this nice R1 on sale in Yamaha showroom, as the owner was picking up the VMAX. I got a good deal on it and bought it the next day. It had done just 1200 kms and was spanking new. In between I could have picked up a gray market bike, but I never wanted to take the risk.
R1 Looks: The bike, it’s just a beauty at any and every angle, it’s just too beautiful. You don’t need to be a good photographer for the pics to come out good. Just shoot the bike, in any angle, and it will still look just great. Some fellas in my building were asking me if I have got my R15 modified 
. My mum also said it looks like the R15 he he. I said, “Ma, never mind”.
When you sit on it, you feel like God. Period. Well that’s at least how I felt. It’s quite comfortable actually, but not in traffic. In traffic you’ll get cooked with the heat.
Performance: The power and acceleration is mindblowing, nothing like what I’ve felt before. Actually after 7k rpm, the exhausts are no longer exhausts, but feel like rocket packs . They feel as if they cannot support the amount of gases coming out, as if they were gonna tear the exhausts apart. You really have to be careful with your right hand. The day I picked up the bike, I was so full of josh that as soon as I got out of my building lane and came on the main road, I whacked open the throttle and straight away. I had the front tyre in the air. I was overwhelmed and scared at the same moment but somehow had to control my wrists. Also, I have to be careful with mud on the road, had a wheelspin once.
Handling & Comfort: The bike is actually very light and easy to handle. I never thought a SBK would be this easy to ride. The bike only looks heavy but it isn’t really that heavy. Brakes are good. I never use the rear one though. The front 6 piston calipers do their job very well. Max speed I’ve done with it is 190 on the Mumbai – Ahmedabad highway. Taking a U-turn at times could be a problem though, because of the large turning radius. Pillion comfort isn’t too good. But for a girl it isn’t too bad. All she has to do is hold you tight. 
Lights & Plastic Parts: Lights couldn’t be better. The 2 projectors + 2 halogens are a sight at night. It’s more powerful than some of the cars we have. Sadly the 2010 R1 has only two lights. The fairing plastic quality is extremely poor. Even the R15 fairing is stronger than the r1. I was quite surprised to see such an expensive bike having such bad quality plastic.
Conclusion: After using the bike for 4 months, unfortunately, I was leaving the country for some time so I decided to sell the bike. Managed to get a decent deal and that’s when I parted with the bike.
Even now as I’m sitting in Singapore writing this article, I dream of riding the R1 back home. Once you ride a SBK, It’s like an addiction. It’s difficult to stay away. Well, few more months from now, hopefully I should be writing another article on another SBK.
Take care and ride safe.
Regards,
Vikas
This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog
Yamaha R1 Ownership Review by Vikas
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Category: New Bike Review
Honda’s new entrant in the commuter segment the CB Twister has it all. Looks, mileage, power and so on. Yes, the mill churns out 9 bhp which is pretty decent for a bike in its segment. So,you name it and the bike has it. This 110 cc beauty deceives all for what it can deliver. A perfect blend of style and substance integrated that totally gels with the modern day commuter. Entering the Honda showroom, one can see the new CB Twister’s in various colors pleasing the eyes.
The test ride I took though it was not for more than a few kilometers was enough to know how smooth the bike was and get a hunch for what the bike can give to the rider. Nothing needs to be said about the smoothness of the engine as we all know that It’s a Honda!.
Power and Performance: The self start was exceptionally smooth. The Switch was vertically placed, unlike any other bike, which gives a new feel while starting the bike. The bike has a toe-shift gear pedal. The initial pull was pretty decent and comes close to the 125 cc shine or actually matches it. Even with the showroom guy sitting as the pillion, the bike took off effortlessly and could clear traffic with ease. The bike comes with a maintenance free battery so no more topping up of electrolyte. I could reach only a top speed of 65 km as the traffic was heavy at the time. But the bike can definitely give much more. The power delivery was smooth on all gears and no loss of throttle (usually experienced with Honda bikes). I realized that there was no pass light switch though when I was overtaking though.
Handling: The tires were grippy enough and slicing through traffic was a breeze. Thanks to the handling department, they have done the commuter’s job well. Even on the bumpy road in front of the showroom, the bike was impressively smooth. Maybe even more than a unicorn. No offence to Unicorn guys though. In the limited time of the ride, I decided to test all the factors of the bike. The company claimed mass centralization was definitely at work. The front disc was a little sloppy than expected and did not perform well. Unnecessary for a bike with such less power and weight (just 108 kg kerb weight). Overall, the handling characteristics in traffic were pretty decent.
Looks: The pictures say it all. All black treated engine, alloys and central body makes the bike pretty handsome. A colorful instrument panel with a blue lit background show numbers upto 140 km/h. The screenless front cowl and so called floating side cowl add oodles of style quotient to the bike. The tank is muscular which gives the rider a feeling of riding a bigger bike. Honda has put in a half chain case on this one though which may be a drawback for Indian road conditions as the chain will need more frequent maintenance in terms of cleaning and lubing. The rear view mirrors have given a new design with more edge and feels the design is flawless. The short muffler adds good overall looks to the bike which is actually a pat of the mass centralization concept.
The company claims a mileage of 70km per liter. But authentic sources say it can mile out about 60km in city riding conditions. The bike comes in 5 exciting colors viz., Electric Yellow Metallic, Pearl Nightstar Black, Pearl Siena Red, Pearl Fiji Blue and Candy Palm Green.
The Yellow and blue versions looked pretty decent and they are the ones we will be seeing in the roads soon. The bike comes in both self drum/disc and kick drum versions. On the whole, the bike adds value to the Indian commuter bike market and definitely is competition for all 100 and 125 cc bike in terms of looks, performance and value for money. A good buy for a mileage and looks conscious person. An easy-to-ride city bike with no flaws as of now, but again depends on individual needs. Happy riding.
- Anand
Tech Specs:
Engine and Transmission:
Type: 4 stroke, aircooled
Dispacement: 109cc
Net Power: 9bhp @ 8000 rpm
Torque: 9 nm @ 6000rpm
Transmission: 4 speed constant mesh
Shift patter: 1 Down 3 Up
Measurements:
Kerb Weight: 108 kg
Fueltank capacity: 8 litres
Ground Clearance: 180mm
Chassis:
Front suspension: Telescopic fork
Rear suspension: Spring loaded Hydraulic with rectangular box type swing arm
Tires: Tubeless, front and rear
Front brake: 240mm disc
Rear brake: 110mm drum
Electricals:
Ignition: DC CDI
Battery: 12V, 3.0 AH Maintenance Free
Headlamp: Halogen, 12V, 35/35W
This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog
Honda CB Twister Test Ride by Anand
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Category: New Bike Review
There is no need of Introducing Iridium Spark plug to you guys as many of you would have at least heard of that term and not an alien word in the world of motoring. It became very popular with the foray of performance bikes into the Indian Market. By the turn of the decade, we are going to witness more and more of these Adrenalin spark Injectors.
We already saw a quarter liter sports bike in the form of Kawasaki Ninja 250R and also our home grown products like Yamaha R15, Karizma ZMR, Pulsar 220 dtsi, Apache RTR 180 etc.
Sadly the lime green baby, ninja was priced on the stratosphere for most of the bikers in India which is still a dream for many. But let’s not worry about that, we have our home grown products which are not far behind and also don’t cost us a bomb. Think sub one lakh for R15 and karizma ZMR is equally justifiable for the amount of technology invested in them. So tinkering on the current offerings can yield us better power or at least feel. Ok, now what’s first? There comes a performance part in the form of spark plug which ignites a bike’s heart. So what can a spark plug do to improve the performance?
I am going to describe the basics of a spark plug and its working so as to clearly understand its advantages and disadvantages over the normal plug. The main function of a spark plug is to ignite the Air-fuel mixture inside a combustion chamber. The current is supplied to the plug by using an electrical ignition system. The ignition coil will supply the high current needed to the spark plug. When the current reaches the tip of the central electrode, it arcs and joins the base (ground) electrode to form a spark which ignites the mixture. Spark plugs are under constant chemical, thermal, physical, and electrical attack by corrosive gases at 2,000 degrees Celsius, crushing pressures of 2,000 pounds per square inch (PSI) due to the working of the piston, and electrical discharges of up to 20,000 volts. The spark occurs dozens of times per second and over a million times in a day’s worth of riding.
So why Iridium? (Advantages)
The main metal used in ordinary spark plug is nickel-iron or chromium based substance. I am not going to describe about the chemical properties and all because it will turn out to be a chemistry class. Simply put, Iridium is one of the hardest, strongest, and precious and one of the rarest metals found on earth’s crust.Iridium is the best, but too hard to handle. Iridium is 6 times harder, 8 times stronger and can withstand temperatures exceeding 2454° C. Unfortunately, the incredible properties that make it the perfect metal for building spark plugs also made it impossible to work with until now.
Circumference Laser Welding
There was not a welding tool hot enough to melt an iridium electrode tip to a nickel base. That is until DENSO pioneered their patented Laser Welding Process.
|
Iridium (Ir) |
Platinum (Pt) |
Nickel (Ni) |
Gold (Au) |
Silver (Ag) |
| Melting Point ° C |
2454 |
1769 |
1453 |
1063 |
960 |
| Strength |
112 |
14 |
68 |
13 |
13 |
| Electrical resistance |
5.3 |
10.6 |
6.8 |
2.3 |
1.6 |
| Hardness |
240 |
40 |
160 |
25 |
26 |
Improved Firing Performance: To improve firing performance, the contact area between the electrode and the flame nucleus needs to be reduced in size. This is why the electrode was made as fine as possible to a diameter of 0.4mm. Compared to normal Spark Plugs, with a spark gap of 0.8mm, the ignitability limits are better by 2.5. Less metal on the tip allows the spark to expand in a greater area, maximizing firing performance and minimizing voltage requirements.
The required voltage in the Iridium plugs is between 3000 volts & 5000 volts that is less than a normal plug. This is due to the ultra-fine 0.4mm diameter ground electrode. Because the required voltage is kept low, Iridium plugs can be used in high performance engines and for high response driving.
Smoother Idling: When an engine is idling, firing can become particularly bad. Because Iridium Power plugs have a low required voltage and high ignitability, sparking continues to work properly during idling. Whereas normal plugs have highly variable rpm counts, Iridium Power plugs maintain very smooth idling. Also, because combustion is good, the explosive energy raises the rpm count.
Improved Engine Performance: Iridium Power spark plugs enhance the performance of an engine. Acceleration is improved when compared against normal spark plugs.
Decreased Fuel Consumption: When Iridium Power spark plugs are used, accidental fire and misfiring rarely occurs under various driving conditions. Therefore, combustion is extremely good. In turn, a healthy engine can be maintained and fuel consumption improved.
So why not use an Iridium plug? (Disadvantages): We can’t properly say a disadvantage for using an iridium plug. But commonly Iridium plugs are used where high efficiency or high tuning is needed. In most of the other cases, normal spark plug is enough. It is mainly used in high performance engines like our Yamaha R15 or the incredible tourer’s the Karizma and the Pulsar 220’s. I said this because one of my friends came and asked me whether he can fit an Iridium spark plug to his Hero Honda splendor. I said yes, it can be fitted to any vehicle provided the manufacturer has the specified model. But fitting it to a small engined vehicle like my friend’s does not completely justify the amount we are investing for getting an Iridium plug and furthermore, the daily commuter is not going to gain any noticeable improvements.
Coming back to the fitments of Iridium plugs to our home grown performance bikes. It’s a common thing now a day to fit a K&N free flow air filter or of any type of performance filters to our bikes. People are mistaken by the fact that they are really gaining performance advantage by simply retro fitting it in place of normal air filter. The only true improvement gaining from this modification is better throttle feel due to leaner mixture provided by the performance filters and of course the trademark intake roar that can be heard in every corner of our country. One way is to re-jet the carburetor. But if it’s a fuel injected vehicle, that possibility is also null. Either they have to replace the ECU or remap it in some way provided it has a closed loop system. Both the modification will turn out to be very expensive, delicate, time consuming and lot of hard work that involves excessive R&D. The simplest way is to use an Iridium plug which will provide a much better spark. After all it’s easier to burn fuel than air. The more air, less fuel mixture can be effectively burned by using Iridium plug provided if one wants to run the engine lean or just retrofit the Iridiums without any additional modifications. Thus attaining a reasonable difference in throttle response that infact becomes crisp.
More Modifications: Do u people want to pull out more juice out of your already etched ride? Here comes the high performance ignition wire. These are the low resistance super conductor cables (50 ohms resistance). The original spark plug cable should be removed and this cable is to be connected to spark plug from the ignition unit. When coupled it with the Iridium plugs, the current produced by the ignition unit is carried to the spark plug without any loss. So Voila…again some juice. These high performance ignition wires are manufactured by some well known firms like MSD and Spitfire which convinces us to at least trust them by not harming the engine.
So get ready for an exhilarating experience, save some money and start procuring things!
- Abiram Menon
This is an article from from: BikeAdvice.in - The Indian Bike Blog
Get To Know – Iridium Spark Plugs
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