Yamaha YZF-R3 launched for INR 3.75 Lakhs (On-Road)

The Indian performance motorcycling game has been witnessing some serious traction in the 300-400cc segment. Bajaj-KTM, Honda and Kawasaki have all come in nice and strong, with class leading products and it was high time for Yamaha to announce the new ‘R’ in Town!

Yamaha Motor India have launched their 300cc challenger, the much-awaited YZF-R3 at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida today. Powered by a 321cc, liquid-cooled twin-cylinder motor, the YZF-R3 comes with dual overhead camshafts and 4 valves per cylinder. This is essentially the same motor that powers the R25 (60mm bore) but has been bored out by 8mm (to 68mm) on the R3.

You also get forged aluminum pistons in an off-set cylinder combination to reduce frictional losses. Which means, that RZF-R3 riders could potentially see the rev counter needle dance merrily up to 10,750 RPM.

With power figures of 42 BHp and 29.5 NM of torque, this is one red-hot motor in a fine looking package.

The YZF-R3 takes the CKD route into the country from Indonesia and shall be assembled on a specially set-up line in the NCR. Without ruling out plans in the future, company officials have admitted that the relatively smaller volumes of the YZF-R3 made it difficult to justify the tooling and investment involved for domestic production.

The YZF-R3 is priced at approximately INR 3,57,500 – 4,00,000 (on-road) for the Blue-White colour combination, with Black being the second colour option. The lack of ABS, even as an option, is baffling though, particularly on such a performance-oriented machine. Available through select dealerships across the country, deliveries are expected to start from 20^th August.