What appears to be the future MT-03, naked version of sporty R3. The arrival, as widely expected, but it is not official yet. Here’s another new release that reveals how it could be the final version.
The first photos of what was said to be the new MT-03 appeared in March, the images published then actually were not good either, but today came from Indonesia more interesting shots and finally clear enough.
From the information that leaked it seems the naked Yamaha small displacement will definitely by 2016. The MT-25 (in the East will be the engine 250) is in an advanced stage of development and in the European variant, it will be in practice the naked version of the sport R3 and R25, then with the same twin cylinder with 42 hp for the MT-03 and R3 and 29.6 Nm of torque, capable of performance very similar to those of the old single-cylinder produced at the older Italian MT-03. The bike, which can be seen above in the side view, has the same tail like the little sister R25, while the front shows a compact spotlight. The style seems to be in line with that of other naked family MT. It is that really so? We’ll find out probably in a few months, during the coming motorcycle motorshows.
More interesting is the fact that since even the YZF-R3 would be made in Indonesia, there would most certainly be an MT-03 also in the offing! Yamaha has used the MT-03 name on the now-discontinued 660cc single, and the company should not have an issue christening the new naked as MT-03. The MT-25 and the MT-03 might be called MT-250 and MT-320, respectively, keeping in mind the smallest MT is known as the MT-125.
The YZF-R3’s 321 cc liquid-cooled 42 PS engine would make the MT-03 a bomb of a naked, not too dissimilar to the KTM Duke 390. And the Yamaha would look better, heat less, and will have a better top-end. But the twin-cylinder motorcycle would definitely cost more – it still would be worth it though if Yamaha prices it above the Suzuki Inazuma and below the Kawasaki Z250!
But the bigger question as always is – when and if Yamaha Malaysia plans to bring it in.