2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 Archives

Yamaha Tenere 300 To Be Introduced Soon? If there is enough demand

Yamaha already has two models powered by the 300cc engine – the YZF-R3 and the MT-03.
Yamaha Italy has said that if there is enough demand, it will produce an adventure variant powered by the same 300cc engine.
The Yamaha Tenere 300 is likely to be produced but unlikely to be introduced in Malaysia.

Downsizing and efficiency among motorcycle makers is all the rage these days – after decades of upsizing in terms of weight and engine displacement.

Perhaps it is safe to say that KTM was the one that started this with the 200, 250 and 390. But there is news that Yamaha is about to jump on the bandwagon with a new Tenere 300.

This makes sense considering that the Tenere itself has proven to be such a capable bike, and the Asian region is booming in terms of motorcycle sales and has been longing for capable bikes with smaller capacity.

How did this news about a Tenere 300 come about though? Apparently an Italian motorcycle publication called Motociclismo had interviewed the Product Communications Manager for Yamaha Italy, Fabrizio Corsi, during the Yamaha MT-03 test ride.

The journalist involved in the test ride had asked about the possibility of Yamaha coming up with a Tenere 300 and Corsi pointed out that the BMW G310GS and KTM 390 Adventure has received a lot of attention.

And if there is enough demand for a small capacity Yamaha adventure bike, then yes, Yamaha will come up with something.

Though it all sound nice and interesting, especially considering that there are already two models utilising the 300cc engine – the YZF-R3 (above) and the MT-03 – an adventure variant will make a lot of sense.

And it is unlikely that Yamaha will give up on the chance to make life difficult for Kawasaki’s Versys-X 300 as well as BMW and KTM.

But before we get too excited, the chances of a Yamaha Tenere 300 making it to the Malaysian market are slim – simply because of the way our motorcycle licensing structure is set up.

The B2 license, which is what most motorcyclist have, limits the owner to 250cc bikes and below. To trade up to a full-B license will cost quite a bit of money for most people and is extremely time consuming.

Hence why most people tend to stick to small capacity bikes, and it is also why we have not yet seen the new Kawasaki Versys-X 300 even though it has been a few years since its global introduction.

So yes, the Yamaha Tenere 300 sounds like a lot of fun, but it is unlike to be offered here. At least not officially.

Fret not though, for hardcore fans of the Big Blue there is the Yamaha Tenere 250 – but that too is not offered officially by Yamaha Malaysia.

2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 Revealed

Yamaha has unveiled the 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3.
There should be word on the 2019 YZF-R25 for our market soon.
The new bike’s styling is directly inspired by the YZF-R1.

The 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 has been revealed and it looks like the wars in the category are going explode.

However, before we proceed any further, we received word there is a launch of the 2019 Yamaha YZF-R25 happening in Indonesia. But no matter, the R3 and R25 will share the basic bodywork, if not componentry.

It is apparent that the YZF-R3/R25 bears uncanny resemblance to its open-class YZF-R1 brother, apart from the dual LED headlights. The central “air intake” is non-functional. However, the windscreen is now much taller and larger.

From the side, the profile is now more aggressive and looks like a proper big-cc superbike. The tailsection terminates with a sharp edge and will definitely look good with a tail tidy kit.

The forks are now upside-down for better handling (and style). There is no news if other parts of the chassis have been updated likewise.

Moving upwards, the 2019 YZF-R3/R25 will receive a fully TFT display. The data displayed includes gear position. The handlebars remain as clip-ons.

No word yet on when we will receive the bike in Malaysia. Besides that, it will definitely be the 250cc instead of 321cc version. The 321cc engine produces 41 bhp and 29.6 Nm of torque. It will be interesting to see how the 2019 YZF-R25 goes up against the 38 bhp Kawasaki Ninja 250.

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