Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Yamaha R15 - Poll Results

I would recommend readers/browsers to take the results with a pinch of salt. Although the number of votes polled is a measly 179, remember these are 179 Bikers / Biking enthusiasts, who have reached this blog out of habit or an Internet search on some bike related topic. These arent your run of the mill Techie (no offense, I love taking these random digs, am a mean heartless jerk you see.. *insert cherubic yet devillish peals of laughter here*) sitting in his office and browsing blogs, the votes then, attain a certain degree of authenticity and I am not in the least surprised by the response!

The last update for the poll was on September 17th 08' in a post done HERE. At that time the R15 was apparently not doing too well at the polling booth. The end result too is not very unpredictable. It is what I would call a classic case of an excellent product being priced and positioned wrongly.

Nevertheless the bike has done reasonably well in the market and has found its target base (and some buyers outside of it too!), lets hope this is the beginning of a truly special era from Yamaha in India!

Is the Yamaha R15 True Value for Money, final results after poll closure

Yes: 38 Votes (21%) (Very Optimistic in my opinion, excellent bike, too pricey)
No: 90 Votes (55%) (This reflects the feeling of the general populace, a machine for the performance enthusiast, but probably too heavy for his wallet? I remember my college days when finances were always a crunch, bikes were an obsession, and the 2 somehow never seemed to meet!)
Cant Say: 5 Votes (2%) (Now how many of you 5 were Librans/Aquarians? or am I wrong about Librans/Aquarians being terribly indecisive! heh heh heh!)
Almost: 20 Votes (11%) (I would agree with this on on sentiment, it is, well, just about, Almost.)
Rip off: 17 Votes (9%) (a bit harsh I'd say but then flattering to deceive can well be considered an attempt to rip off an unsuspecting buyer!)

So there you have it folks, that concludes a mini journey in itself (the whole R15 Evolution/Revolution) which should give Yamaha a foothold in our markets at last! Where they take it from here is a question which needs answering very soon. No hero lasts long in public memory, the next one is already due.

Ive got many comments and mails with regards to my personal views on the R15 and on the bike in itself. I still maintain that it is a VERY Good Bike, but falls short of my expectations. To put it simply: 20bhp+ at current price, or Current bhp+ Rs70-75000....