Alright, so folks kept asking me what the little 2021 Yamaha R3 could actually do flat out. You read numbers online, sure, but I like finding things out myself. Had mine for a bit, felt comfortable, so figured it was time to see.
Getting Ready
First things first, safety and the bike. Gave the R3 a once-over. Checked the tire pressure, made sure the chain was lubed and tensioned right, topped off the tank. Didn’t want any silly mechanical issues ruining the fun, or worse. Put on my usual gear – full face helmet, jacket, gloves, the whole nine yards. No compromises there.
Finding a spot was key. You can’t just do this anywhere, obviously. Needed a long, straight, and most importantly, empty stretch of road. I know a few spots out of town, usually deserted early in the morning, especially on a weekday. That was the plan. Got up before the sun really, road was cool, barely any traffic.
The Run
Got to the spot, rode up and down once just to check the surface, make sure there wasn’t any gravel or junk scattered about. All clear. Took a deep breath, tucked in as much as my old bones allow on that little bike. It’s not exactly spacious!
Rolled onto the throttle smoothly through the gears. Clicked up through third, fourth, fifth… let it build speed. When I hit sixth, I just held it wide open. The little engine was screaming, you could really feel it working. The wind noise ramps up big time, even with a good helmet.
I kept my eyes flicking between the road way ahead and the digital speedo. Saw it climb past 100 mph… then 105… 110… It started to slow down its climb quite a bit after that. Really had to keep tucked in tight to minimize drag. Pushed it for a good few seconds more.
What I Found
It finally seemed to top out right around 114-115 mph indicated on the dash. Maybe, just maybe, it could creep a tiny bit more with a slight downhill or a tailwind, but that felt like its practical limit on a flat surface with me on it (I’m not the lightest guy, maybe 180 lbs geared up).
The bike felt surprisingly stable, wasn’t sketchy or anything, which is good. Vibrations were there, yeah, you expect that when you’re revving the nuts off a small twin, but nothing alarming. Pulled it back slowly after that, nice and easy.
So, there you have it. That was my experience finding the top end on the R3. It’s not a rocket ship, wasn’t expecting it to be, but it gets up there eventually. Pretty impressive for a 321cc bike, I reckon.
