Yamaha YZF-R3 launch confirmed for August 11 in India

Probably the most important date of the year for the Indian Yamaha enthusiast, the Japanese automaker’s most awaited offering the ‘YZF-R3′ has been confirmed for launch on 11th August in the country. The R3 is based on the R25 that went on sale last year in Indonesia and gets a larger displacement engine extracting more performance.

This also clears all doubts of whether the R25 or the R3 will be making it to Indian shores as a slew of recent spy shots managed to keep the masses confused for a long time. In terms of performance, the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R3 uses a 321cc liquid-cooled, twin-cylinder engine with fuel injection that churns out 42 PS of power at 10,750 RPM and 29.6 Nm of torque at 9000 RPM, paired to a 6-speed gearbox.

The bike uses telescopic front forks and a monoshock rear suspension with stopping power coming from twin discs at the front and rear. The R3 has a kerb weight of 169 kgs and rides on a tubular diamond frame with 50:50 weight distribution. The fuel tank capacity is measured at 14-litres. While Yamaha offers the R3 with ABS as standard in Indonesia, it still isn’t clear if the automaker will offer the same in India as well.

That said, Yamaha could provide it as optional in favour of a competitive pricing as the bike which will compete against the popular KTM RC 390 as well as the Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Benelli TNT 300 in the same space. With the R3 only produced at Yamaha’s Jakarta facility globally, its Indian subsidiary will be importing the model via the CKD route with prices expected between Rs. 2.80-3.30 lakhs (ex-showroom) in the country.