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Can Yamaha regain its glory days with its new bike, the Gladiator? Rishad Cooper goes to the Himalayas, whips this 125cc contender through the mountains and comes up with an answer
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No amount of thrashing can get the Gladiator to let out so much as a whimper — and trust us when we say we really thrashed this bike...
THE FACE OF CHANGE The Gladiator loses the Fazer's gawky fairing, revises its engine, packs in a fifth gear and is ready to do battle with the 125cc competition
If the name of a product was the true judge of success, then Yamaha India seems to have got it absolutely spot-on. Its latest offering in the bike market is called the Gladiator, quite apt we'd say, especially since it has the Herculean task of taking on the likes of the Bajaj Discover and Hero Honda's Shine.
Styling and looks
Styling-wise, the Gladiator is quite a good looker, though borrowing a few cues from the company's earlier bike, the Fazer. Yamaha's Fazer always bristled with intense presence and featured fantastic build quality and fit/finish. Yet, its unconventional front fairing had the masses shying away from this bike. However, that's changed, with the Gladiator mating a more conventional and safe bikini to its existing styling. A two-pod instrument panel is reminiscent of a chronograph, and the bike offers a smart speedometer and clear fuel gauge. The Gladiator is one of the few 125cc bikes to offer its triple clamp in aluminium alloy. Its fuel tank is functional and unique, with dummy scoops, great knee recesses and a chromed bowler-hat lid, all familiar gear from the Fazer. Blistered side panels meet an integrated tail fairing, topped with a neat looking grab bar.
The Gladiator's soft seat is great kit for shorter trips, but riding this motorcycle through the mountains revealed that stiffer support would help through longer distances. This is a bike that uses aluminium for its rear footrest mounts, while its chrome silencer enjoys a sporty exit pipe. This Yam has top-notch quality plastic and rubber bits, levers, grips, mirrors and switchgear.
Engine and performance
The Gladiator's self-started, all-square 123.7cc engine offers identical peak power as a Fazer, with 10.8bhp made at 7,500rpm and 1.06kgm of torque at 6,500rpm, but the four-stroke motor now gains a five-speed gearbox. There's a counter-balancer for the crankshaft, a CV-type carburettor and a hair-pin type catalytic converter to launder exhaust waste. Throttle-linked YTPS is present — Yamaha's Throttle Position Sensor that optimises ignition timing for any given engine rpm. The new gearbox uses fresh ratios with shifting actuated by a heel-and-toe lever in one-down, and four-up pattern. Throughout our hard runs around Shimla, the Gladiator's overly light clutch worked smoothly; a zillion gearshifts flawlessly executed with the most gratifying feel possible.
The Gladiator's is a thoroughly refined motor, running knock-free and with a smooth nature and soft tone through its rev band. No amount of thrashing can get it to let out so much as a whimper — and trust us when we say we really thrashed this bike, holding revs just under the limiter for almost the complete duration of our ride. There were moments at the highest points on the road to Shimla when the engine gasped for breath and missed a beat when starving for oxygen, but that's to be expected and as we shed altitude, performance got noticeably cleaner and stronger too. Actual performance testing remains a road test away, although one can safely expect not much more than the Fazer offered. Although the bike enjoys the bonus of a closer ratio five-speed box, the 130kg Gladiator simultaneously pays a 5 kg weight penalty.
Ride and handling
The Gladiator frame skeleton is a single down-tube, with a box section swingarm at rear. Front telescopic forks have been given a couple of microns of added thickness, while the rear suspension remains the same — we missed alloy rims though. The tyres offered sticky enough grip throughout the mountain ride, but displayed an annoying flexible nature when really threading together corners on the limit. The Gladiator rides and seats its occupants just as comfortably as a Fazer, with good riding posture, a pampering feel, and forgiving handling on offer throughout fast rides. Pushing the Gladiator harder and faster, we got used to riding the new bike, which made for a truly fun experience. And this motorcycle never misbehaved. There's a light and responsive steering to exploit, and flicking the bike from corner to corner always felt just as good as expected.
Braking from the Gladiator's 240mm disc is progressive and never gave us cause for complaint in spite of repeated abuse through the ghat sections.
TECHNICAL DATA
YAMAHA GLADIATOR
How much?
Rs 41,990/ 44,990 (ex-showroom, Delhi)
How big?
Length: 2,065 mm
Width: 730 mm
Height: 1100 mm
Wheelbase: 1,300 mm
Ground clearance: 160 mm
Fuel tank capacity: 13 litres
Kerb weight: 130 kg
Engine
Layout: Single-cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke, 123.7cc
Max power: 10.8bhp at 7500rpm
Max torque: 1.06kgm at 6500rpm
Gearbox
5-speed, 1-down, 4-up
Tyres
Front: 2.75 x 18
Rear: 3.00 x 18
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