it really depends on what you want to do with the bike. if you want something for city commute then the R15 is indeed too compromised. not that it can't be done and we all seen delivery boys using it too, but its not the most comfortable. but if you want something that is fun to use, particularly on a small track, the R15 comes up very strong.

I don't have much experience with the NS200 and have not spoken to any owners so will not comment on that.

as for the Benelli 150s it is okay for the price la, its looks decent with nice spec for its price as you would expect of a chinese bike. Mforce has been pretty hard at work building its reputation so are quite responsive. my friend's one has some minor issues which the dealer sorted out quickly. so far he has no complains, but his bike is so low mileage that the longer term reliability is still up in the air. so i am not endorsing it in anyway, but merely pointing out that the dealer has been pretty responsible.

so what kind of riding are you doing? do you use it for commuting or just for fun?

mainly commuting i will generally say that the R15 is not really good... but then its only 10km so the riding position hardly matters since the ride will be over before you know it. unless you are driving through heavy traffic.

but you also mentioned that you prefer naked bikes so the R15 is probably not for you.

someone has mentioned that the R15 is a thief magnet. i am not sure if that is indeed the case, but am not surprised if that is true.

how secure is the bike parking at your work place? this should be factored into your consideration as well.

you said you are using it mainly for commuting in the city so its gonna be a work horse, in this case why haven't you considered a scooter?

i have always advocated that ABS is a good thing and can save one's ass during an emergency. however, i think in your case where you crash the moment you take the ABS out of the equation points to a bigger problem with the fundamental skills or understanding about the science of riding.
that being said, your braking distance doubled is probably because you were afraid to squeeze the lever since you have fallen before. what I suspect is that even with the ABS bike ABS you were not triggering the ABS but merely more confident in using the lever fully.
so ABS is good, but you should learn how to work the bike properly without it. after all, having to rely on it heavily meant that you are being hamfisted with your controls and unless you work to gain the finesse on the bike, the bigger bikes will come bite you in the ass sooner or later.

as for gear indicator... i am at two mind about this. it is nice to have and beginners tend to think that they need it, but i feel that it is not absolutely necessary. not having an indicator meant that you will have to learn to feel your bike a bit more.
if you do get a bike with a gear indicator, try riding around a bit with the indicator taped over and you might discover yourself listening and feeling the bike more than you would otherwise.

i would say get the smaller bike. you have no experience, don't understand the flow of the traffic and the act of riding is already going to be stressful, no point making it more difficult with a bigger and heavier bike.
there are bound to be people who tell you that you will soon grow tired of the bike and perhaps you might, but even if you do sell the bike after a year or two you only take a hit of a few thousands. you probably suffer more in big bike depreciation during the same period
I seen many riders who get on big capacity bike as their first bike and are so fearful of riding that they detour just to avoid filtering in traffic. on a smaller bike you are more likely to have the confidence to ride in all kinds of traffic and having the exposure will accelerate your learning.
ofcoz everyone is different, there are also many who jump straight onto a big bike and ride through KL traffic like a boss within a week so everyone's experience is different.

my point is. if you feel that your comfort level is on a small bike and you plan to get one to learn the traffic, then don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. if you panic, fall or scratch a car due to failed filtering, those people are not going to chip in for your repairs.

not sure what you mean by "I did press it very hard every time I do the emergency braking section" but you should be squeezing hard and fast, but progressively. this goes for all aspects of riding a bike from throttling to steering. like i said, its probably a matter of confidence on the brakes.

get the bike with ABS whenever possible, but don't neglect to work on smoothening your controls. it is indeed true that letting the rear tyre lock is indeed better than front lock if your are coming to a rest. but rear wheel lock is also a recipe for high-side at highspeed, so it is important to understand the context of the riding. anyways, the best is no tyre lock at all (unless you are offload) which is where the ABS comes in.

nope. not every new bike has that. like i said, gear indicator is good to have, but new riders may become too focused on them that they become slow to learn to read their bikes. so like i said, if your bike comes with an indicator, might be a good idea to tape over it when out training to get a feel of not looking at the indicator (provided it has a separate neutral indicator that is). you don't really "memorize" your gear. its a case of shifting up when you are past the torque peak or if you are past a certain RPM and shifting down when you feel the gearing is too high.

don't be mistaken, i think gear indicator is great to have, but it can hamper riders learning if they become unduly reliant on that. and many new riders do become overly focused on their gear position. look down only if you are uncertain, not at every gear.

if i were a complete new rider looking at my first bike, i will probably pick up a single cylinder. they are typically lighter, cheaper to run and i actually like the thump exhaust note. also it leave room when it comes to upgrading to a twin. but that's me. the Z250 is a perfectly good bike.

anyways, just ride safe and never stop learning the skills.

if your primary reason is for commute and you want something with more poke, those clutch 150cc kapcai are quite nice.

1) the cost of ownership is not going to be all that much, you spend more on tyres but that's about it.
2) the "service" you mention kind of look like lube chains? so u mean to say that you don't even lube your own chain? actually you are best served if you learn some basic maintenance and lubing chain is the most basic or all basics that all bike riders should learn. i don't know where you stay so I can't advise you, but these 150-ish cc Yamaha are not exotics so any mechanic who is not utterly incompetent should be able to keep it in good condition.
3) in terms of power they are really no difference from a higher end kapcai and you gain more technology aid over the kapcai. the only difference would be riding position and slightly heavier weight. also if you are looking for those with clip-ons you lose some steering angle too. other than that its really very easy to get used to. u be riding competently in no time at all.

The R15 will be a bigger difference compared to the kapcai than the MT15 mostly due to riding position. i might have mentioned that the R15 is aggressive but that is me referring to a completely new rider. its kinda like getting into a road bicycle as a first bike without even riding a BMX before. but in your case you have ridden for almost 10 years so the R15 would probably not feel that aggressive. but no point talking about it, just swing a leg over the bike at the shop and see what you feel about it.

if you like the looks of the MT15 then it is probably going to be a better bike for commuting. but to me it is way too hideous to consider. for me its a case of "if you gotta be that ugly you better be fast"

ya. don't worry that much about the maintenance. its not that much. these budget bikes and have budget maintenance. but really, get some chain cleaner and lube, even those cheap ass one is better than not having any at all. cheapest is kerosene + gear oil combo, but i think its too much trouble. so u can look for cheap degreaser with high kerosene content in aerosol can for cleaning the chain and a spray on lube. once u get a little more hands on with your bike you will find maintaining it cheap and cheerful

not much in terms of extra services beyond wear and tear items including brakes, chains, sprocket, etc. basically the engine is meant to be workhorse, i believe its the same engine found on the Nmax, my point is its not a super exotics engine that revs to 15000rpm.

secondhand bike is worth it if you find a good one. but the question is difficult to answer since there are many more variables such as mileage, condition, price, etc.

as a rule of thumb for small capacity bikes i tend to prefer buying new since i rarely find used ones that meet my criteria, but I have also bought small capacity bikes used because they are mint and the price is great. so yes. if you shop around you can find good secondhand ones worth the money. in that case definitely go for it.

puchong is huge, but i believe there are plenty of decent mechanic you can find. should not be an issue.