Yamaha Aerox 155 Review: Adrenaline rush on a gearless scooter

Yamaha Aerox – Is it a motorcycle or a scooter?

Is it a scooter or motorcycle? – is the most frequently asked question by onlookers during our review of new Yamaha Aerox 155. People who saw it for the first time thought it was a motorcycle first and were in a disbelief to learn it is a scooter as they got a closer look. The speeding Aerox 155 on highway, can easily fool anyone and convince someone it MUST be a motorcycle! This is the story of all new Yamaha Aerox 155 which the company likes to call it as a MAXI SPORTS scooter. What follows below is the detailed review of all new Yamaha Aerox 155.

Design and Looks

The one which we got as a test unit came in the brilliant YAMAHA RACING BLUE color scheme. While the looks are subjective from person to person, the Yamaha Blue color on new Aerox 155 maxi scooter is very attractive and is a true representation of brand Yamaha. Yamaha’s motorcycle DNA is passed on to this scooter. Strictly talking about the design, the scooter’s extended panels looks as if its a fairing for a motorcycle. The front portion is pointed and hosts LED position lamps and LED headlamps. The combination of black, blue and headlight casing gives it a fancy look. On both sides of front there is a prominent YAMAHA stickers.

The scooter’s floor in the front is occupied by a 5.5 litre fuel tank – which is unusual as it takes up a large utility space which could otherwise be used to carry arbitrary large things like a gas cylinder, 20-litre water bottle or to even make a small kid stand on top of it. The scooter offers a dedicated space for you to place your legs. However, Yamaha has done a good job in working with details – the way external fuel filler compartment opens (spring loaded), the neatly tucked in dedicated 12V socket for USB extension in the front all seem to use the space intelligently.

Talking more about other design details, the scooter gets a caved in seat and there is ample room for pillion passenger. The scooter doesn’t offer a proper traditional grab rails but does offer foot pegs for pillion rider – which is slightly positioned forward. The tail lamps are simple but bright because of LED lights.

From the side profile, it looks very stylish and unique with a large AEROX graphics across.

Digital Speedometer

The all new Yamaha Aerox 155 gets a fully digital instrument console which has blue blacklight. The console displays prominent ride related information like tachometer, fuel gauge, speedometer, odometer, clock and other service reminder alerts. The scooter supports Y-Connect app via bluetooth which helps rider learn every riding detail of his/her past rides including that of fuel consumption pattern. During the daylight, the Negative LED display gets activated for better readability.

Dimensions, Engine and other tech specifications

The all new Yamaha Aerox 155 maxi-scooter has a slightly raised sitting position – the seat height is 790 mm. The scooter’s wheelbase measures 1350mm, which helps in proper cornering and sliding through the curves. The Aerox 155 measures 1980 mm in length and 700 mm in width and has a height of 1150 mm. The fuel tank capacity of Aerox 155 is 5.5 litres. The minimum ground clearance offered by Aerox 155 is 145mm. The scooter weighs 126 Kgs, but doesn’t feel it is very bulky.

Aerox 155 maxi scooter is powered by 4-stroke, 4-valve SOHC engine which is liquid cooled. The ignition type is fuel injected and the engine is mated to an V-belt automatic gearbox. The maximum power offered by this scooter is 15 PS at 8000 rpm and peak torque is 13.9 Nm at 6500 rpm. These power and torque figures are certainly high when compared to other 150cc scooters in the market like Aprilia SR 160. There are some new advanced tech in Aerox like VVA (Variable Valve Actuation), Smart Motor Generator system, Automatic Start and Stop system which makes it “stand out” from the crowd. Yamaha Aerox 155 is also equipped with Side stand with engine cut off function which is a very good safety feature.

We wish it had a dedicated switch for turning the hazard/parking lights on and a slightly bigger fuel tank.

There is an ample space in the under-seat storage for you to place your full-faced helmet, documents and other things. The storage space under the seat can be operated from the front dedicated buttons – The fuel lid can also be opened by pressing a dedicated button in the front.

Performance, Ride and Handling, Suspension and Braking

How does the new Yamaha Aerox 155 ride?

You can experience the adrenaline rush of a motorcycle in this gearless automatic scooter. In the case you are new to riding 2-wheelers and have got a driving license approved only for gearless scooter you are still qualified to experience the motorcycling dynamics on Aerox. Although there are no gears, clutch or anything on Aerox – it very much feels like you are on a powerful motorcycle. Thanks to VVA, once you cross the speed of 30 kmph, the scooter facilitates you to cruise higher in a progressive and subtle way. You can experience the riding smoothness through out your journey – Looks like Yamaha has done a good amount of testing to improve the performance and riding quality – There is definitely a large difference in overall experience riding a normal automatic scooter and riding an Aerox – we really mean it.

We hit a top speed of 105 Kmph on paved surface on NH7 (National Highway 7) along with a pillion – we overtook a convoy of Royal Enfield motorcycles along. It absolutely comforts you and encourages you to throttle more to the max and you don’t even feel like you are trying hard for it. The aerodynamics of Aerox 155 is well taken care of, we wish the Aerox 155 came with an extended windshield/Visor in the front by default to protect you from wind blast when you are doing top speeds. However this can be bought as a part of additional accessories.

The Yamaha Aerox agrees to come to an hault with elegance even if you are at the peak of your power show. Thanks to 230 mm Disc brake in the front which is equipped with ABS, the braking distance is short and the scooter makes no mistake in this department. We felt we had a greater control on this machine because of the way the scooter responds to brakes when you are at high speed. This helps you think less about hitting someone or crashing down and think more about intelligently cruising ahead with obstacles around. This is the very selling point of Aerox – absolute delight to riders at high speed – and remember this is not even a motorcycle yet feels motorcycle acquired by its rage! The liquid cooled engine plays a role here – whatever heat which gets generated from the engine on abnormal speeds are well absorbed giving the rider the maximum riding pleasure.

Riding with pillion for shorter distance is not a problem but it is going to be a little uncomfortable experience for the pillion if you are taking this moto-scooter for long rides. Foot pegs are little forward and pillion seat is raised which is not good for long journey. This is a very good scooter for solo-travellers.

Talking about the suspension department, the scooter gets a double suspension unit at the rear – which is usually seen in motorcycles. The front suspension is telescopic and does a great job in taking up bumps and humps on your way. The large 14 inch alloy wheels with blue colored rim not only is fancy and increases aesthetics but also helps you navigate on off-road surfaces.

Fuel Efficiency

With great power comes great responsibility – Aerox 155 while it offers absolute power, the fuel consumption is comparatively high among its competition. Having said that, it again depends on how well you ride and what your priority is. To monitor your riding pattern and riding behaviour along side the fuel consumption, Yamaha Aerox offers you a tailor made app called Y-Connect where in you get access to every granular details from your recent and past rides – It works with bluetooth connectivity paired to your smartphone. The competition in this segment Aprilia SR 160 doesn’t offer you this particular diagnostics/ ride monitoring feature. We did about 160 Kms per full tank – Which is about 30 kms per liter – If ridden well with – you may clock around 35 to 40 Kmpl too. Remember this is a 155cc scooter.

What Yamaha has done to boost fuel consumption is – it has added automatic start-stop system which deserves an appreciation especially when you ride in traffic in a city like Bangalore. The scooter senses when you are stopped and shuts the engine down when it’s idle, and the engine comes live and roaring once you throttle up intuitively. You may turn off this Automatic start-stop function if you do not like, but it is an amazing feature to be present that works so seamlessly trying to make good use of every drop of the fuel in the tank.

Colors and Price

Yamaha Aerox 155 is offered in 3 attractive color options: Racing Blue, Grey Vermillion and Metallic Black.

The Yamaha Aerox 155 is priced at Rs 1.38 lakhs ( Ex-showroom Bangalore) and its on-road price can go upto Rs 1.83 lakhs depending on the city you live in.

Verdict

The price of Yamaha Aerox is clearly on the higher side. You get what you pay for. Yamaha Aerox is for those who want powerful and sporty experience over a gearless scooter. Aerox 155 is for those who appreciate the styling elements, aesthetics, design and its unconventional looks. The wow-factor of Aerox is the instant acceleration when you ask for it – It delivers the power with great precision at the very time you need it. Advanced features like VVA, Smart System Generation motor, Auto engine start-stop are something which you do not see in a normal scooters like Activa or Jupiter. Buying Aerox 155 is an expensive affair but it does offer some expensive tech – which can be well-utilized. We wish to see features like Cruise control (locking the speed), Reverse parking assist, navigation feature on future iterations of Aerox 155.

Full photo gallery of Yamaha Aerox 155 can be found here.

You can add more to this story by commenting below.