Yamaha India to launch new versions of ‘ R-15’ soon

Yamaha India to launch new versions of ‘ R-15’ soon

Yamaha Motor India  ready to unveil it’s new sportbikes at the upcoming 2018 Auto Expo scheduled for February next year.

Yamaha to launch updated versions,Yamaha YZF-R3 with ABS and the YZF-R15 Version 3 models.

While the R15 V3 has already been spotted testing in the country, a company source told us that Yamaha is about to complete testing of the India-spec YZF-R15 V3.

While Yamaha has already launched the YZF-R15 V3 in Thailand and some other Asian markets, India will get a low-cost version of the bike. The major changes will be conventional telescopic forks replacing the premium USD (up-side down) units.

Also, the bike will be sold in the Indian market with locally manufactured MRF tyres instead of the premium IRC Road Winner. However, the new model will get slightly wider tyres (100/80 front and 140/70 rear) as compared to the existing model.

The new sharper styling of the R15 V3 will remain untouched along with the new LED headlights which gives a much premium look to it. The front fairing looks inspired by the new, bigger Yamaha YZF-R1, especially because of the centre air duct between the headlamps.

It will be an all-new motorcycle with a new powertrain which is a 155cc, liquid-cooled single. It will be the first engine in its category to get Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) technology which helped the company to use higher compression ratio and increased engine speed.

The result is a boost of 2.3PS, pushing the maximum power output to 19.3PS which comes at 10,000rpm. The torque, however, has been decreased nominally by 0.3Nm and the weight also remains almost similar to the version 2.

The new R15 will also get a slipper and assist clutch for smooth shiftings while the much needed ABS is expected to be given a miss again.

The Yamaha R3 — which was discontinued in the country after the BS-IV emission standards — is also coming in its new BS-IV avatar. While there is no major cosmetic update on the motorcycle, it gets all-new colour schemes for a fresh look.

The recently-unveiled 2018 model of the sportbike continues with the same chassis along with the same 321cc, parallel-twin engine which makes 42PS and 29.6Nm of torque. The cycle parts will also remain unchanged while the bike will get new ABS feature in the Indian market which is expected to be offered as an optional extra.