Out of the five, Yamaha R3 and MT-03 comes off as the most attractive proposition for Indian market, breathing new life into quarter-liter segment
Indian motorcycling fraternity has been waiting keenly for a long time to get some special motorcycles from Team Blue. A 150cc faired motorcycle is Yamaha’s current flagship offering for India, believe it or not. After ages, Yamaha seems to be bringing some of its big bikes to India. Motorcycles like R7 and MT-09 have been teased before, but are now showcased.
We’re talking about MT-09, MT-07 and MT-03 street-fighter motorcycles and R3 and R7 faired motorcycles. These were showcased to dealers in a recent event. Our sources have revealed that Yamaha intends to launch all these motorcycles by the end of this year as well. Let’s take a look.
Yamaha MT-03 & R3 – The Next Big Thing In Quarter-Liter Segment
Off all the Yamaha motorcycles showcased in this recent dealer event, our eyes were set on the R3 and MT-03. Both of them might not come equipped with fancy gizmos like a TFT screen, but they will pack substance. ABS, ride-by-wire, traction control, and ride modes are likely.
The MT-03 showcased to dealers was in Grey and Cyan colour combination and R3 in Racing Blue. We will see more shades for these when launched. They both get a diamond frame chassis, 37mm USD front forks with 130mm travel, a rear mono-shock with 120mm travel, and 298mm and 220mm brake rotors at front and rear.
We would have liked fatter tyres as opposed to 110/70-17M front and 140/70-17M rear. Both bikes boasts a low 780mm seat height and a 1,380mm long wheelbase for straight-line stability. 160mm ground clearance should be enough to scale any illogical speed breaker in India. With 14L of fuel in the tank, MT-03 will tip the scales at 168kg and R3 weighs a kilo more.
Engine is shared between both Mt-03 and R3. Both gets a DOHC setup and its parallel-twin arrangement displaces 321cc and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. 42 PS of power at 10,750 RPM and 29.6 Nm of torque at 9,000 RPM are more than sufficient for this class. KTM 390 Duke and Kawasaki Ninja 300 are the arch-rivals for MT-03 and R3 respectively.
R7, MT-07 & MT-09 Will Be Launched Too
Yamaha’s middle-weight offerings like R7 and MT-07 have lost two of their cylinders, high-revving nature and a lot of character. But 73.4 PS of power at 8,750 RPM and 67 Nm of torque at 6,500 RPM generated from their 689cc parallel twin motor, is not to be scoffed at. This engine gets a 6-speed transmission too.
Both R7 and MT-07 get a fancier TFT display with a load of functionalities. Other componentry includes dual 298mm and single 245mm front and rear disc brake setup, 120/70-17M front and 180/55-17M rear tyres, and a 14L fuel tank. Weight is just 184 kg with MT-07, while R7 weighs 188 kg.
Talking about the “Triple” of Yamaha’s lineup, we have MT-09. It gets a 3-cylinder 890cc engine kicking out 119 PS of power at 10,000 RPM and 93 Nm of torque at 7,000 RPM and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. It comes with fully adjustable 41mm front USD forks, same tyres as MT-07 and weighs 189 kg with 14L of fuel. Taking power-to-weight ratio to a new level.
Launch will happen soon and pricing might be on the higher side of the spectrum, given that it is from Team Blue.
