When the GST 2.0 reforms were announced earlier this month, I had the Yezdi Adventure media review sample with me. My first ride review of this motorcycle was supposed to lean heavily on the design as I believe this is the best-looking mainstream off-road motorcycle on sale in India today with a lot of character and personality.
But the GST 2.0 reforms made me change my perspective for this first ride review. While it continues to be my pick for design and aesthetics within mainstream off-roaders, the new GST 2.0 reforms have made Yezdi Adventure the “Sweet Spot” within mainstream off-road motorcycles. Here is what I mean about that.
2025 Yezdi Adventure First Ride Review
It is celebration time at Classic Legends as all of their portfolio (except for BSA Goldstar 650) has become more affordable by up to Rs 17k. Now, all Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles have been priced under Rs 2 lakh, which might prove to be a major boost for the sales prospect of these motorcycles. Yezdi Adventure pricing has gone Rs 17k from Rs 2.15 lakh to Rs 1.98 lakh (Ex-sh).
Within India’s mainstream off-roaders, 2025 Yezdi Adventure’s new Rs 1.98 lakh (Ex-sh) sits above Hero Xpulse 210 and Kawasaki KLX230 and below KTM 250 Adventure, Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 and KTM 390 Adventure. Even in terms of performance Yezdi Adventure is above Xpulse 210 and KLX230, around the same as 250 Adventure and below that of Himalayan 450 and 390 Adventure.
In terms of price and performance, it slots exactly in the sweet spot where one needs more performance than the smaller 200cc to 230cc class, but don’t want to carve a hole in the pocket to choose the 400cc to 450cc class. Even the 250 Adventure is Rs 42k more expensive than Yezdi Adventure. If that’s not a sweet spot, I don’t know what is. So, if the package is just as sweet, Yezdi Adventure becomes a no-brainer. But is the package “Sweet”?
Design & Aesthetics
Off-roaders usually follow function over form. However, designers at Yezdi have ensured to put as much character and personality as they can in this functional design. It is easily the best-looking mainstream off-roader on sale in India. During my time with it, I felt like I had put the ‘fanny magnet’ cheat code in GTA Vice City as it grabbed a lot of eyeballs everywhere I went. Almost everyone knew what it was, but they hadn’t seen one in real life as there are so few of them on the road.
Design is Yezdi Adventure’s trump card. It is a beautiful machine and exudes a chaotic, yet a pleasing charm. Elements contributing to this effect are the circular asymmetrical twin-pod LED headlights, circular symmetrical twin-pod LED tail lights, cute-sy bullet-like LED turn indicators and the dual-tone Ocean Blue colourway. Yezdi had given me complete choice over colour and I chose Ocean Blue as it was the launch colour too. If it was my money, I would probably pick Glacier White.
Interestingly, the motorcycle I got did not come with tank guards (standard fitment) with (nice) 69 lettering, but it had rear saddle stay accessory fitted. Also interesting is the fact that Yezdi is using the reflector part of its headlight for low beam and projector for high beam, which is usually not the approach taken by rivals. Illumination is decent, nonetheless. Things I’d change in terms of design is that I would get rid of the beak and install knuckle guards, which is an oversight, if you ask me. Other than that, Yezdi Adventure is a handsome brute.
Functions, Ergonomics & Equipment
Yezdi Adventure is perfectly ergonomic for a 182 cm tall individual like myself. When I swing my leg on the saddle, I am sitting upright and with a commanding view of my surroundings. Even standing and riding was fairly comfortable. The tall windshield provides good protection from windblasts and footpegs were aptly set with exposed teeth for grip. 815 mm seat height is fairly low where off-roaders are concerned, and I could easily flat foot on both sides.
Seat is comfortable and is contoured to offer a lot of wiggle room to move about. I could not get anyone to sit on pillion seat, but it looks up to the task. The instrument cluster is fully digital and it is positioned like a tower setup on a Dakar motorcycle. It has good legibility and there is a circular screen and a rectangular screen beside the main cluster for Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation.
I couldn’t get my phone to connect with this cluster via the Yezdi Adventure app as my number was not pre-registered. It is mildly infuriating when the connection is not established owing to unnecessary steps and measures. This system should have worked for anyone who has the app and in the proximity of this bike. That said, kudos to Yezdi’s approach of offering both Type-A and Type-C USB ports so users can use whichever cable they have.
Performance, Ride & Handling
2025 Yezdi Adventure is powered by the reworked Alpha2 engine. This is a 334cc single-cylinder DOHC 4V/cyl liquid-cooled engine. Peak power is 29.6 bhp and peak torque is 29.8 Nm, mated to a 6-speed gearbox and a slipper clutch. Speaking of clutch, I am happy to report that it is on the lighter side and does not inflict crippling pain in your left wrist like its immediate 450cc rival does. This engine is smooth and refined too and you won’t feel any tingling buzz at lower triple digit speeds.
Performance is spritely and one can expect to hit 100 km/h in around 10 seconds from a standstill. Speedo-indicated top speed can go a little over 140 km/h. Perks of living in Pune is that hills and mountains are easily accessible. I did a hill climb and a fair bit of off-roading and highway touring. Yezdi Adventure’s 187 kg kerb weight ensures that it doesn’t feel very heavy. One can even do a thorough weight shedding exercise to suit their off-roading needs.
It is a true blue off-roader and it handled everything I threw at it with relative ease. It has more poke than Xpulse and less weight than Himalayan 450, which again, is kinda the sweet spot. Stock tyres also offer decent grip and did not make me want more traction. Speaking of, there is a traction control system with Adventure too. Tubeless tyres would be nice, but it is what it is and is priced accordingly. So, no complaints.
On-road mannerisms could have been a little more dynamic. The frame doesn’t inspire spirited driving and rear would have benefitted from 140-section tyre for more stability. Front steering is slow to respond to inputs and the large 21-inch front wheel is to blame. However, for intended use at lower triple digit speeds, Yezdi Adventure does not disappoint with its handling characteristics. Braking performance from disc brakes at both ends with dual-channel ABS was decent and is par for this segment.
Some Reservations
1. Major reservation is the restricted Bluetooth connectivity which has been elaborated above.
2. The gear lever could have had a rubber shoe protector.
3. An ADV motorcycle should ideally come with knuckle guards.
4. The fuel filler cap is beautifully finished with great attention to detail, but is not hinged. So, I had to hold it in my hand while refueling.
5. Yezdi could have offered a larger fuel tank for a higher tank range, but is capped at 13.2L.
6. Yezdi Adventure runs hot in city with radiator fan cranked up as it doesn’t like slow speeds.
7. Fuel efficiency reading shown on the cluster is not reliable as it never changed from 21 km/l during the entire testing period.
8. The starter motor on Yezdi Adventure should have been a one-touch unit like on some of its rivals. When the engine is hot, this motor fails to crank the engine at times.
9. While I did not face any loose nuts or bolts, the unit I experienced had loud rubbing noise from rear disc brake when starting after some time of inactivity.
Conclusion
During my time with Yezdi Adventure, I was smitten by its brutishly handsome charm. Keeping the design aside, Yezdi Adventure has a lot to like about. It is fairly modern in its features and equipment list, it has decent performance on tap, it is a true-blue off-roader and it can be a long-distance tourer offering multiple luggage mounting facilities. 2025 Yezdi Adventure is fuel efficient too, offering up to 35 km/l on highways.
If you’re in the market for a mainstream off-roader with more performance than 200cc to 230cc class and costs significantly less than 400cc to 450cc class, Yezdi Adventure might very well be the “Sweet Spot” you were searching for.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
