The name YZF-R15 is synonymous with agility, precision and nimbleness. It all began when a Japanese giant decided to give the Indian enthusiast a taste, rather whiff, of a track racing bike. The meticulously designed bike still soldiers on with a dedicated fan following, even though its puny engine capacity has been outweighed by the invasion of newer entrants like the Honda CBR 250R, KTM 200 Duke and the Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS.
Now, in the nick of time, whispers suggest that Yamaha could be working on taking the famed machine to the next level, i.e. V 3.0. The Yamaha YZF-R15 V1.0 was a small capacity bike designed for the Indian market back in 2008. It carried design inspiration from a bike much above its punching capacity, the YZF-R1. Needless to say, it had the drool-worthy factor unlike any other street-legal bike in India. Even though people did cringe about its stratospheric pricing, a handful of them definitely went ahead and experienced the class of Yamaha. And why not?? The bike offered a liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine that could even give the larger much-adored Pulsar 220 some jitters. The pint-sized powerplant was nestled in a perimeter frame that ensured stability in even the tightest of corners.
The v2.0 of the YZF-R15 boasted of even more chiselled looks over the outgoing model. The tail went sky high, and the bike received a fatter rear tyre. Technical upgrades were, however, absent. The front end of the bike remained unchanged. To keep the spark alive, Yamaha India chipped in with new paint options and Special-Edition-mumbo-jumbos every now and then.
Rumors swirling around via BikeIndia.in suggest that the YZF-R15 will now be souped up to a completely new level. As competition intensifies and the disposable income of the average Indian youth increases, the average capacity of the engines on our streets increases too. 😀
It is thus expected that the third version of the YZF-R15 will carry a motor bigger than the present 149.8 cc. It is, however, unlikely that the Yamaha engineers will increase it beyond 200cc according to the report. Modest estimates will suggest that the bike will continue with its fuel-injected and liquid cooled parameters, but will churn out more power. An interesting thing to look forward to is the inclusion of ABS.
The R25 Showcased at the Auto Expo. Click pic for details
The Yamaha YZF-R15 has a dedicated fan following in India for its slick looks and razor-sharp handling combined with a refined performance. This following has ensued even though the market has been flooded with bigger, much-more powerful bikes.
Well this is before the bigger sibling R25 (pictured above) makes its way into the market a few years down the line.
We would like to know what changes the Yamaha R15-Lovers would like to see in the next iteration. Feel free to mention them in the comments section below.
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