2024 Yezdi Adventure first ride review: Finally the right ADV for you?
The Yezdi Adventure arrived in India a few years ago and while it was a capable motorcycle, plenty of shortcomings needed to be addressed. Come 2024, Yezdi has brought the updated Adventure to its lineup. It comes with a host of upgrades and while it may not look very different, it has been comprehensively updated with new internals. How better is it than its predecessor and can it be your next adventure motorcycle? We spent a day with the new Yezdi Adventure riding it on the outskirts of Pune to find out.
2024 Yezdi Adventure - What’s New?
Visually, the Adventure is by and large the same bike. It still has a round LED headlamp with a protector on top, a tall visor, and a design that has more function than style. It would be hard to tell the difference between the old and new by just looking at the motorcycle save for the four new colour options. However, the new main cage brings a dramatic difference. The side guards around the fuel tank aren’t as bulky anymore, shedding off not just visual weight but literal too. The new ones are lighter and compact, now with the ‘EST. 69’ stickering, and makes the bike a lot less intimidating. The new rails are now 4 kg lighter, while the overall weight has gone down by 1 kg. It’s still as functional and can accommodate jerry cans or luggage, but simply removes the excess visual mass.
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334 cc
33.07 kmpl
Also Read : 2024 Yezdi Adventure launched at ₹2.10 lakh. Check what's new
Even from the rider’s point of view, the new Adventure feels more accommodating. It’s still the same riding posture. The upper body feels extremely comfortable with the upright positioning designed to keep you happy for long hours. The lower body may seem a little compact for tall riders over long distances. Riding while standing on the pegs is comfortable and there’s enough space to lock your knees around the fuel tank.
2024 Yezdi Adventure - Better Build Quality
The Adventure feels light on its feet this time with a better weight balance and the build quality has massive upgrades. The bike feels better put together with a lot more sturdy plastics, metal surfaces and paint quality. The switchgear quality is decent, while the grab rails and panels have a long-lasting feel. There are several hook points to mount your luggage, making it touring-ready right off the line.
Yezdi has continued using the same digital instrument console from the older version with its features. It continues to offer good readability and comes equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation, connected features, and more.
2024 Yezdi Adventure - Improved Performance
The new Adventure gets a lot of upgrades in terms of engine and mechanicals which makes it a more enjoyable motorcycle. How? It uses the new-generation Alpha2 engine. The internal updates include a new centrally-mounted exhaust header for better thermal management. The coolant flow has been optimised with the system borrowed from the new Jawa 350. Heat is well-contained on the bike but you feel some of it around the foot pegs at times. Yezdi has also updated the crankshaft while the clutch is now lighter and requires much less effort retaining the assist and slipper clutch. The idling rpm has gone down from 1,800 rpm to 1,300 rpm.
It’s still a 334 cc engine that now makes 29.2 bhp and 29.8 Nm of peak torque, 0.5 bhp less than before. Torque output is very much the same. The power delivery is more progressive and the torque output is more linear. That's changed for the better despite making slightly less power. Throttle response has improved and overall, this is a nicer motorcycle to ride than I remember. It also helps that NVH levels are much better contained this time with smoother acceleration for the most part. There are minimal vibrations around the 5,000 rpm mark around the fuel tank but it's a minor issue.
The gearbox gets individual mapping for each gear this time. The first three gears have shorter ratios for quicker responsiveness while the 4th, 5th and 6th gears have long ratios, allowing the engine to stretch its legs at high speeds. The bike feels torque-friendly at low speeds allowing you to maximise the second and third gears, unlike the predecessor. Navigating through off-road sections feels more confident now with much less effort. The exhaust note sounds better too.
2024 Yezdi Adventure - Revised Suspension
The other big update on the Yezdi Adventure is the suspension setup. It still gets the telescopic forks at the front and a 7-step preload adjustable monoshock at the rear but the damping is now different and more progressive. What translates into the real world is a slightly more plush suspension in the city and when off-roading with more suspension travel. At higher speeds, it firms up very well and gives you a nice balance between more suspension travel in off-road conditions and good ride quality in the city and highway. That’s a nice balance that most people touring will like.
The ride quality is comfortable and the seat itself has decent cushioning. Braking performance is good and both the front and rear brakes offer decent bite at the levers. The bike gets three ABS modes - Road, Rain and Off-road. All three modes perform as designed. The bike though does not get switchable ABS for the rear, which should’ve been the case.
2024 Yezdi Adventure - Verdict
It's nice to see a brand take feedback from customers and then incorporate it into the motorcycle. We saw that with the Jawa 350 earlier this year and now the Adventure gets similar updates. That's a very nice thing. The market too has changed a lot since the Yezdi ADV first arrived allowing the bike to create a niche for itself. The new Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 and the KTM 390 are a lot more expensive. The KTM 250 adventure is more comparable but isn’t an out-and-out off-roader. This is why the Yezdi Adventure has the opportunity to be a hardcore off-road friendly motorcycle and a splendid tourer.
This time it has a lot of those qualities in the new and improved avatar with the bike maker working extensively on its shortcomings. And at that price point between ₹2.10 lakh and ₹2.20 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Yezdi Adventure is now much easier to recommend to those looking for an all-rounder in their garage, especially as your first adventure motorcycle.
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