An oxymoron in itself, but that's what the new Royal Star from Yamaha is. An immensely stylish and wholly credible alternative set of wheels for the 100/125cc and cruiser crowds, offering the best of all worlds without compromising on much. OVERDRIVE got its hands on one of only three bikes in the country to bring you this exclusive road test of the latest Yamaha that straddles various and varied segments.

Cruiser... the word conjures an image of fat bikes, vast open roads, the sun rising (or setting) on the horizon, its rays glinting off all things chrome, speedo needle hovering at three digit figures, ancient pushrod lump ticking over unhurriedly, the sweet thump-thump from the pipe and… no brakes! Of Harleys (derived from made-in-the-USA movies) and Bullets. Of style, panache, image and most importantly character. Character which is arduous to engineer into the bike, like fine wine that gets better with age, that intangible ingredient which puts a varied fraternity under spell of the cruiser bike charisma, from milkmen and goons to studs and the dyed-in-wool bikers.

Or does it? Are we losing the plot here?

The Bullet spells character with a capital 'C' but sales of Royal Enfield bikes have only recently seen some stability. Contrarily, the Bajaj Eliminator came, saw and conquered the cruiser market. Character is something she lacked but recompensed with oodles of style, chrome, working brakes, Performance and reliability. Seriously then, what is it that we want from a cruiser?

The formula for the ideal cruiser is still being researched in Resting and Dreaming (R&D departments, in English) labs around the country. Right now we have the Bullet and Eliminator catering to different demographics but basically concentrated at the upper end of the segment. So it was only expected that in time somebody would come up with their own iterations on this platform.

Which is what Yamaha has done with the Royal Star. The formula has sufficient doses of style but aims to offset the lack of oomph by a sensible list price. So does the formula have the right potency to take on the market?.