Its barely been 2 days since the
launch of the Yamaha R3 in India and the social feeds are flooded with
comments, justifications, rants, likes and dislikes about the machine although
there have been very few that have had the opportunity to ride the R3 and its
competition back to back to provide a full overview of this latest offering
from Yamaha and how it stacks up against the competition.
The ThrottleQuest team was
invited by Yamaha to get a first glimpse of the R3 and the opportunity to test
ride it around the magnificent Buddh International Circuit.
Before we proceed let’s look at what
Yamaha has put into the R3 costing RS. 3,25,000
ex showroom Delhi.
Unlike singles provided by the Honda
and the KTM, the R3 runs on 321cc twin cylinder, fuel injected, liquid cooled,
4 stroke, DOHC, 4-valves per cylinder engine pumping out ~42 bhp @10750 rpm with
~29 Nm of torque @9000 rpm. The engine carries a lightweight, all aluminium
DiASil cylinder (die cast all aluminium cylinder) that offers adequate heat
dissipation for consistent power delivery and reduced weight. I noticed that
power was instant and smooth through the gears although I struggled to redline
on 5th and more than often reached the end on the back straight
before I could shift into sixth - top speed you ask? Wait for the video.
Yamaha pointed out that the crank
design offsets the cylinder 7mm relative to the crankshaft (to the exhaust
side) to reduce frictional losses between the pistons and the cylinder wall
during the power stroke for improved power output and improved fuel economy. Lightweight
forged aluminium pistons provide fast engine response, reduced weight and reduced
mechanical vibration. The 180 degree crankshaft has an uneven firing order. The
32 mm dual bore throttle body fuel injection system utilizes an idle speed
control (ISC) to maintain a steady idle regardless of engine temperature. The
R3 comes with a closed loop fuel injection system, with an oxygen sensor that
monitors the amount of oxygen in the spent exhaust gases and adjusts the fuel
-air mixture via the ECU and FI system.
Mr. Masaki Asano, Managing Director, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd
The engine is mated to a 6 speed
transmission and Yamaha refers to the 6th gear as “overdrive” and I would
imagine this is to reduce engine rpms at highway speeds for better ride quality.
The bore and stroke on the R3 runs
shorter at 68mm X and 44mm which means the wide piston travels shorter resulting
in a higher revving engine. The engine is setup on a diamond-type, high
tensile, semi-trellis steel frame. The engine is a stressed member of the
chassis, allowing a lighter, more compact main frame design.
The riding position is one of the
most important features on the R3. Although the R3 comes across as a super
sport, it offers a balance between sporty handling for those track days and
city based rider comfort as a result of which its not a track committed riding
position, unlike the KTM RC bikes. The front to rear weight distribution is almost
50 /50. The rear is tapered, has a long design and is a high tensile steel
swingarm. The meter console was right off the R6 with a large rpm analog style
display and speed, temp gauge, odo and trip meter, gear and fuel indicator in a
LCD display. The R3 allows an individual to set the gear indicator light to be
adjusted per the riders needs so it does not go off at random rpms. Switches
etc. are standard and nothing much to write about.
Mr. Roy Kurian, Vice President- Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd
Suspension on the front comes in the
form of 41mm KYB conventional (no USD) style forks that offer 130mm (5.1")
of wheel travel. We noticed that the rear comes with an adjustable monocross
link-less rear suspension with a single KYB rear shock adjustable for
7-positions of spring pre-load. This adjustment allows the rider to tailor
pre-load settings to match rider weight or load. We will still need to test out
in real world conditions once the bike is made available to us for review.
NON ABS brakes come in the form
of a 298 mm floating front disc and is squeezed by a twin piston caliper which
provides adequate stopping power in normal city riding conditions but lacked
bite on the track. The rear is a 220 mm disc and is squeezed by a lightweight
single piston slide-type caliper. Yamaha did however mention that ABS is being
looked into on future models of the R3 and will be made available in India. Aiding the stopping are the soft compound tyres
that MRF have provided with a 110 on the front and a 140 at the rear. As
replacements I believe they will cost ~4500 to 5000 a pair should you choose to
use this as a track only bike. That’s good news for a lot of track focussed
audience folks out there.
The R3 comes with Clip-on style
handlebars that provided super sport image but at the same time offers a
comfortable, more upright riding position given that they are mounted above the
top triple clamp. The 14 litre fuel tank looked wide from the side but is
actually quite narrow and it provided adequate level of knee grip while on the track.
Now let’s look at what the competition offers.
Some of the motorcycles that the
Yamaha R3 will be compared against in India are; the CBR 250R, Kawasaki Ninja
300 and the KTM RC 390.
I am not going to go into too
much of a comparison as I will leave that for a full blown back to back review
of the R3 against the others when we get a hold of them.
While we wait for the CBR 300R, I
know the 250R is a great handler and while its low on performance it’s a great beginner
sports bike that offers excellent ridability on and off the track. If you’re
looking for downright initial performance and pure track focussed design, look
no further than the KTM RC 390. This bike does go ballistic from idle, but city
riding aside ask yourself do you really want a bike that’s edgy while cornering.
The only direct competition that the R3 has comes in the form of the reigning
champion for a number of years, the only other twin, a Kawasaki Ninja 300. Compared
to the R3 No ABS but comes with a slipper clutch, petal rotors and a high revving
engine that kicks in after 7000 rpm all the way redlining at 13000 rpm!
While there will be many that
will try their best to find fault across the four bikes mentioned above and will
end up comparing several factors, I think at the end of the day you need to
answer a really important question, how much do you really want to spend, you
primarily ride in the city (daily), weekend rides where you need something fun
to play with and would you be willing to shell out Rs. 3 Lakhs plus for a
beginner sports bike.
In my opinion the Yamaha R3 has quite a lot going on for itself
and strikes a good balance between a city ride and the occasional track day
bike. I think the R3 and the Kawasaki Ninja
both come across as good bikes and are well suited for the daily run and occasional track
days. As a track enthusiast you may also want to consider the aftermarket parts available for the R3.
Again, I will reserve my comments for later when I have ridden the bike extensively.
Don’t look at the R3 being
featureless as a result of cost cutting but rather look at the features that
work well and being made available to you at a good price. The bike looks really
cool, fit and finish is good and you’re backed by Yamaha’s excellent service in
India.
The Yamaha R3 will initially be
available in two colours, full black and a Blue/silver combo.
The 1st set of bikes will be dispatched on 20th August and will be made available for delivery
between last week August and 1st week of September.
Thanking Yamaha for this opportunity we leave you with some pics from the launch.
Photos: Krishnendu Kes
There are positives to this launch. As well as some negatives. One major negative was even admitted by Yamaha during the launch.
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