The biggest motorcycle launch of the year is, without any doubt, Yamaha YZF R3! Couple of days back, we rode the sparkling new R3 through the BIC and it left us very impressed with whatever it has to offer. You can check out our first ride review here, which also includes a video walkaround, exhaust note etc.
Interestingly, Yamaha at its launch revealed two interesting things. They said…
- The YZF R3 is expected to attract younger racing enthusiasts looking for their first racing bike and…
- Currently the Supersports segment is doing around 1000 bikes a month and our plan is to attain a 20 percent market share in the segment.
Yamaha may not have got this right though! Not many in India buy a 300 cc, near 4 Lakh, over 40 bhp motorcycle as their first racing bike. We believe R3 will be an ideal upgrade for all of those who have outgrown the R15 and other similar bikes.
Coming to the more important second pointer of about 200 unit sales. Yamaha has defined the Supersport segment as 250 cc to 600 cc. Just to give you a perspective – KTMs 390s (Duke and RC390) combined sold 6817 motorcycles in the last fiscal which averages to 568 units per month. Since KTM doesn’t reveal individual sales for the Duke and RC, let us break this figure into half, which is 284 units every month. Consider that these are the most VFM and the ‘hot-in’ motorcycles at the moment.
The immediate rival Ninja 300 registered sales of 1087 units during the last financial year (April 2014 to March 2015). This averages to only 90 units every month in all!
Also Read: Yamaha YZF R3: Some Interesting Pointers
Now, with the picture clear you will understand that 200 units is not an underestimation for sure… In fact, 200 units is closer to the 2 to 2.5 Lakh OTR KTMs. Will Yamaha be able to manage that with their 3.5 to 4.0 Lakh OTR R3?
