The answer is a bit complicated!
A few days ago, Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles announced that the Adventure would come with a host of touring accessories, and all of that without a price increase. This Mountain Pack has jerry can holders with a pair of five-litre jerry cans, a crash guard, handguards and also headlight grille. The company claims all these accessories are worth Rs 17,000 and the customer will get it for free.
But is this the right time to buy this adventure bike? Maybe. The reason I say this maybe because Rs 17,000 worth of free accessories isn’t a big amount. It is close to six per cent of the bike’s value and not everyone wants to live with such accessories. But if the company had decided to give some cash discount along with the free accessories, then the Yezdi Adventure would make a lot of sense, especially for a rider who is entering the world of long-distance touring for the first time.
The Yezdi Adventure is a good bike for long-distance touring, and also for some decent off-road trails. Aesthetically too, this ADV has the typical rugged and versatile styling. When it comes to the performance numbers, this Yezdi looks quite good for an adventure motorcycle. The 334cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled makes around 30bhp and 30Nm of peak torque. Plus, there’s a six-speed gearbox that does the job here. The Yezdi Adventure is also the only bike in the segment that comes with three riding modes – road, rain and off-road.
Now when you consider all these aspects and compare it with its rivals like the KTM 250 Adventure and the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, the Yezdi Adventure does look like an enticing purchase. The top-spec version of the Yezdi costs around Rs 2.5 lakh (on-road), whereas the KTM 250 Adventure is around Rs 35,000 more expensive and the Himalayan is almost Rs 1 lakh more. Yes, the Royal Enfield is a more modern bike and has more performance, but for someone who is entering the world of long-distance touring for the first time, a more affordable variant motorcycle makes a lot more sense than spending a lakh more. At such a price point, and with such features, it makes sense for a new rider to buy something like the Yezdi Adventure to understand his or her love for touring. I’ve seen so many people around me who buy a motorcycle, only to realize it wasn’t meant for them and then sell it off. And to be honest, long-distance riding is one gruelling experience. While some of the riders love to endure countless kilometres a day, many give in to the strenuous and hard day of riding.
The only problem I see here is the after-sales experience of Yezdi bikes – the main reason why Yezdis didn’t do well in India. There have been issues with the availability of spares, and also not-so-good service centre experience. Plus, the overall quality of all Yezdi bikes could have been so much better. But if you are ready to live with these aspects of motorcycling, well, the Yezdi Adventure makes sense. You should also know these free accessories are also a way to push the sales of this bike because the launch of the new Yezdi Adventure is a few months away.
