Happy New Year 2066

Yamaha YZF-R15

Drawing on 10 years of YZF series development with a new fuel-injected engine and Deltabox frame The new YZF R15 invites you to “enjoy riding”.

Engine
Engine type: Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4-valve
Cylinder arrangement: Single cylinder
Displacement 149 .8cc
Bore x Stroke 57×58.7mm
Compression ratio 10.4:1
Maximum power 17PS / 8,500rpm
Maximum torque 15 N.m / 7,500rpm
Starting system Electric Start
Lubrication wet sump
Engine oil capacity 1.0 liters
Fuel tank capacity 12 liters
Fuel supply system Electronic fuel injection
Ignition system T.C.I
Primary / Secondary reduction ratio 3.042 / 3.000
Clutch type Constant-mesh wet multi-plate
Transmission type Return type 6-speed
Gear ratios 1st=2.833, 2nd＝1.875, 3rd:=1.364, 4th=1.143, 5th=0.957, 6th=0.84

Chassis

Frame type Deltabox Frame
Caster / Trail 26° / 100mm
Tire size (Front / Rear) 80/90-17 / 100/80-17
Brake type (Front / Rear) Hydraulic, single disc (Front / Rear)
Suspension type (Front / Rear) Telescopic / Linked type Monocross
Headlight 12V35W / 35W＋35W

Dimensions

Overall length x width x height 1,995mm x 670mm x 1,070mm
Seat height 790mm
Wheelbase 1,290mm
Minimum ground clearance 160mm
Dry weight / Curb weight 120kg / 131kg

Official Yamaha Website : Yamaha R15

Feel of the bike:
The bike is small (Believe me, I am only 5'6" tall and yet it feels like I have the world's height to control this bike :P), sporty and gives you a very different feeling when you sit on it. The clip on handle bars are low and make you lean forward. It takes time to adjust to the bike but you can adapt to the stance very easily unless you are lean back kind of rider. The ergonomics of the bike which Yamaha proudly claims are from the state of the art R1 shows the effect as soon as you rev up the bike. The bike picks up speed smoothly and puts you in control. Braking is even better, thanks to the ergonomics, even under hard braking you would be in a great control of the bike.

Its very easy to the lean the bike and the bike won’t disappoint you in those sharp twisties too. The gears feel great and you can ride up to more than 40KMPH in the first gear itself, 2nd can be pushed to 65KMPH.

Colours available:
* Black
* Racing blue
* Red (Recently added)

PS. Don't wear jackets or Pullover while riding this bike. It gets easily scratched in the fuel tank. So better to put sticker or never wear the above apparels. :(

Yamaha FZ 16 Preview - The New Lord of the Streets

The news is hot, Yamaha is here with another of its great bike to rock the Indian market. The launch of the new Yamaha FZ 16 right after a few months of R15 is a sure Indication that Yamaha is very serious. In this preview, I have written a brief description of all the features of this bike. As soon as I get my hands on one, I will be writing a road test review of this bike.

The launch of this aerodynamic-looking, sporty, yet rusty mobike is going to please one and all bike lovers like you and me! While I say sporty, believe me I also meant that Yamaha FZ 16 is also designed by Bike manufacturing Giant Yamaha Motors keeping in mind the rugged and crater-filled Indian roads. The motorbike is believed to shake the entire two-wheeler segment market of the Indian automobile industry. With its launch Yamaha as a company will in no time get synonymous with the youth of the country and will mark the beginning of a new era. The premium bike maker is all set to roll the dice in its favor posing tough competition to Apache, Pulsars and Hunks.Yamaha FZ-16 mobike is set to take the generation next by storm with several unique features, while the basic design is adopted from earlier series of FZ, though. With its diamond-shaped frame, this mobike is different with its killer-like looks and originality. It can really snatch away second glance from every person on the road.

The craftsmanship and engineering feat of Yamaha is revealed as you take a close look at the minute details of the vehicle, if I have to say it’s crafted to perfection.

If you are the one who would first give vote for style, look and color, well let me tell you that FZ16 is rightly branded as the ‘Lord of the Street.’ The motorcycle reflects power, strength and dynamism from any angle of view.

This Lord of Street is available in bold colors of flaming orange, midnight black and lava red. The kerb weight of the vehicle is 126kg, with a length of 1975 mm, height of 1045 mm and a width of 770 mm.

The engine of Yamaha FZ-16 is a bi-valved 153 CC, air-cooled, Single Overhead Camshaft Engine (SOCE). It gives an envious output of 14 PS and the peak torque it can generate is about 13.6 Nm. The pickup speed of this toy is mindboggling and an electric starter will only be a kicker (I didn’t mean you need to kick start this). Yamaha FZ-16 breathes through a BS26 carburetor and is neither fuel injected nor oil cooled; but working under negative pressure.

Fuel tank: The 12-liter fuel tank is built of stainless steel but has an outside plastic cover to give that molded look and reflect the perfect dynamic and muscular image of the vehicle. The tank has integrated shrouds and an eye-catching exhaust.

Brakes: Who likes those ol’ brakes? Well my vote is for disc brakes and there is a large disc brake on the front side of the vehicle that helps with great braking power and high-end balance to ride it. If you ask me if any downside, I would say that there is no rear-end disc brake in the Yamaha FZ-16.

Suspension: Suspension is the thing that impressed me like hell. The Mono-cross suspension at the rear, inner tubes in the front, hydraulic forks of diameter 41 mm provide excellent shock absorption typical of Yamaha craftsmanship and gives all the riding pleasure during those long drives for the rider and the pillion. Not to mention adding stability to the bike as well.

Tyres: Both, rear and front end tyres are tubeless with rear-end tyre having aspect ratio of 60 per cent. The advantage of tubeless tyres are, on being punctured it is less susceptible on getting flattened (I assume you know it also reduces the kerb weight of the bike as well). Yamaha FZ-16 has the fattest rear-end tyre with specifications as 140/60-R17, while that of the front tyre is 100/60-17. Which means the balance is perfect!

Headlight: The multi-reflector headlight with transparent lens on the front side provides with perfect illumination.

Dashboard: Yamaha FZ-16 sports fully digital speedometer and all other measuring indicators including the odometer, fuel gauge and the tachometer that have a characteristic of Liquid Crystal Display for clearer vision.

Performance: It’s from the Yamaha portfolio, so you can expect a performance par excellence with respect to the start-up speed (the company says 0-60 this bike gives the best time. The running speed of Yamaha FZ-16 overtakes all with its unprecedented torque. What more? it comes priced at Rs. 65000 (ex-showroom). Additionally, the gear ratio provides with awesome agility and optimum performance on the Indian roads. It’s gotten a spacious seat, so you don’t have to worry off your over-sized butts!

The new Yamaha FZ 16 is going to rock the streets! Are you game for it?

Yamaha FZ 16 Specifications:
Engine: 153.7 CC four-stroke, air-cooled, single-cylinder, 2 valves, SOHC
Power: around 15PS
Gearbox: 5-speed
Fuel System: 26mm CV Carb
Wheels (F/R): 5-spoke 17″ die-cast alloys
Tyres(F/R): 100/60-R17, 140-60-R17
Brakes(F/R): 267mm single cross-drilled ventilated rotor with 2-pot calipers / 130mm drum
Suspension:Front: 41mm Telescopic Forks Rear: Monocross type
Headlight: 12V 35W Halogen with Multifocal Reflector
Exhaust System: Mid Ship type, side mounted
Tank capacity: 13 litres

My View after seeing FZ 16 on Person

It surely is the "Pulsar Killer" bike in its category. Every effort has been put to make it a worthy bike. The bike has been put on display from today and seems very chic when looking. The FAT rear tyres is very alluring and I was wondering if Yamaha could have put the same tyre for my R15 as well . :P

Here are the pics. The review will be done once I get the chace to test ride the Beast.

Life is beautiful/Livet är underbart - A must see movie

Triumph of the will

Roberto Benigni's Life is beautiful (La vita è bella) is a modern fairy tale, as touching and as relevant as the tales collected by the Brothers Grimm to entertain, enchant and ,yes, to scare children over 150 years ago. Like many such tales (such as Snow White) this storyteller is not afraid to explore the dark side of humanity in order to highlight the power of good. And, in this century, what could be much darker than the concentration camps of World War 2, and the attempted extermination of entire peoples on the basis of alleged 'impurities' ?

The film begins on a truly whimsical note, with two young men, Guido Orifice (Roberto Benigni) and Ferruccio Orefice (Sergio Bini Bustric) motoring through picturesque sun-drenched countryside on their way to an Italian city to join their uncle and work with him. The car breaks down, and while Ferruccio attempts repairs, Guido, a happy-go-lucky but intelligent sort, wanders to a nearby farm. There, a beautiful woman, Dora, (Nicoletta Braschi) falls out of a hayloft, into Guido's arms. He is immediately smitten, though she is merely amused by his antics as he tries to impress her.

When the two men reach the city, Guido's plan to open a bookstore are scuppered by the inadvertent (though comical) upset he causes to the local counselor whose permission is required.

However, he meets Dora (a schoolteacher) several more times, though each time it is in most unexpected manner. He woos her, and she seems interested. Unfortunately, she is to be married to the same arrogant counselor whose wrath Guido has already incurred. However, in a grand and magical sequence, Guido finally wins the hand of his princess, the name he has given her from their first meeting.

The challenge of Benigni's work is that it binds two diametrically opposed subjects in a balanced and entertaining way. His tale of a 'love that was meant to be' is told engagingly and whimsically in the first part of the movie. The second part of the movie delves into horror and tragedy which test the limits and meaning of such love (indeed any love). The second half of the movie is set in a concentration camp, five years later.

Guido, Dora (now his wife) and their son Joshua have been sent there along with their uncle, Giustino Durano). Dora is separated from the others, and Guido tells Joshua that their imprisonment is really a game, and that the winner of the game will win a real tank (Joshua's unfulfilled birthday wish). Thus, the guards are all part of the game, and certain rules must be observed in order to gain enough points to win.

The first half of the movie, set in pre-war Italy, sets the tone for the events to follow by contrasting the evolving relationship between Guido and Dora, with the slow slide of Italy into the Nazis' Final Solution. When Guido is working as a waiter (and still trying to win Dora) , he encounters a school inspector who will visit her school. Guido turns up early, posing as the inspector, only to find out that the inspector was to deliver a race superiority lecture to the pupils. Guido invents a funny and satirical alternative. Of course, we, the audience, cannot fail to see the irony of a bunch of dark-eyed and sallow-skinned five year old receiving a lecture on the superiority of the blue-eyed, blond Aryan nation. When the teachers in the school complain that mathematical problems such as "What is the total cost to the state if the cost of each lunatic is four crowns and each cripple five, and there are 20, 000 in total" are being asked of the pupils, it is not because the questions are sinister and tasteless, but because the multiplication is too difficult for five year old. The teachers rue that" it is not too hard for a German five year old".The second half of the movie focuses on the characters rather than the horror that confronts them. Guido is forced to work in the ironworks at the camp knowing that if he can no longer work, he will die. Even though he is weak and dreadfully tired after every day, he keeps a cheery face for Joshua so that the facade of the game never drops. This sometimes requires him to take extreme risks but Guido never hesitates. His love for his son is complete. In the same way, Dora had the option of evading the camp but chose to be with her family, albeit remotely. The central characters never allows their humanity to be overwhelmed by the events and the callous indifference shown to them by their captors. When Guido's uncle (Giustino Burano) is being led to the 'showers', a female guard stumbles and he helps her. He retains his dignity despite knowing his fate.

The movie has been criticised for trivialising the Holocaust; unfairly in my opinion. It is true that certain events in the movie are a little unrealistic. Perhaps Guido would not have escaped punishment for some of his antics in a real camp. But the appalling nature of the camps is never denied - merely pointed up in a subtle way. Joshua complains that he cannot find any of the
other children competing for the prize. Guido tells him that they are better at hiding than Joshua, and only the child best at hiding will win. Guido knows the real reason for the lack of children is because they were all gassed once they arrived.

Guido meets an old friend in the camp - a Dr. Lessing (Horst Buchholz, reunited with Benigni from Faraway, So Close) whom Guido used to pit his wits against in games of riddles. Now Dr. Lessing decides who is fit to work and who must be sent to the 'showers' (fit to die, so to speak).

Begnini's performance is central to the success of the movie, and his screen-time with his son Joshua (Giorgio Cantarini) is convincing and affectionate. Funnily enough, the weakest part of the story is why Dora and Guido get together (Braschi is Benigni's real-life wife). Yes, it is meant to be a tribute to the power of serendipity and fate. But, while we know that Guido is a good person, all we know of Dora is her beauty (which is a prerequisite for a princess in a fairy tale, I suppose), and that she hates her fiancée. Buchholz and Durano are also quietly effective as the doctor and the uncle respectively, using the slightest of expressions and gestures to
convey a world of emotion and meaning.

Benigni's (who is director and co-writer of the film) use of a concentration camp as a backdrop to his story is a brave and inspired move. Though comparisons with Spielberg's Schindler's List are understandable, Life is Beautiful is closer to Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. Both Chaplin and Benigni use the plight of 'the common man' to underline the effects of fascism. However, Chaplin resorted to rather obvious sentimentality which he contrasted with a heavy-handed satirical portrayal of Hitler. Benigni does not need to put horns or tails on his 'bad guys'. Their events and deeds speak of their character loud and clear. (To be fair to Chaplin, he did not have the benefit of hindsight). At a time when similar atrocities are still taking place in an area only a few hours flight from most cities in Europe, it is also a timely reminder of the consequences of such madness. This is a truly adult fairly tale; triumphant, poignant, timeless and one which will linger long in the minds of those who see it, and creating memories that one will wish to revisit time and time again.

Directed by Roberto Benigni.

How do you interpret your life ???

Footprints...

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HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ME ???