YAMAHA has filed for the trademark FZ-X pointing to the launch of a new, possibly lightweight adventure motorcycle from the manufacturer.
The FZ name may not be so well known in the UK, or FZS1000 Fazer, although in Asia the FZ name is still going strong. One such bike that is still helping Yamaha to shift big numbers is the FZ 25.
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It’s powered by a single-cylinder SOHC 249cc air-cooled engine. It’s a BS-VI compliant unit (a roundabout equivalent to Euro5) and produces around 21bhp. All fairly non-assuming stats, although take that same unit out of the naked FZ 25 and drop it into a lightweight adventure bike, and it’s a whole different story.
Just the fact that Yamaha has trademarked the name is some proof at least that the firm is considering the idea, or that the project is much farther along the road to completion. Whatever the answer, Yamaha’s designers in Asia will no doubt have seen the meteoric rise of the lightweight dual-sport machine and will not be wanting to be left behind.
Should this bike make it to market, it’s going to be heading straight into battle with a ready-made battalion of competitors. Bikes like the Royal Enfield Himalayan, KTM 390 Adventure, BMW G310 GS, and Kawasaki Versys X-300 have all been selling very well on the Asian continent already. To succeed in this already congested pool, the Yamaha is either going to have to undercut the others on price, outgun them on specs, or do both!
