Yamaha YZF-R3 Long Term Report: August 2016

Rainy day chutti

Even this month I was deprived of riding the Yamaha YZF-R3 and for a change it wasn’t my fault. The monsoon finally hit Delhi, and with crazy downpour, roads clogged with rain water and slush, and the conditions weren’t conducive. The couple of times I did dare to venture out, I returned home completely drenched with mud splashed all over me, courtesy of insensitive four-wheelers.

As mentioned before, the R3 needs a much needed service, but we are just waiting for the monsoon period to end. Getting back to riding in the rain, the MRF tyres weren’t as bad as I expected. On a couple of occasions I thought the rear tyre might slip out, but it remained faithful and allowed me to reach home in one piece.

Rain always camouflages potholes and ditches on the road, not to mention, create new booby traps. With no real option but to take a leap of faith, I managed to avoid 90 per cent of the craters on the road. But when I was unable to, thanks to the suspension set up, it managed to cushion majority of the impact and spare my spine from any bone jarring experience. Hopefully next month the R3 will get its much deserved servicing and clock more kilometres.