Yamaha’s 300cc Bikes Are One Step Closer To Their India-launch!

The R3 and MT-03 were recently showcased to dealers at a event

They’re finally here! Yamaha’s big bikes have (kind of) landed in India, as the Japanese giant showcased the R3 and MT-03 at a dealer event in India. While the previous-gen R3 was sold here previously, the MT-03 has seen our shores officially, for the first time ever. 

Both the bikes are powered by a high-revving 321cc twin-cylinder engine that makes 42PS. The MT-03, though, makes 29.6Nm, 0.1Nm more than the R3. Both are suspended on an inverted fork and a linked monoshock. Braking duties, meanwhile, are handled by a 298mm disc at the front and 202mm one at the rear. 

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While the KTM 390 Duke and the RC 390 pack better equipment than these on paper, what the R3 and MT-03 bring is a gem of an engine. It’s tractable enough to handle commuting duties, while having enough poke to even make your track days an absolute hoot, all of it while being creamy-smooth.

So what this event for you, as a buyer, means is more options to choose from. The 300-400cc performance-oriented market was dominated by the KTM 390s, something that beginners can find a bit too overwhelming, albeit fairly competitively priced. You have the Kawasaki Ninja 400 but its Rs 5.19 lakh (ex-showroom India) price tag has pushed it into a niche. So what the R3 and MT-03 bring is the perfect mix of performance and everyday usability at a price that definitely won’t be as exorbitant as the Ninja. Expect the Yamaha R3 to cost around Rs 4 lakh and the MT-03 to retail at around Rs 3.8 lakh (ex-showroom). Now that the bikemaker has already showcased it to dealers, the bikes could be launched around June-July.

Apart from this, Yamaha has officially launched the updated R15 V4, MT-15 V2 and R15S. More about it here.