If the YZF R15 could be described as 'agile, sharp, daring, speedy and adrenaline-stimulating' then the Fl 16 would rather be associated with 'expres¬sion, mystique, courage, torque, flashiness, and fashion'. By any standards the talking point of this street bike would be its styling. 'le Batman-inspired headlamp, goatee-like parking light, the instrument cluster and even the front mudguard, all embrace this design theme. And this styling philosophy continues onto the voluptuous tank, the exhaust pipe, split seats and even the grab rail. The Fl 16 design is strongly sculpted and so eye-catching, that it's a little hard to believe that this is just a 1 50cc machine. Everything about it has a beastly and strong feel, even its engine.

The all-new 153cc unit, mated to a 5-speed gearbox, produces a healthy 13.7bhp and 13.6Nm of torque. Open the throttle and the bike surges forward without hesitation and you hit three digits in quick time. The Fl makes its rider immediately feel he is part of it, with a sort of fusion between man and machine taking place. And the next thing you instantly notice is the way it handles. The stability, the grip, the response, all of it just gives you so much more confidence. This is courtesy the monocross rear suspension and the wide rear tyre, which is the widest to be offered on any bike in India.

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Brake, and you get a dose of confidence with speed being arrested smartly. The large 41 mm diameter front forks, another first for India, provide good dampening. In our short testride around Goa though, we found the all-LCD instrument cluster a bit hard to read in the sun. With two aboard, we also found the bottom scraping on speed breakers due to the somewhat low ride height. It's so attractively priced that it's almost hard to believe. But, believe it and become believers like us.