Yamaha Motor India has imported two units of the YZF-R3 to test it for the Indian market conditions. The bike has been imported for research and development purposes. We remember Yamaha unveiling the R25, but the ante has been raised Indian bike market will get the YZF-R3.
The bike doesn't look any different from the R25 and it is exactly the same when it comes to the dimensions also. The R3 with a fuel tank weighs about 169kgs and it comes with the same six-speed transmission. However, now it has a 321cc liquid-cooled twin-cylinder engine. This is the new and more powerful engine that produces 41.4bhp of power and 29.8Nm of maximum torque. This engine produces about 6bhp more and about 8Nm of torque greater than the 249cc R25.
The bike is due to be launched in Europe sometime by March 2015, however for India we can expect it to take a bit longer as the bike has just come in for testing purposes. Later on it will undergo homologation and post which we can expect the bike to be launched maybe by the end of 2015 or to be showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo. The YZF-R3 will be a direct competition to the Kawasaki Ninja 300 and the KTM RC390. With the CBR 300R also due, the 300cc segment is getting crowded with many bikes that are looking to enter the Indian bike market.
As the R25 is also built on a similar frame, Yamaha could see introducing the R25 also. We reckon the pricing of the YZF-R3 will be about Rs 3 lakhs for the Indian bike market. This will be competitive pricing for Yamaha.
Source : MotorOctane
