Yezdi Roadster

This one offered a very different flavour of retro in the densely packed 350cc space. Can the 2025 update add more spice to it?

For a long time, 350cc retro motorcycles were considered to be only suited for relaxed cruising and Sunday rides. However, this motorcycle wants to change this mindset. It promises to give you fun and exciting performance along with its old-school looks. And in this 2025 update, Yezdi also claims to iron out some of the shortcomings that plagued the older model. So, if you like old-school looks but you want modern excitement in the performance, can this be an obvious choice for you?

This one is a good-looking motorcycle. The design is subtle, which makes it understated in a crowd. But when you look at the details -- the bike grows on you. Things like the front fender mount, alloy wheel design, headlamp with the embedded logo, and the seat with its upholstery - all have good attention to detail.

My favourite view of this bike is the rear three-quarter. The chopped fender, large rear tyre, and the side-mounted tyre hugger look muscular. And then come the twin exhaust pipes, which offer the final finishing touch. Overall, the stance of this bike is low and long, which gives it a cruiser vibe along with a hint of a roadster.

Colours

You get five colour options - Sharkskin Blue, Smoke Grey,,,Shadow Black, Red Wolf and the newly launched matte green shade called Green Mamba (priced at Rs 2,05,969). These are set at different price points. My favourite is definitely Shadow Black which is offered as a different variant and gets changes like a flat drag-style handlebar, different upholstery for the seat, LED indicators with integrated rear brake lamp. However, you can get all these features on any color as accessories. Yezdi is also offering almost 50 accessories with this bike, so that you can fully personalize it. Even the rear seat can be easily removed to make the bike a single-seater.

Wheels

The 2025 version now comes with a wider rear tyre for some added muscle. It gets an 18-inch front wheel with 100/90 section tyres and a 17-inch rear wheel with 150/70 section tyre. Both are multi-spoke alloy wheels with tubeless tyres.

Build Quality

I quite like the paint finish on the new Yezdi and Jawa motorcycles. They have borrowed the tech from Mahindra cars for the paint finishes, and that is visible - especially in the matt finishes. The overall bike also now feels solid, and there were no rattling issues on our test bike during the 300km ride. However, we wish the finish on certain areas like the handlebar and other weld spots, were better. The switchgear should have been better finished, and the rear tyre hugger feels misaligned on almost all motorcycles. These minor improvements can take the perceived quality up drastically.

Safety Features

For safety - the Roadster comes with dual-channel ABS. That means the front and rear brakes are not going to lock and skid even under hard braking. But the bike does not get traction control. After having ridden the motorcycle for over 300kms, I don't think this is a miss and you don't need it in most riding conditions.

Convenience Features

You get a negative LCD display with the Roadster which is a bit small. The good thing is that it has a good amount of information which is well laid out. However, the brightness is not that great and it gets difficult to read under sunlight. And while you do get tilt-adjustment in the cluster, it is more for you to set it to your height and less to avoid reflections. Moreover, you do not get smartphone pairing options here which feels like a miss. This means no call or SMS alert or turn-by-turn navigation. If you are looking for a feature-rich bike, then maybe the Roadster is a misfit. But if a motorcycle without the hassle of modern features is something you enjoy - then the Roadster will suit you just fine.

Rider Comfort

The Roadster is not just a good-looking motorcycle, but a comfortable one too. The handlebar is tall and wider, and tilts a little towards you making the reach very comfortable. Because of this, whether you are riding it in the city or on the highway, your upper body will always be relaxed. Furthermore, the foot pegs are also set towards the front giving it a comfortable cruising posture. The flat handlebar in the top variant is more forward set and is only suited for more aggressive riding. The stock one is definitely more comfortable and versatile. The seat height is also very approachable. My height is 5 feet 7 inches and I can easily get my feet to the ground. So if your height is 5 feet 5 inches or more, then you should be able to easily manage this motorcycle.

Pillion Comfort

Your +1 who will be sitting behind you will also enjoy the Roadster. The cushioning of this seat is good and the accessory backrest makes it a comfortable place to be in. Foot peg position also feels natural and neutral which keeps pressure away from knees and helps you stay seated for long.

The Roadster now comes with Yezdi's updated Alpha 2 engine. This 334cc single, liquid-cooled engine makes 29.1PS power which is 0.1PS more than before. The torque stands at 29.6Nm which is 0.4Nm more than before. It still comes with a 6-speed gearbox with slip and assist clutch.

City Performance

This engine has brought a fresh life to this motorcycle. The lower speed refinement is impressive and up to 40–50 kmph, the engine remains smooth. This complements the power delivery well because that too is quite smooth. As soon as you start rolling the throttle, speeds build up easily. And if you give more throttle to overtake, then the bike accelerates with a sense of urgency. This is also down to the fact that the bike now uses a larger 47-tooth rear sprocket for better driveability.

Another advantage of this is that the Roadster is now more tractable which means you don't have to downshift again and again. You also get two ride modes - City and Power. Although there is no difference in riding experience, the City mode has a top speed limit at 100kmph. If you ride aggressively in the city and make many overtakes - you will enjoy the Roadster as the engine will complement your riding style. It can ride slow and relaxed in traffic and can also be fast and racy.

Highway Performance

This bike feels quite energetic on the highways too. You can easily cruise at 85–90 kmph on it. Here, the engine feels quite relaxed. Push and the bike can easily touch 100–110 kmph without any problem. But now the engine starts to feel strained and the vibrations start to become prominent on the footpegs. However, you don’t lose performance and it can still overtake a fast-moving car or a truck. Overall, this is a fun-to-ride motorcycle. The engine has a fun character which wants to go fast.

But the experience is still not perfect. When you open the throttle fully and ask for acceleration, then this bike stops a little and goes ahead. It stutters a little. In fact, when you hold the constant throttle, then the bike stutters a little at some places in between. Now this experience reduces its fun and exciting experience a little. Now the fueling issues can be solved very easily. And I hope that Yezdi, before delivering this bike to the customer, smooths all these issues.

Gearbox

The gearbox still takes a little effort to change gears and doesn't feel smooth or slick. However, apart from that, everything else is positive. If you are riding it in 3rd or 4th gear at 30–35 kmph, just roll on the throttle and the bike picks up without a fuss. On top of that, it also has a slip and assist clutch which makes the clutch action quite light.

Mileage

The Yezdi Roadster will return a mileage of about 35kmpl in the city. This will of course vary depending on the way you ride.

City Handling

The Roadster’s handling complements the performance well - which is tuned for fun! The weight is hidden well even in tight city turns and changing lanes for quick overtakes does not take much effort. It feels confident and stable, and lets you make quick direction changes. It urges you to be the fastest person in traffic.

Highway Handling

Even on the highways it feels very stable. The long wheelbase ensures high-speed confidence and lane changes even at triple-digit speeds won't make you feel nervous. You can maintain 100+ kmph easily through mild highway traffic.

Corners

But where the Roadster comes alive is on twisty roads. The bike leans in confidently for corners and stays planted. The larger rear tyre ensured the tip-in is not too quick which will let even the newer riders enjoy the motorcycle without feeling intimidated. Overall, this is a very fun motorcycle which will keep you happy in the city, and the highway or in the corners.

Brakes

The Roadster stops confidently too. The dual-channel ABS is well tuned and does not feel like you lose braking effort in emergency braking. The bike slows down confidently and remains stable. Though, I would have liked the brakes to feel a bit sharper. Right now, they feel neutral and you have to pull the lever more to get good braking effort.

Ride Quality

With the revised suspension tune, the Roadster has become more livable. At city speeds, close to 40–50 kmph, the bike feels comfortable and cushions you well over broken patches and speed breakers. While this is not super comfortable and you will feel the surface of the road, it is an acceptable tradeoff for the performance.

But if you go from a big bump or a sharp pothole, especially at higher speeds, it will be felt on every joint in the body. The bad level changes on the highways can even toss you up if you are not careful. If you want the Roadster to be comfortable - keep the speeds in check and you will be fine.

Roadster delivers well on its promise of being a fun and fast motorcycle. The updated engine is the life of this bike which gives it an exciting character. It wants you to ride it in a fun way and that is the key memory after spending over 300kms with it. The handling, comfort, looks and exhaust note - all complement this character. But where in this updated motorcycle a lot of things are better, some things should have been fixed. The minor quality issues and improper fueling have no place in the motorcycle. And even the features list should have been better.

However, if you are ready to live with these things, then Roadster is an energetic motorcycle which you will enjoy riding every day. On top of that, Yezdi has also assured us that their service centers have increased and parts availability is better. And finally, after GST cuts, the starting price of this bike is Rs 1,93,565 (ex-showroom) - which is a good value for the package.