Yamaha Sight: Features explained

Bad roads, bumper to bumper traffic, and tight budgets have made underbone mopeds indispensable. The demand for basic mopeds can only get higher with the lack of basic public transportation. Many motorcycle manufacturers operating in the Philippines have come to the same conclusion. This has led to very stiff competition between almost identical products.

And yet Yamaha thinks that their 115 cc moped, the Yamaha Sight, can bring a few new things to the table. Which is weird considering how basic it is. Thankfully, a basic means of transportation is exactly what the doctor has ordered. Here then, are some of the best features of the Yamaha Sight.

Excellent fuel efficiency:

The engine itself is a 4-stroke SOHC with 2-valves producing 8.5 hp at 7000 rpm and 9.5 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. For something weighing just 96 kg fully loaded, this is a sizable amount of power. This engine, however, is made with fuel economy as its highest priority. Earlier this year, this engine allowed one example of this underbone to cover 200 km while achieving a fuel economy of 129 kmpl in the 2018 Philippine Fuel Efficiency Challenge. And this is no carefully executed economy run covering smooth highways. But instead one that closely follows city driving conditions. As astonishing as it may sound, it is indeed true. While such numbers are within the realm of possibility for single cylinder small capacity motorcycles, it is Yamaha’s engineering that makes this feat possible.

The engine in the Yamaha Sight 115 comes with several enhancements that enable this. The single cylinder is provided with a spiny sleeve for better heat dissipation leading to reduced energy loss. Roller rocker arms within the engine reduce vibrations and energy losses due to friction. The engine also uses a forged piston that is lighter than conventional pistons while also being better at heat dissipation thereby reducing energy loss. All these features allow the engine to work to the best of its efficiency. Most importantly, the Sight’s engine is fueled by a fuel injection system. This is mapped to provide the bike with great performance and acceleration, without compromising on fuel economy.

Rugged and utilitarian

There are a few things that make an underbone design well suited for rugged city use. And Yamaha, very thoughtfully seems to have incorporated a lot of them. As you may notice, the indicators are mounted within the bike’s body and not on stalks. The front fender is mounted high above the wheel which itself at 17-inch, is quite sufficient to tackle bumps of every size and shape. 155 mm of ground clearance ensures that the bike’s undersides always stay far away from the road. The bike’s dimensions at 1940 mm (L) X 715 mm (W) x 1075 mm (H) make it compact for filtering through tight traffic. This compactness somehow still allows the seat to have a sizable underseat cargo space that comes handy for storing rain covers and other knick-knacks.

Yamaha also provides the Sight with a key shutter to prevent thieves from stealing it. The instrument panel is analogue as expected, but it does come with a gear position indicator. This allows its riders to make the best use of its four-speed gearbox. Doing braking duties are a disc brake on the front and a drum brake on the front.

Stylish design

Commuter underbones on a budget are not supposed to win design contests or even get people staring. However, the Yamaha Sight does have a few special touches that make it stand out. Firstly, Yamaha sells it in two versions. The cheaper one at Php 59900 comes with spoke wheels. But raise your budget to Php 62900 and you can get one with swanky 5 spoke cast wheels. The alloy wheel variant can be bought in striking Yellow Hornet or Black Raven color schemes, while the spoked wheel variant can be had in Black Raven or Red Metallic. Both come with sporty graphics, a stylish aluminum grab handle and a sharp tail light design.

While the Yamaha Sight 115 does have some stiff competition from bikes like the Suzuki Shooter and the Suzuki Smash, its combination of high mileage and stylish yet rugged utility is hard to match. It certainly deserves its massive popularity in the Philippines.