We all knew that the unveiling of Yamaha MT-03 was just a matter of time. Well, the Japanese two wheeler giant has finally made it official by showcasing the motorcycle and releasing the specs.
MT-03 is essentially a naked version of fully faired R3. In other words, MT-03 is to R3 what MT-25 is to R25. The styling of the new naked motorcycle is carried forward from is slightly smaller engined sister. Save for the stickers on the fuel tank pods, there isn’t really any distinguishing element between MT-03 and MT-25.
Compared to R3, MT-03 loses the fairing and instead, features a minimal single headlamp and air intake pods on either side of the fuel tank. The clip-on handlebar has been replaced by a regular single piece unit on the street fighter. Rest of MT-30 looks pretty much identical to R3.
Yamaha MT-03 uses the same hardware as R3.There is no change in the hardware either. MT-03 is underpinned by a diamond steel frame which is suspended by a telescopic front fork and a monoshock at the rear. The 321 cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled fuel-injected motor is mated to a 6-speed transmission to produce 41.6 PS at 10,750 rpm and 30 Nm of torque at 9,000 rpm.
The 17-inch alloy wheels come wrapped in 110/10-17 rubber upfront and 140/70-17 unit at the rear (both are tubeless). Both wheels are retarded by a single disc each. At 165 kg, the street fighter weighs 4 kg lighter than its trackbred sibling.
Yamaha has just launched R3 in India. Given the positive environment in the country’s quarter litre segment, the company is likely to follow it up with the launch of MT-03 as well. However, we expect the naked bike to be here only after Yamaha plugs the demand supply gap in international markets.
