The Yamaha MT-03 shares all mechanicals with the R3, while the styling is in-line with the MT-25 with the badges being the only difference between both the street-fighter offerings.
First came the YZF-R25 last year, a full-faired quarter-litre Yamaha with the R-DNA and was followed up with the R3, practically the same bike but with a bigger engine and better performance. Then came the MT-25 earlier this year, a street-fighter based on the R25 sharing the same underpinnings but sans the full fairing. So, if the basic equation is anything to go by, it wasn’t a surprise that Yamaha has now introduced the naked version of the R3 minus the twin headlamps and fairing. It is called the ‘MT-03’ and the odds are it just might come to India.
Keeping things balanced, the Yamaha MT-03 falls on the lines of the MT-25 by retaining everything under the fairing including the power output. On the outside though, the M1 inspired full fairing has been replaced by a more eased out single headlight cluster with LED pilot lamps instead of the sharply styled twins. You also get a small visor above the headlight along with new air shrouds on either side of the fuel tank and a hard to miss engine cowl. The clip-on handlebars have been replaced by a wide single piece unit that also eases off the riding position.
The third quarter and tail section of the Yamaha MT-03 is identical to the R3 complete with split seats, side mounted exhaust, LED tail lamp and a tail tidy. Essentially the bike looks everything like the MT-25 and save for the badging there isn’t much to tell apart between the two. The frame continues to be a diamond steel unit and the MT-03 uses telescopic front forks and a monoshock suspension at the rear. Braking performance comes from single discs at the front and rear, no mention of ABS though.
In terms of power, the Yamaha MT-03 uses the same 321cc parallel-twin, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine tuned for 41.6 PS at 10,750 RPM and 30 Nm of torque at 9000 RPM, paired to a 6-speed gearbox. The bike weighs 165 kgs, 4 kgs lighter than the R3 and rides on 17-inch alloys wrapped in 110/70 front and 140/70 rear tyres. The Yamaha R3 arrived in India just few weeks ago and it is still too early to ascertain the response for the Japanese manufacturer’s track bred offering. However, given the practicality of street-fighters, there is a good chance of the MT-03 being introduced as early as 2016 in India, brought in via the CKD route.
