The 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 is on display at the 2018 Thai Motor Expo in the Yamaha Racing Blue colour option. This model is highly relevant as an Economic Times report, dated November 26, stated that Yamaha would move away from the mass motorcycle market and concentrate on premium products in India while the 100-110cc motorcycles will be exported to markets like Africa and Latin America.
Also read: KTM 125 Duke vs. Yamaha R15 V3.0 - Price, features & spec comparison
Yamaha has been clocking positive sales in the premium motorcycle market thanks to the YZF-R15 V3.0, that registered a year-on-year growth of 231% growth last month.
Regular readers would have seen our detailed report on the 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 when it was unveiled last month. The YZF-R3 (and YZF-R25) are built around a steel tubular chassis instead of the Deltabox frame that underpins rest of the YZF-R series models. The revised fascia features dual LED headlights and an updated fairing that Yamaha calls "cross-layered". The new fairing and windscreen are developed in conjunction with wind tunnel and track tests and are claimed to reduce aerodynamic drag by 7%, giving an increase of up to 8 km/h in top speed over its predecessor.
Mechanical specifications continue to feature a 321 cc, liquid-cooled, in-line twin-cylinder, dual overhead cam (DOHC), fuel-injected engine that produces 42 PS of maximum power at 10,750 rpm and 29.6 Nm of peak torque at 9,000 rpm. A 298 mm single hydraulic disc brake at the front and a 220 mm single hydraulic unit at the rear perform the anchoring duties. While the dual-channel ABS is optional internationally, the Indian spec model will receive the feature as standard to comply with the new safety norms.
Also read: EICMA 2018: Special edition Yamaha YZF-R3 GYTR revealed
For 2019, the Japanese lightweight supersport motorcycle features (KYB 37 mm) inverted front forks instead of conventional units on the outgoing model. The 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 is expected to carry a premium price tag over its predecessor’s INR 3.49 lakh (ex-showroom for ABS model) levels owing to the hardware upgrades if further localization is not planned. Similar to the previous model, the 2019 YZF-R3 will come to India via the CKD route.
Apart from the Yamaha Racing Blue, the YZF-R3 is available in Matte Black and Matte Red.
