A BLURRY spy shot from Indonesia reportedly shows a naked version of Yamaha’s YZF-R25, the fully faired sports bike which becomes the 321cc YZF-R3 for Europe.
If it does show what it purports to, it suggests we’re likely to see a naked version of the soon-to-be-launch parallel-twin R3 over here, almost certainly branded as a new addition to the MT range. It could be called the MT-03, or Yamaha may want to distinguish it from the 660cc single-cylinder model of the same name by calling it the MT-32 or MT-320.
Yamaha already makes the MT-125 using the same platform as the YZF-R125. Extending the strategy to the R3 would give the firm a perfect competitor for Kawasaki’s new Z300, which is a naked version of the fully-faired Ninja 300.
The picture, from Iwanbanaran.com, supposedly shows the naked version of the Indonesian-built 249cc R25 undergoing tests on the road.
Another site, Motoblast.org, has done a mock-up of how it expects the bike to look.
It’s reportedly codenamed B04, but expected to be named the MT-25 when it’s launched later this year.
Visordown is due to ride the new R3 at the European press launch on April 13.
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