{"id":6768,"date":"2014-02-05T09:05:30","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T23:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bikeme.tv\/?p=6768"},"modified":"2014-02-05T12:03:49","modified_gmt":"2014-02-05T02:03:49","slug":"2014-yamaha-bolt-ridden-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/2014-yamaha-bolt-ridden-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 YAMAHA BOLT – RIDDEN & REVIEWED"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behold Yamaha\u2019s beaut new bit of two-wheeled bad-arsery<\/p>\n

This is the first Jap bike worth getting a neck-tatt for. Then when the tears have stopped and the scabs have healed, you\u2019ll be styling \u2013 and the Bolt is all about that.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

As far as blank canvasses go, this is pretty sweet.<\/p><\/div>\n

Aimed directly at the sizeable Harley-Davidson Sportster market, Yamaha\u2019s edgy, bobber-styled Bolt is a serious shot across the American\u2019s iconic bows.<\/p>\n

On the road and around town, the Bolt is sweeter than a sugar-freak\u2019s saliva. It\u2019s no crazy power-whore, but the horses you\u2019ve got all work with a will, pretty much where you want them to work. It\u2019s narrow enough to split traffic without smashing car mirrors, steers quickly and the riding possie, super-low seat-height, and wide bars make low-speed manoeuvres simple and positive.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Look, there’s a water feature in the background. No, Daz, it’s not a whale.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re sensible, the limited ground clearance won\u2019t bother you much. There\u2019s a bit less on the right-hand side than there is on the left, because the right footpeg sticks out a bit further than the left one. Yamaha had to move the right peg out about 10cm to compensate for the air-cleaner your right knee rests against, but it\u2019s not something that will bother you unless you\u2019re showing off or running from a Highway Patrol car.<\/p>\n

Long-distance touring is possible, but neither you nor it will be happy when you finally get to Kalgoorlie, where the miners will probably turn you into a screaming hipster sex-toy.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Clean and ready for customing.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yamaha has been making torque-rich V-twin engines from about the 5th century BC, which enjoy a big rep for reliability and longevity. Their bikes are mostly bulletproof and in the last few years have been coming off the production line with a level of finish that is really quite special.<\/p>\n

The Bolt is right up there in that regard, and it seems to whisper: \u201cPimp me, daddy. Make me your special girl.\u201d Which you can do with a range of Yamaha-made bling. Stuff like lowering kits, higher bars, and brass-mesh air-cleaner covers are all available. Or just go to Bunnings, buy a gas axe, a sheet of chequer plate and some steam pipe and see what can become what in your garage with your mates feeding you tequila and advice all night.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Dark, like a an evil woman’s heart.<\/p><\/div>\n

TECHNICAL THINGS<\/h2>\n

DONK: 942cc, air-cooled, four-stroke SOHC, eight-valve 60-degree V-twin<\/p>\n

HORSIES: About 55<\/p>\n

TORQUE: 76.8Nm at 3000rpm<\/p>\n

FINAL DRIVE: Belt<\/p>\n

WEIGHT: 245kg wet<\/p>\n

RANGE: 12 litres in the tank is good for about 250km<\/p>\n

GEARS: Five<\/p>\n

WARRANTY: Five years<\/p>\n

EVADING POLICE PURSUIT: Not recommended. Four out of 10.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Golden piggy-back shocks. Yes, of course, you’d get them.<\/p><\/div>\n

SECOND OPINION By Al<\/h2>\n

The Yamaha Bolt is Old School. The last time I owned a motorcycle with a nineteen inch front wheel, a sixteen inch rear wheel and a double cradle frame was over twenty years ago. And tradition doesn\u2019t stop there. Air cooled. Single disc. Old style forks. Twin shocks. Bias tyres.<\/p>\n

But it works, and there is a fair bit of modern tech hidden behind the Old School.<\/p>\n

The motor is sweet. You start it, and it throbs like a fast pulse. It punches from idle. The vibration that comes through the frame and handgrips is low amplitude, and never gets worse. You know you\u2019ve got a big twin under you, is all.<\/p>\n

There are only five speeds. You never feel like you need more, but it\u2019s geared tall. In first, in traffic, you ride the clutch a bit. It springs away from lights just fine, but if you\u2019re stuck in a line of cars and can\u2019t split, you work the clutch.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Very comfy and very stylish.<\/p><\/div>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter, because the lever blades are wide and curved, and they feel most satisfactory in your hand, like a 586 Smith. The clutch is feather light, two fingers will make the single disc work real well, and the motor makes its maximum torque at 3000 rpm.<\/p>\n

Yamaha don\u2019t give you a tacho. You don\u2019t need one. You always have torque. The 950cc motor is punchy, but soft, despite the fuel injection and four valves per cylinder. It makes maybe 50, 55 horsepower. Not much, but it\u2019s all where you use it riding to work. The compression ratio is only 9:1, so there isn\u2019t much in the way of engine braking, and it\u2019s not fussy on petrol: 91 octane is fine, it runs okay on 10% ethanol as well.<\/p>\n

They give you a digital speedo. When you press the button on the right switchblock, the bit below the speed toggles clock, odo, trip 1 and trip 2. When the fuel light comes on, another trip meter appears and gets focus, and starts incrementing the number of kilometres ridden since the fuel light went on. Clever.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Bike-appropriate stoppers and a clean-looking mag.<\/p><\/div>\n

The twelve litre tank took nine litres the first time this happened. I did the numbers, and it was sipping 25 km\/litre. Range, then, is somewhere between 240 and 300km. That\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n

Seat height is really low, so the weight seems less than the 245kg wet in the specs. The gearbox is a bit agricultural in the low gears: there\u2019s a big clunk when you select first from neutral and a smaller one going from first to second, but the lever throw is light and positive, and I never missed a gear.<\/p>\n

My first ride was a ten kilometre commute through bad city traffic. By the time I got to my destination, I had scraped the right side footpeg three times, and the left side footpeg twice. Ground clearance on the left is ordinary. Ground clearance on the right is poor.<\/p>\n

My second ride on it was over the Blue Mountains. I scraped the left footpeg occasionally. I scraped the right footpeg a lot. The footpeg folds, and then its bracket hits. The bracket doesn\u2019t fold. It gets a bit disconcerting, especially when you\u2019re widening your line and find yourself running out of road.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Yeah, this wore down some. As it will.<\/p><\/div>\n

Your left thigh snuggles against the tank, but your right thigh misses by maybe 100mm, because your knee is against the air cleaner cover. I reckon Yamaha have moved the right footpeg out to compensate, thus it drags on the road all the time.<\/p>\n

Pity, because it handles pretty well. It\u2019s got 41mm forks at the front, and the top of the front cylinder is bolted to the frame to help stiffen everything up. The back moves around a bit on a rough road \u2013 it only has 70mm of travel, so it\u2019s over-sprung, but the forks are okay, the swingarm is big and rigid, and the chassis belies its old school looks.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Not an un-handsome motor at all.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you hit a bad bump, you feel in in the kidneys, thanks to the stiff shocks and the upright riding position. The riding position made me into a windsock over 90 or so km\/hr, and put a bend in my lower back that isn\u2019t as comfortable as leaning forward and taking a bit more weight on the arms. Seat comfort is good, though.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

Pillion comfort is not your problem. You’re riding, remember?<\/p><\/div>\n

The spread of power makes for a relaxed ride. Overtaking is just a matter of turning it on. If you\u2019re in a real hurry, go down a gear. Not that it makes much difference, actually. If you\u2019re in a real hurry, I should have said, you\u2019re on the wrong bike.<\/p>\n

Belt drive is nice. It\u2019s quiet and low maintenance, and makes the drivetrain really smooth. There is a bit of gear whine at low speeds, but that\u2019s okay. The exhaust is quiet, and riding it at 80-100km\/h is like riding one of the old BMW airheads: a comforting tappet tick over a muted exhaust. The vibration is noticeable at that speed, but low. It\u2019s never uncomfortable, but the mirrors blur. The engine has no balance shaft. Yamaha apparently concentrated on removing reciprocating mass by making the lightest possible con-rods and pistons. It works, and saves weight.<\/p>\n

It looks kinda cool. The Japanese have made plenty of V-twin cruisers, but not many that look cool. This is no XV920. It\u2019s a direct tilt at Harley-Davidson\u2019s Iron 883 Sportster; stylistically, and engineering-wise. The only thing that hints at Yamaha is a small tuning fork decal on the top triple clamp.<\/p>\n

\"h-d&bolt

LED – we understand it is the illumination of the future.<\/p><\/div>\n

The model I rode was the \u201cR\u201d. It costs thirteen and a half. The base model doesn\u2019t come in grey, and misses out on the shock reservoirs and the buckskin look seat cover. It costs thirteen.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot of bike for thirteen. It\u2019s about a grand cheaper than a Harley-Davidson Iron 883, weighs less, has wave brakes, more valves per cylinder, makes more torque at lower revs, and comes with a five year warranty.<\/p>\n

In the market for a gritty-looking sub-litre boulevard cruiser? Add the Bolt to your list.<\/p>\n

VARIATIONS ON A THEME<\/h2>\n

Yamaha clearly intends for the Bolt to be a base from which beautiful things can be made. Here’s a few we found kicking around the place.<\/p>\n

\"Yamaha-Bolt-Custom1\"

Sweet, flat-tracker from the US<\/p><\/div>\n

\"yamaha-bolt-2\"

Roland Sands’ take on the Bolt.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"yamaha-bolt-custom\"

Chappell Customs went a whole lot further.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the first Jap bike worth getting a neck-tatt for. Then when the tears have stopped and the scabs have healed, you\u2019ll be styling \u2013 and the Bolt is all about that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4,58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6768"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6768"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7651,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6768\/revisions\/7651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikeme.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}