With the launch of Yamaha R25 in Indonesia, things have become really really interesting in the 250cc segment. While it has not been officially communicated by Yamaha that it will come to India but there are all the chances of it making here.
So, what will it slug out against? All the 250-300cc motorcycles in the market. Let us first compare its specs against its twin cylinder counterparts. Does it really ‘pack the punch’ Yamaha has been boasting about?
R25 vs Ninja 250R (new Indonesian Spec) vs Ninja 300 vs Inazuma
| Specification | Kawasaki Ninja 250R | Kawasaki Ninja 300 | Suzuki Inazuma | Yamaha YZF R25 |
| Engine | 249cc, water cooled, parallel twin cylinders | 296cc, liquid cooled, parallel twin cylinders | 248cc, 2 cylinder, liquid cooled, SOHC | 249cc, liquid cooled, parallel twin, DOHC |
| Max Power | 32PS @11000rpm | 39PS @11000rpm | 26.4PS @8500rpm | 36PS @12000rpm |
| Peak Torque | 21Nm @10000rpm | 27Nm @ 10000rpm | 22Nm @6500rpm | 22.6Nm @10000rpm |
| L×B×H (in mm) | 2010×715×1110 | 2015×715×1110 | 2145×760×1075 | 2090×720×1135 |
| Seat height | 785mm | 785mm | 780mm | 780mm |
| Ground clearance | N/A | 125mm | 165mm | 160mm |
| Weight | 174kg | 172kg | 183kg | 166kg |
| Fuel tank | 17L | 17L | 13.3L | 14.3L |
| Price | 53.7 million Indonesian Rupiah/ Rs 2.75lac | 3.29lac (ex-showroom, Delhi) | Rs 2.99 lac (ex-showroom, Delhi) | 53 million Indonesian Rupiah/ Rs 2.7lac |
As you can see for yourself, Suzuki Inazuma has the lowest power output figures; in fact Suzuki has not even mentioned it on their website! These figures listed here are its international model specs! Add to that its near 3 lac price tag & heavenly weight of 183kgs along with its boring looks certainly inhibit many from even considering it.
The new Ninja 250R, though is no longer available in India, is still a worthy ride. But have a look at the way R25 trounces it in terms of power specs. It is full 4PS and 0.6Nm better in terms of power and torque. However, power figures are attained at higher rpms.
The new Ninja 300, a bigger bike here, has the highest output figures, as expected. Despite the displacement disadvantage, R25 is precariously close and lags with just 3 horses less. However, in terms of torque, it is comprehensively beaten with a greater than 5Nm difference.
R25, however, pulls up the scale by presenting the lowest weight out here. It has a weight advantage of 8kgs against Ninja 250R, 6Kgs against Ninja 300 and lets not even talk about the Inazuma! But it also comes with the smallest fuel tank capacity here (barring the Inazuma).
R25 comes with a fairly good ground clearance of 160mm which should reduce your under-fairing breaking charges. The R25 also gets the most modern instrumentation cluster. It is surely going to be an exciting product to look out for.
All of these bikes, unfortunately, sport a premium price tag as they are brought to India via the CKD route (considering the older Ninja 250R). According to our estimates, R25 may be priced at around Rs 3 Lakhs, under-cutting the Ninja 300 by a fairly good margin.
We have ridden both the Ninja 250 and the 300 and they are clearly the benchmarks in quarter liters out there, till now! Will the new R25 help in breaking Ninja’s monopoly?
Also Read: List of 10 Upcoming 200-300cc Motorcycles in India
