Sources indicate Yamaha looking to get the entry-level sports bike here
Sources close to Yamaha have informed us that the japanese bikemaker is looking at introducing small capacity sporty naked motorcycles by next year. On this direction, it is the 150cc MT-15 that is expected to come here first. The new 2019 MT-15 was recently unveiled in Thailand. Most likely to follow next will be the Yamaha MT-03 which is essentially a naked version of the Yamaha R3. The flagship MT-10 naked bike is also expected to come here as well.
Like the MT-03, the MT-15 is based on its faired sibling - the R15 v3.0. The new one carries an aggressive design inspired by the larger MT-09 and MT-10 naked bike. It gets a digital instrument console similar to the R15 V3.0 but has blue backlighting with yellow fonts.
Its 155cc liquid-cooled single cylinder motor comes from the R15 and gets similar features like variable valve timing and slipper clutch. It makes 19.3PS and 15Nm of torque. The MT-15 is expected to perform better than the R-15 given that it has to lug less weight around on account of it being lighter.
Underpinnings too come from the R15. The MT-15 has a deltabox frame that should help aid handling. While the Thai spec MT-15 gets front upside down forks, we might get conventional forks to keep pricing low. We might also get the same MRF tyres the R15 v3.0 come shod with. Braking is via 282mm front and 220mm rear disc. If launched here, we can expect the bike to come with ABS due to government ruling mandating new bikes above 125cc having compulsory ABS.
While Yamaha might stick with a single channel ABS unit to keep costs in check, we still expect the MT-15 to be priced around Rs 1.18 lakh that puts it above the asking price of 160cc bikes. The MT-15 is expected to be launched early next year along with the MT-10 and the MT-03 is expected to follow later.
Image Source: tmcblog.com
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