The Yamaha R3 and MT-03 have been hotly anticipated in India ever since they were spotted at a Yamaha dealer conference earlier this year. We now have a timeline for when these two bikes will go on sale in India.
In a recent interaction with Yamaha India chairman Eishin Chihana, we learnt that the company plans to bring the R3 and its naked sibling the MT-3 to India closer towards the end of the financial year. That means we could be looking at a launch somewhere between December 2023 and March 2024.
Unlike earlier, the bikes will be coming to India in CBU form from Indonesia, but the company will eventually shift to CKD production. The previous-gen BS4 R3 last retailed at Rs 3.5 lakh before it was discontinued and the new one comes with improvements like a USD fork and revised style. With that in mind, the 2023 Yamaha R3 might end up being quite expensive and it could cost above Rs 4 lakh, but hopefully the company can keep the price at or below that mark.
As for the MT-03, there is no clarity yet on whether it will launch alongside the R3 or soon after. However, Yamaha is keen to grow the MT brand in India and the twin-cylinder MT-03 will definitely launch here.
For 2023, the R3 got new LED indicators and a fresh purple colour. The rest remains the same with a liquid-cooled, 321cc parallel-twin engine making 42hp at 10,750rpm and 29.5Nm at 9,000rpm. This bike is based around a diamond frame, with a 37mm USD fork and preload-adjustable monoshock, both supplied by KYB. Features are quite basic and include a slipper clutch, dual-channel ABS, all-LED lighting and an LCD display.