New spyshots of what is speculated to be the naked version of R15 which may be called as MT-15, have surfaced at Iwanbanaran.com. If true, MT-15 has all the chances of making it to India and can be ‘the bike’ to look upto for naked sportsbike lovers and may arrest Yamaha’s sliding sales in the 150cc segment.
In the ASEAN countries, the MT 15 will be an ideal opponent to the recently refreshed Honda CB 150R, but its positioning in India will be interesting as there appears to be no direct rival.
In this test mule, we like the low-set aggressive headlamp which reminds us of the Kawasaki’s Z1000 (okay, a wee bit)! Upside down forks is another interesting addition which may push up the price a bit. The extremely potent chassis is expected to be shared with the present generation R15. The rear sports a new tail lamp design.
While the motorcycle has been spotted fully covered with camouflage all the times, the signature MT series tank shroud is clearly visible. In another update, the motorcycle has also been rendered by the folks at Motoblast and the resemblance with the KTM Duke can hardly be ignored!
Powering the MT 15 can be expected to be the same 149 cc mill seen in the R15 albeit with some tweaks to the overall performance and efficiency. The MT15 may also be previewing the new R15 v3 and features like upside down forks and others may percolate.
Interestingly though a few days back when we met Yamaha India’s management, they denied any plans of bringing out a naked R15 in/for India!
