{"id":1476707,"date":"2019-07-27T12:17:50","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T02:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeme.tv\/?p=1476707"},"modified":"2019-07-27T12:17:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-27T02:17:50","slug":"2019-yamaha-yzf-r3-review-loves-l-platers-like-a-mad-uncle-with-fireworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/2019-yamaha-yzf-r3-review-loves-l-platers-like-a-mad-uncle-with-fireworks\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 YAMAHA YZF-R3 REVIEW \u2013 LOVES L-PLATERS LIKE A MAD UNCLE WITH FIREWORKS"},"content":{"rendered":"

IMAGES BY NICK EDARDS \/ HALF LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHIC<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The racing DNA is unmistakeable.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

You know that uncle.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d come to your house when you were a kid. He\u2019d have a few cans. He\u2019d play some cricket with you. Then, when the sun went down, he\u2019d go out to his car and bring in a bunch of fireworks.<\/p>\n

Your mum would freak a bit. Your dad would frown a bit, but he\u2019d be on board even though it wasn\u2019t Cracker Night. And that beaut uncle would then let you light the blue touch-paper and stand well back.<\/p>\n

It was the best fun ever, and it was almost entirely benign\u2026almost. Because if you didn\u2019t pay attention, you\u2019d lose an eye.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what made it so much fun.<\/p>\n

Yamaha\u2019s new R3 loves you like THAT uncle.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Just like Rossi, but heaps slower and with less money and supermodels.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

If I was 16 again, I\u2019d be smeared on the widow of my local Yamaha dealer like a sex-pest at a strip-show. The R3 would be mine, though the heavens crumbled and I was kicked out of home.<\/p>\n

You know why?<\/p>\n

Because it is a proper grown-up motorcycle carved from every bit of engineering integrity Yamaha can bring to its bikes. It\u2019s shod the wee bastard with Dunlop Alpha 14, for pity\u2019s sake. Any time the Greek alphabet becomes involved with tyres, shit gets serious.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The cockpit looks a bit trick this year.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The R3 has new 37mm KYB upside-down gold-anodised forks, which offer a marked improvement to the front-end in terms of stiffness. The confidence this offers riders of all ages and skills cannot be overstated. Combined with those Greek-labelled tyres\u2026what can I tell you you haven\u2019t worked out for yourself already?<\/p>\n

It is crazy good.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The radar beams pass right over the top of you.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The pre-load adjustable rear shock is stiffer this year, but remains comfy rather than sporty. I\u2019ve banged it up and down the Putty a few times now. The bits at the start and the finish of the Putty are smooth and twisty. The middle bit is a bumpy swine of a pig of a road. This is where I thought the R3 would start to show me its limitations and turn into a pogo stick.<\/p>\n

Nope.<\/p>\n

I could actually tour a bit on this, I remember thinking.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Furry Greek goodness.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

The stoppers are fine. The fact you don’t need them much, is even finer.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The R3 is roomy and surprisingly comfortable (despite the handlebars being 22mm lower), weighs bloody nothing (167kg wet), and handles better than just about anything in its class \u2013 and a few other classes.<\/p>\n

It is, as I said, somewhat of an engineering triumph.<\/p>\n

What else is new this year?<\/p>\n

The LCD dash. Easy-to-read with an adjustable shift-light. You could ask for no more. You don\u2019t in fact need any more. The fairing is aerodynamically new, and Yamaha reckons you\u2019ll get an extra eight klicks of top-end when you\u2019ve squished your bulk down into The Crouch and are applying yourself.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The pillion would have to be lithe. And brave.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

It will do 174km\/h. I know that. I reckon I might have nudged it a bit higher, but Police Fear got to me. But hand on the boob of Mother Mary, 41.4 horses and 26.9 Nm in this package is superb fun.<\/p>\n

And of course it looks fabulous. And that is crucial. Not only when someone is catching Motorcycle Fever, but even when someone has been weathered by a billion motorcycle miles. The Fever is always there. The damn thing better look good or I ain\u2019t buying it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

That’s its happy face.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

But the one thing you need to understand, and what everyone who buys an R3 needs to understand, and perhaps tattoo this piece of wisdom somewhere painful, is:<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep \u2019er lit, brighteyes! Just keep \u2019er lit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The R3 is a rev-demon. It rewards you the harder you rev it. It demands you do so. Much like a two-stroke, but without the narrow powerband. Lash it mercilessly. It loves it. And if it loves it, you will love it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

This is where the blue touch-paper is lit and stays lit. And the red Off button is there too.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Off course, if you button off, you will lose momentum, and hence speed. So you don\u2019t button off, do you? You keep \u2019er lit, like Yamaha Jesus intended.<\/p>\n

And if you do that, you will see corner speeds and lean-angles that will delight you. If you\u2019re a Learner, it will teach you things you need to learn \u2013 throttle control, setting up for a corner, what to say to a magistrate\u2026<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an old warhorse, you\u2019ll get even more out of the R3. It\u2019s a goddamn racebike whose neck you can wring, which won\u2019t cripple you ergonomically while trying to slaughter you with 8000 horsepower.<\/p>\n

And it will make you smile. You can\u2019t put a price on that. Yamaha has, but.<\/p>\n

The R3 is $6299 plus ORC. It\u2019s hilarious. You could buy two and hold a race series in your suburb.<\/p>\n

\"\"

It’s organic and flowy, like blue Guinness when you spill it on your chest.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ll tell you a brief story\u2026<\/p>\n

I was coming home one afternoon on the R3 and I entered the Putty Road 10-Mile section with intent. The tyres were warm and gooey, the road was dry, and traffic very light. I came upon a conga line of riders clearly taking in the sights. I passed them with just a soupcon of venom, the R3 fully co-operating with my front-end-loading and late-braking kung-fu \u2013 but in truth, I wasn\u2019t on the brakes all that much. Maybe just a touch, then it was right back on the gas \u2013 keeping \u2019er lit, as per the Gospel.<\/p>\n

About halfway through the Ten-Mile, when it becomes cruel and relentless and the cliffs and Armco beckon to you, a man on a piped-up Multistrada passed me coming out of a corner. Not much chance of catching him there. The Ducati had the grunt of six R3s. But, like a dog chasing a ball, I went after him anyway. I quickly discovered I could close under brakes and certainly I was carrying the same corner speeds \u2013 and maybe a touch more.<\/p>\n

Now, I am no great shakes as a scratcher. And maybe ol\u2019mate on the Ducati wasn\u2019t at 10\/10ths either. But we seemed to be getting along at a respectable pace. I was certainly dry-mouthed. I could not catch him, but he could not lose me. And so it went for about eight twisty-crazy kilometres.<\/p>\n

He buttoned off to a non-jailable 120 when the road opened up again at Milbrodale and I sat a few bike lengths behind him, panting. We both stopped at Bulga, grinning like idiots.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re kidding!\u201d he laughed, looking at the R3. \u201cI thought that was R6 or an R1. I didn\u2019t really look when I passed you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBet you thought I was Rossi, too,\u201d I laughed back.<\/p>\n

He looked closer, especially at the tyres.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlphas,\u201d he nodded sagely.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlphas,\u201d I agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew R3, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStay upright,\u201d he said and put his helmet back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fat-free and fabulous.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0SOME CLARITY IN THE FOG<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a point of order I wish to raise.<\/p>\n

This is not a LAM-friendly motorcycle as some wizards would term it.<\/p>\n

LAM stands for \u201cLearner Approved Motorcycle\u201d. So calling it a \u201cLearner Approved Motorcycle-Friendly Motorcycle\u201d means you should maybe grow a roof in your mouth and stop your crazy honking.<\/p>\n

Let us just consider the fact that any Learner worth his glowing teenage skin would heartily approve of the R3 after 15 minutes of riding it. The R3 is a LAM and the approval of Learners is guara-damn-teed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SPECS<\/strong><\/p>\n

ENGINE<\/strong>
\nType: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve parallel twin
\nCapacity: 321cc
\nBore x stroke: 60.0 mm x 44.1 mm
\nCompression ratio: 11.2:1
\nFuel system: Electronic fuel injection<\/p>\n

PERFORMANCE<\/strong>
\nClaimed maximum power: 41.4hp (30.9kW) at 10,750rpm
\nClaimed maximum torque: 29.6Nm at 9000rpm<\/p>\n

TRANSMISSION<\/strong>
\nType: Six-speed
\nFinal drive: Chain<\/p>\n

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR<\/strong>
\nFrame type: Steel diamond
\nFront suspension: 37mm KYB upside-down telescopic fork, 130mm travel
\nRear suspension: Preload adjustable monoshock, 45mm travel
\nFront brakes: 298mm disc with twin-piston caliper
\nRear brakes: 220mm disc with single-piston caliper
\nTyres: 110\/70-17 front, 140\/70-17 rear<\/p>\n

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES<\/strong>
\nClaimed wet weight: 167kg
\nSeat height: 780mm
\nWheelbase: 1380mm
\nFuel capacity: 14 litres
\nEconomy: 4.8lt\/100km (estimated)<\/p>\n

OTHER STUFF<\/strong>
\nPrice: $6299 plus on-road costs
\nColours: Yamaha Blue, Power Black Candy Satin Red
\nBike supplied by: Yamaha Australia, www.yamaha-motor.com.au<\/a>
\nWarranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IMAGES BY NICK EDARDS \/ HALF LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHIC You know that uncle. He\u2019d come to your house when you were a kid. He\u2019d have a few cans. He\u2019d play some cricket with you. Then, when the sun went down, he\u2019d go out to his car and bring in a bunch of fireworks. Your mum would [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1476720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[175,106,211,58,103],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476707"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1476707"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1476948,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1476707\/revisions\/1476948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1476720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1476707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1476707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1476707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}