Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR First Ride Review

Gallery What is it?How does it ride?Anything else I should know?Should I buy one?Where does it fit in?Gear check

What is it?

With the Ray ZR aimed at the younger male audience, it looks as if Yamaha now has an offering for everyone in the family. The appropriately-named Alpha is targeted at men, the Fascino with its chic styling at women and metrosexuals. The Ray-Z at younger female audience just like the original Ray. Coming back to the latest addition, Yamaha has gone to great lengths to make this scooter appeal to the younger male audience while completing its ‘family’.

The moment you set your eyes on the ZR, you realise, the words sharp and aggressive styling were right on the top of the company’s design board. I would go so far as to saying the scooter has more creases than any of the brand’s supersport motorcycles. Now on the mechanical side of things, the scooter can now be opted for with a front disc brake. Under the spiky skin and contrasting colour schemes, the ZR uses the same 113cc single-cylinder engine from the original Ray.

How does it ride?

Start up the scooter and you will instantly notice that typical quiet idle sound which surprised everyone back when the Ray was out. Open throttle on the 113cc single-cylinder engine and you will instantly notice that the additional weight has not made much of a difference on the power delivery. Thanks to the 7.1bhp and 8.1Nm of torque the scooter develops, it takes off the line instantly. As you keep the throttle open and reach somewhere around 40kmph, the ZR loses some of its steam. Push it further on and the scooter will regain some of the steam and continue building speed and take you comfortably up to the 80kmph mark.

The stiffly set up telescopic front forks and the unit swing rear shock on the scooter offer instant confidence. Considering its target market, the firm and easy-to-learn-on ride is spot on. The ride on the ZR is apt for flicking it about and filtering through traffic, however, there is that wide front end which won’t allow that, we will get to it in a bit. We rode the scooter in a number of different scenarios with and without a pillion. Let me tell you, the scooter rides almost the same with or without a passenger. As we told you, the stiff set up allows for a planted and confidence inspiring ride at low and city speeds. Once you cross around 70kmph things tend to go downhill for the ride, hitting an undulation or worse a pothole could potentially throw you off.

Making it worse for the scooter is the optional front disc brake. This is one of those set ups targeted at novice disc brake users. Pulling the lever the first time and the spongy feel will make you question whether if it actually is a disc and not a drum brake. The disc brake will only start offering bite and start doing its job once the lever is pulled in a fair bit.

In short, it is a firm, flickable, smooth riding scooter with a power band suited towards city riding.

Anything else I should know?

Something Yamaha likely didn’t realise while going overboard with the knife on their clay model for the ZR, is that the front nose ended up a bit too wide. Yes, it gives the scooter that wide stance potential buyers would be looking for but, it compromises on one of the fundamental purposes of a scooter, and that is to scoot around. The wide nose will leave you questioning whether the scooter will make it through a potential gap in traffic almost every time.

The instrument cluster at first felt a bit overdone but it quickly grew on us. And using it at night changed our view towards it, completely. Yamaha is right when it says ‘light guides’ are positioned to illuminate the main dial and give it a three-dimensional appearance. The cluster looks rather neat when lit and will play a major role in convincing potential buyers.

If you do plan on doing a long stint on the ZR, the firm seat will prove to be comfortable over a distance. Additionally, the two pockets in the front could prove useful for storing water or a packet of biscuits or whatever scooter tourers carry.

Should I buy one?

If you want a scooter looking like its moving at standstill or if you take more than two minutes styling your hair in the morning, the ZR is for you. If you haven’t gathered already, the scooter is all about style or as Yamaha like to call it “Swag”. At 52.7kmpl it is slightly less efficient than its competition but that should not prove to be a deal breaker if you have your heart set on its looks.

Where does it fit in?

The disc brake variant of the Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR is priced at Rs 69,100 (on-road, Mumbai) and goes head on against the Honda Dio which is a previous generation machine, but priced cheaper at Rs 62,000 (on-road, Mumbai). Even though the ZR is a newer scooter and comes with a disc brake, we feel it is a bit overpriced. The high pricing of the Ray ZR puts it in a segment above its own, where there are offerings like the TVS Jupiter MillionR which offers a range of better equipment and performance.

Gear check

1. AGV K3 SV helmet – The K3 SV is a comfortable and well ventilated helmet. It also has an inner tinted visor which has proven to be one of its best features. Price -Rs 22,000.

2. IXS Zephyros jacket – An extremely light summer jacket. The white on it looks stunning when clean but is difficult to maintain. Price -Rs 12,000.

3. IXON RS GRIP HP gloves – High quality short gloves suited for city riding. Priced a bit high though. Price -Rs 4,500

4. AGV Sport Airtex pants – Riding pants with mesh in the crotch, calf, back of legs and thigh areas which is a real boon in our weather conditions. Price -Rs 6,500.

5. Forma Ice Pro Flow boots – These are heavy race boots with tons of protective features. Just like the pants these boots allow the flow of a lot of air which helps in our humid weather. Price -Rs 18,000.

Photography by Kapil Angane