The most eagerly anticipated moped of 2015 has landed in Malaysia, and i-Moto couldn’t wait to take the Yamaha Y15ZR for a spin or two and for the manufacturer to give us a dull registered standard test bike, so we went to a local dealer and took the much awaited moped and took it for a first ride to city center.
Its time to answer some question about the Y15ZR, whats is it like on the road? The dealer who owns the Y15ZR took to Y15ZR and run in the engine and also save us the time ride the Y15ZR slow. As while we were riding the Y15ZR to heart of Kuala Lumpur via Damansara, Parliament route we were constantly chased by its 135cc sibling!
The Yamaha Y15ZR original rear tyre was change to 110/70/17 from its original 120/70/17 size as the larger size made it harder to ride in twisty corners as I was told by the dealer. Anyway we still had fun riding the Y15ZR on 110 /70 tyre size as it made it nimble and agile many occasion we scraped the foot peg while we navigated out of short corners.
The Y15ZR engine is a 15 horsepower, 5 gear taken from a FZ150 injection engine neatly tucked in a moped frame, which provided a smooth power delivery. The dealer also installed a full system exhaust system to give it a growl and let other know there is an oncoming supercub!
The moped and scooter segment which forms about 80% of motorcycle sold on the road in Malaysia is huge.
Its predecessor, the LC135 is one of the top most wanted moped, now comes the Y15ZR, the 150cc engine give the rider enough torque pickup power to zoom away at traffic lights. Handling other wise for short corners is good as you can get from a moped. On occasions we scraped the footpeg in corners, the retractable pegs seen on FZ150, does very well not get caught on the uneven tarmac.
But in highspeed corners around 110km/h we could feel the rear suspension wobbling, but easy manageable to go faster.
Front suspension should be slightly bigger in diameter as it’s the same as the LC135, HYLM should look in to increasing the front forks diameter to have a better front traction.
The 5-speed manual clutch gearing are like the one you have on a normal sports bikes.
The LCD display on the metre also provides the gearing indicator.
We also did some hard braking to test out the brakes, the front and rear disc brakes performed pretty good. We took a twisty corners route to KL central which include the famous Parliament flyover corner.
Cleary a formidable supercub which would be fun to ride to work or wanna start riding seriously. The Y15ZR clearly set the standard for supercubs or I may say supermopeds category.
Topspeed could go around 140km/h on a flat road.
We hope to take the Y15ZR for another spin in the Tracks if our schedule allows us for a Tracktest!
Verdict 8/10 for a 150cc
Yamaha 15ZR Price (effective 11 August 2015) RM 7,999.82
2015 Yamaha Y15ZR Technical Specification:
| Engine | 4 stroke, 4 valve, SOHC, liquid-cooled |
| Cylinder layout | Single-cylinder |
| Capacity | 149.7cc |
| Bore x stroke | 57.0 x 58.7 mm |
| Compression ratio | 10.4:1 |
| Power | 11.3 kW (15.4 PS) / 8,500 RPM |
| Torque | 13.8 N·m (1.4 kgf·m) / 7,000 RPM |
| Starter | Electric |
| Lubrication | Oil |
| Oil capacity | 1.15 litre |
| Fuel capacity | 4.2 litre |
| Fuel delivery | Injection |
| Ignition | T.C.I (Digital) |
| Final transmission | – |
| Clutch system | Wet centrifugal |
| Transmission ratio | 1st: 2.833 2nd: 1.875 3rd: 1.429 4th: 1.143 5th: 0.957 |
| Gearing | 5-speed |
| Frame | Steel type diamond structure |
| Tyres | 70/90-17M/C 38P / 120/70-17M/C 58P (tubeless) |
| Front brake | 1-piston caliper Hydraulic disc (diameter 245.0 mm) |
| Rear brake | 1-piston caliper Hydraulic disc (diameter 203.0 mm) |
| Front suspension | Telescopic |
| Rear suspension | Monocross |
| Front light | Halogen 12V 35/35W×1 |
| Dimension | 1,970 mm × 670 mm × 1,080 mm |
| Seat height | 780 mm |
| Wheelbase | 1,290 mm |
| Dry weight | 115 kg |
| Ground clearance | 135mm |
