Yezdi. It is a name that evokes sweet memories for many people. Memories of some old motorcycles that produced a ear-tingling metallic sound, motorcycles that features a starting system that still remains unique to this day, motorcycles that created an impression of the rider even before arriving.
Quite naturally then, the Yezdi motorcycles of yore ended up with a cult following made up of riders who still swear by these machines that are now a few decades old. When the re-launch of the Yezdi brand was announced by Classic Legends, almost all motorcycle enthusiasts sat up and took notice. On 13 January, 2022, the Yezdi brand was resurrected and it came back with a bang.
Three motorcycles were launched at once to cater to different segments and riding styles. One is the Yezdi Roadster, another is the Scrambler and then there is the Adventure. Of the three motorcycles, it is the Yezdi Adventure that has grabbed the most attention. We put the motorcycle through its paces on and off-road to find out what it is all about.
As it turns out, it is quite an interesting and capable motorcycle.
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Yezdi Adventure Design & Style
One look at the Yezdi Adventure and even from afar, it is easy to distinguish it as an ADV. It certainly looks the part and makes you want to take it off-road immediately. Quite a few elements make it look off-road ready. Be it the spoked wheels, the rubber boot on the fork, or even the dual-purpose tyres.
Let’s gloss over the design details. Up front is a circular LED headlamp with a chrome surround. It also gets a large windscreen placed above it and behind this is placed the LCD instrument cluster. It is in a rectangular shape but the display in it is circular. It does look rugged, much like the rest of the motorcycle.
When viewed from the side profile, the various components that give it the ADV and touring capabilities are quite prominent. Starting with the 15-litre fuel tank, which is rather muscular and straightforward. It gets the Yezdi badging and inserts to help your knees grip. These inserts are placed in a way that it would be perfect to grip while standing on the footpegs and riding.
The fuel tank is also the bit where you can add a dash of colour to the Yezdi Adventure as it is the only part that gets painted in the colour you opt for. Speaking of colours, the Yezdi Adventure is available in three vastly different colour options classified into Matt and Camo variants. In the Camo variant, only one colour named ‘Ranger Camo’ is available at the moment.
Under the Matt banner, there are the Slick Silver and Mambo Black shades. We feel the Slick Silver shade looks the most attractive, but tastes differ and so do opinions. We sure do hope Yezdi adds more colours into the fray soon. Whatever colour you choose, only the fuel tank will be painted in it while the rest of the motorcycle is decked in black.
There is a luggage mounting frame that also doubles up as a protective guard. This frame covers quite a few components and is mounted directly on the chassis to minimise damage in case of a fall while riding off-road. This frame also adds significantly to the ruggedness quotient of the motorcycle.
The Yezdi Adventure gets simple side panels with the word ‘Adventure’ printed on it. The motorcycle features large split seats that at first glance look very comfortable. The motorcycle is also equipped with a luggage rack and saddle stays at the rear with a long mudguard. The tail lamp setup is pretty unique and way too simple.
It is a small circular tail lamp mounted above the reflector and number plate. This is flanked by the circular turn signal indicators. This entire setup does look very basic and it could have done with a more premium design given the starting price of Rs 2.09 lakh, ex-showroom. These racks and frames allow the user to mount various types of luggage at different points on the bike.
Yezdi also offers top boxes, saddle boxes, jerry cans, auxiliary lights, etc, as accessories that can be mounted on these frames. As aforementioned, the Yezdi Adventure rides on a 21-inch spoked wheel up front and a 17-inch spoked wheel at the rear. The CEAT Gripp tyres also add to the properly rugged styling of the motorcycle.
The engine and exhaust too play a major role in the styling of the Yezdi Adventure. The engine block itself has several interesting design details on it. The cylinder block gets chrome fin, yes there are air-cooling fins on a liquid-cooled engine. This is to keep it in line with the Yezdi heritage of air-cooled engines.
Even the engine casings get horizontal design lines that do not serve any purpose but to remind you of the old Yezdi engines. Finally, the motorcycle features an upswept exhaust completely coated in matte black.
Now, to address the elephant in the room. Yes, your first impressions on the design and styling are right — it does look like a certain adventure motorcycle from a certain well-known manufacturer. However, when you look into the design details, you will see that there are several elements that set it apart from that motorcycle.
Yezdi Adventure Features
In terms of features, the Yezdi Adventure is the most-equipped among the three Yezdi motorcycles. It gets quite a few features that can put other motorcycles in the segment to shame.
Firstly, the motorcycle gets all-LED lighting. The LED headlamp looks great and so do the LED turn signal indicators. Another notable feature that makes the Yezdi Adventure very practical is the availability of two smartphone charging ports. You get a Type-A and Type-C slot to help you with whatever charging requirements may come up while in the great outdoors.
The most notable feature comes in the form of the LCD display. It is extremely detailed and displays the engine speed, vehicle speed, odometer, gear position indicator, multiple trip meters, average and current fuel efficiency, etc.
There is a secondary circular screen integrated into the same rectangular console. This display handles the turn-by-turn navigation that works via Bluetooth. Yes, you do get Bluetooth connectivity and you can use the Yezdi Connect smartphone app to pair your phone to it.
While we didn’t have enough time with the motorcycle to experience turn-by-turn navigation fully, we did pair our Android smartphone with the display and it does have quite a few useful features. You can get lots of information about the motorcycle on your phone.
Another unique feature of this LCD display is that it is tilt-adjustable. The rider can adjust the display according to the requirement at the moment. This is an extremely useful feature if you take the bike off-road and are riding it while standing on the footpegs and want to look at the screen. Now, keep in mind that this is a feature often found on ADV motorcycles that cost several times that of the Yezdi Adventure.
The switchgear on the Yezdi Adventure does give out a premium feeling. The buttons feel tactile and easy to use. The information displayed on the screen can be controlled through the buttons on the handlebar. The handlebar grip also looks stylish with the new Yezdi logo embossed into it.
Yezdi Adventure Engine Performance & Riding Impressions
How does the Yezdi Adventure perform? Is the engine any good? Does it have enough low-end torque? These are some questions that have been on the minds of thousands of enthusiasts and prospective buyers ever since the motorcycle was launched. Well, we took the Yezdi Adventure straight to the trails to find out.
Get on to the saddle of the Yezdi Adventure and the first thing you notice is that it has a comfortable riding position with an upright stance. This upright stance allows for a fatigue-free ride, especially over longer distances. Adding to the comfort aspect are the well-cushioned seats.
Yezdi has put in a lot of thought into the details with this motorcycle. The footpegs are centre-set and are more off-road ready with its unique studded design. Then come the aforementioned tank pads which allow the rider to grip the tank in a stand-up riding position and finally, the upright handlebar gives the Yezdi Adventure an almost perfect ADV position.
Its time to talk about the engine. It is a liquid-cooled, 334cc, single-cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 29.7bhp at 8,000rpm and a peak torque output of 29.9Nm at 6,500rpm. A 6-speed gearbox drives the rear wheel.
From the figures, it was quite obvious that the motorcycle put out the power and torque at higher RPMs. So, going by these figures, we did have the underlying fear that the Yezdi Adventure would have terrible low-end grunt. Once astride the motorcycle, we quickly found that our fears were thankfully not realised.
The engine has good bottom-end and mid-range. It is pretty quick off the line and feels really good on tarmac. Cruising abilities are really great and it is very obvious that this isn’t a motorcycle that will get fatigue from cruising at triple-digit speeds very easily. Overtaking at higher speeds though will require more than just a wring of the right wrist.
You will have to downshift in order to pull off an overtaking move at highway speeds. That being said however, we must mention that the Yezdi Adventure is sure to make for a brilliant touring machine. We say this because it has brilliant highway capabilities and can also take you off the beaten path.
This brings us to the motorcycle’s performance off the road. The power and torque produced by the engine is great in the mid and high range. This is good for riding off-road at decent speeds. Standing on the footpegs and riding at speed on broken roads and sometimes no roads is fun. You end up occasionally throttling the engine just to get some short powerslides going.
However, you do end up wishing for more torque at lower RPMs, especially when faced with an off-road obstacle. This is the Achilles heel of the Yezdi Adventure and its high-revving engine. When faced with an obstacle like a rock at lower speeds, you would have to use the clutch and rev the engine up to get the power down to the wheel.
You also need to rev it high if you have stopped at an off-road obstacle. It is nice to hear the raspy and bassy exhaust note when revved like this, but it does hamper progress when off-road, especially if you are not used to off-road riding as you will stall the motorcycle. However, this does not take anything away from the fact that it still is a brilliant motorcycle.
Yezdi also claims to have made the engine run cooler in various conditions. This has been done by employing a new radiator setup. The internal cooling pipes of the radiator now run horizontally while most other motorcycles use vertical pipes. These new horizontal pipes apparently allow the cooling to be upto 50 percent more efficient. Interesting.
In handling too, the Yezdi Adventure is set up pretty well. Of course comfort takes more prominence over handling and the engineers have set it up more towards ride quality than outright handling. We did jump the bike a couple of times and it certainly didn’t feel like our backbone would be harmed in any way.
Suspension duties are handled by a telescopic fork up front that boasts 200mm of travel and an adjustable monoshock at the rear with 180mm of travel. This gives the Yezdi Adventure a ground clearance of 220mm. It is built on a double-cradle frame. This entire setup is perfect for touring and moderate off-roading.
In terms of how the suspension is tuned, it has been set up slightly toward the stiffer side. However, the high amount of travel on both ends simply means it is an enjoyable motorcycle off-road and especially all the more on our pothole-infested roads.
Braking is handled by a 320mm disc up front and a 240mm disc at the rear. You do get dual-channel ABS and the initial bite offered by the brakes is brilliant. When you brake hard on tarmac, you do end up wishing for better tyres. However, it is quite the opposite when off-road.
There are switchable ABS modes on offer as well – Road, Off-Road & Rain. This improves braking by a huge margin. In Road mode, it functions normally and doesn’t allow the wheels to lock up easily. In Off-Road mode, the ABS kicks in pretty late for the front wheel and the ABS is turned off for the rear wheel, allowing you to slide the bike. In Rain mode, it is on high alert and comes in pretty quickly.
Yezdi Adventure Colour Options, Price & Competition
As aforementioned, the Yezdi Adventure is currently available in just three colour options and the pricing too depends on the colour chosen by the buyer.
– Slick Silver – Rs 2,09,900- Mambo Black – Rs 2,11,900
– Ranger Camo – Rs 2,18,900
All prices mentioned are ex-showroom, Delhi.
The Yezdi Adventure has only one direct competitor — the Royal Enfield Himalayan. However, the Himalayan is more expensive and doesn’t get a few features that the Yezdi does. Other motorcycles that the Yezdi Adventure will indirectly compete with are the KTM 250 Adventure, Benelli TRK 251, and to an extent, even the KTM 390 Adventure.
Verdict
The much-awaited return of the Yezdi brand has already happened. The most interesting motorcycle among the three — the Adventure, as it turns out, is quite interesting. In many ways, it is better than the motorcycle that people liken it to. It is as Yezdi says, ‘Not For The Saint Hearted.’ Having said that, we are still itching for a longer time on the saddle. So stay tuned for a more detailed road test.
Keyword: Yezdi Adventure Review — The Adventure-Tourer Packs Quite A Punch