Yamaha Motor India has finally imported two units of the YZF-R3 to test and try them in the Indian road and market conditions. The main purpose to introduce this bike in India is for research and development. Yamaha also unveiled the R25 sometime back; however, the anticipation still persists of the R3 being launched in India.
The bike does not have much different looks when it is compared with the R25 and is almost identical when it comes to dimensions. The R3 weighs approximately 169 kilograms and has been provided with the same six-speed transmission, which is present in the R25. The point of difference is the powertrain as it has been provided with a 321 cc liquid-cooled twin-cylinder engine. The new and more powerful engine is capable of generating 41.4 bhp power and a torque output of 29.8 Nm. When compared to the 249 cc R25, the bike is capable of producing 6 bhp of more power and an extended torque of 8 Nm.
The bike will be launched in Europe somewhere around March 2015; however, it may take quite some time for it to be launched in India as the testing models have arrived here till date. The process of homologation will follow later on and it is expected that the bike will be launched by 2015-end or shall be displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo 2016. The YZF-R3 will compete against the likes of Kawasaki Ninja 300 as well as KTM RC390. The CBR 300R is also in the pipeline and it is thus, expected that the 300 cc segment might become too good to resist in the forthcoming months.
Yamaha has built the R25 on a similar theme and it is expected that the bike will be launched as well. The price of the YZF-R3 might be slated at 3 lakhs INR in the Indian bike market, which will make it quite competitive.
