Just recently, Yamaha has chosen to discontinue the carburetted version of their ever-popular FZ-S, as well as its semi-faired cousin, the Fazer, in India. The news isn’t shocking, as the updated models that Yamaha had launched in 2014 in the form of the fuel-injected version 2.0s were receiving relatively better responses from Indian motorcycle buyers.
The version 2.0 motorcycles feature a new version of the original FZ’s 153cc single-cylinder motor, which is built around Yamaha’s BlueCore philosophy that the company claims is to maximise fun without compromising efficiency. And efficiency is one area where the new bikes really outdo the older ones. So it was natural that Yamaha chose to discontinue these older models. However, the base model in the FZ family, the FZ16, which is basically the first one of these which Yamaha had launched back in 2008, is now the only non-fuel injected of these still on sale in the country.
Yamaha has also pulled the plug on its first-ever scooter for the Indian market, the Ray. The Ray was specifically designed with women riders in mind, and the company launched a more male-oriented version in the form of the Ray-Z later on. Sources in Yamaha India also said that the company was looking to now focus more on their latest scooter, the Fascino, which is apparently making waves as a ‘fashion-segment scooter’. In any case, Yamaha India is looking to launch the Ray-ZR, a new version of the Ray – which was unveiled at Auto Expo 2016 – in the next couple of months. This new scooter features the same 113cc Blue Core engine from the Ray, but gets an optional disc brake at the front, alloy wheels along with revised body panels and styling. As of now though, the Ray-Z still continues to be on sale.