Super Bikes India-Yamaha YZF-R3

India seems to be gradually taking to 300-350cc bikes, at least that's what the success of KTM Duke 390, RC 390, Kawasaki Ninja 300 leads us to believe. And in a bid to cash in in this rising popularity of 300cc bikes, Yamaha is also planning to launch a product in that space. However, nobody was sure about Yamaha's product strategy, i.e. if it would launch the YZF-R25, which is already on sale in some South-East Asian markets, or the new R3, which was unveiled in Europe last year.

Till now,Our sources tell us that the company might launch the R3 instead of the R25; the company has, in fact, imported two units of the bike from Indonesia for research & development. The challenge for Yamaha, however, will be pricing it competitively in India. The reason why I think achieving competitive pricing will be a challenge for the Japanese bikemaker is because the R3 features a 2-cylinder engine. Whereas, almost all of its competitors in India get single-cylinder engines that give them a price advantage. Also, if Yamaha doesn't assemble the bike locally in India and brings it in as a CBU (Completely Built-Up Unit), the bike would be far more costly than all of its rivals.
Now about the engine specs, the Yamaha

YZF-R3 features a 320cc, twin-cylinder engine that is good for 41bhp and 29.5Nm. Just so you know, the R3's engines is basically a bored out version of the R25's engine. So, with slightly lower compression, the R3's engine is definitely a better performer than that of the R25. However, the R3's closest competitor - if it's launched in India, - will be the RC 390, which, despite having a single-cylinder engine, churns out more power than the R3.  KTM RC 390's 373cc engine churns out a maximum power output of 43bhp.