Yezdi Adventure

Like its name suggests, the Yezdi Adventure is a 334cc adventure bike from Yezdi, which was launched along with the Yezdi Scrambler and Roadster in January 2022. All three bikes share the 334cc engine first seen on the Jawa Perak. The Yezdi Adventure comes equipped with capable hardware aimed at handling both off-roading as well as highway touring.

The Yezdi Adventure features a typical ADV design, similar to the Royal Enfield Himalayan 411. It features a rugged look that is right at home off-road. The crash frame goes around the engine and fuel tank. The Adventure has a round headlight and a transparent mid-sized flyscreen. It has a boxy fuel tank, a braced handlebar and a split-seat setup. While the side panels are simple, the tail section is slim, with an upswept exhaust. Additionally, it comes with utility mounts at the front (for jerry cans), saddle stays, and a luggage rack at the back.

The Yezdi Adventure comes in three colours including a Whiteout colour scheme in gloss, and Slick Silver and Mambo Black - both in matte finish. Moreover, it gets optional accessories including jerry cans, panniers, and a rear top box that makes the bike even more touring-friendly. It also has luggage mounts/hooks that make mounting the luggage easier.

The Yezdi Adventure is powered by a 334cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine making 30.2PS and 29.9Nm. The engine is based on that of the Jawa Perak, but is tuned to match the Adventure’s nature. Its acceleration is fairly quick, and it goes from 0-60kmph in 3.86 seconds and 0-100kmph in 10.20 seconds. Both these figures are quicker than the Perak, even though it's about 12kg heavier. The Yezdi Adventure sits very comfortably at around the 100kmph mark while touring on the highways. Additionally, it can reach an indicated 130kmph, which is sufficient for high-speed touring.

Though Yezdi's engine has a strong mid-range, the peak power and torque come in at higher revs which means you will have to rev the engine high to get the best performance out of it. But the engine feels somewhat rough and lacks refinement. Vibrations start to creep in around the footpegs, seat, and fuel tank when you rev the 334cc engine above 6000rpm.

The Yezdi Adventure has a six-speed gearbox but because of inconsistent power delivery on the top end, you may need to downshift before overtaking. Fortunately, the slipper clutch provides smooth downshifts and minimises wheelspin, even if you ride aggressively. In our tests, the Yezdi Adventure delivered a real-world mileage of 33.07kmpl in the city and 35.16kmpl on the highway. It has a reasonably large fuel tank with a capacity of 15.5 litres.

The Yezdi Adventure handles really well, changes directions quickly and takes on the corners very nicely. It is not particularly light but handles like one, as the wide handlebar, rubberised tank grips, and high-set footpegs give the rider a slightly aggressive riding position. This makes it easy for the Adventure to ride through city traffic, take on the twisty roads, and to your favourite sunrise spot. The 130-section rear tyre provides excellent grip and cornering stability that enhances your confidence.

For braking, the Yezdi Adventure is equipped with a 320mm front and 240mm rear disc brake with dual-channel ABS. Despite the large 21-inch front wheel, the bike felt composed even while braking hard. The brakes require minimum effort and offer good bite and lever feedback. Moreover, the ABS calibration ensures an efficient stopping power.

Being an ADV, we expected the Yezdi Adventure to be a very comfortable bike, however this is not the case here. Even though it has well-padded seats and the suspension travel is very close to the Himalayan 411, the Adventures provides a firm ride rather than a plush one. The firm suspension setup, which helps in handling, also makes the Adventure feel somewhat stiff over bumps or rumble strips. This might bother riders who just want to cruise comfortably.

At a seat height of 815mm, the Yezdi Adventure is suitable for average and tall riders. However, shorter riders will face difficulty in placing both feet on the ground.

The Yezdi Adventure comes equipped with all-LED lighting and features a full LCD instrument console. The display includes a speedometer, odometer, trip meter, gear position indicator, fuel level indicator, and a clock. The Yezdi Adventure also gets smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth and provides turn-by-turn navigation as standard. The rider can even adjust the angle of the instrument console for better visibility as per their riding posture. 

However, the console design might disappoint you, as Yezdi hasn't fully utilised the available space on the display. There’s quite a bit of empty space between the two differently-sized circular displays, and the plain strip of indicator lights could have been integrated in a better way. Although the pod containing the USB and C-Type ports is a nice addition, it sticks out awkwardly on the handlebar.

Yezdi aimed to create the ultimate affordable adventure tourer, but unfortunately, it fell short. While it has the potential to be a great adventure bike, it seems more suited for road riding and touring rather than off-road adventures. Despite benchmarking against the Himalayan 411, the Adventure still lacks in terms of engine refinement, suspension tuning and comfort, and should have had a better-organised digital display. Perhaps with these improvements, it can fill the gap left by the now-discontinued Himalayan 411 in the 300-400cc adventure bike segment.