Early this month, we had a close look at the production ready Yamaha MT-15, the naked variant of the YZF-R15 that was spotted at a fuel station in Indonesia. While the MT-15, tagged as the M-Slaz for certain markets inches closer to its official launch, it’s been spotted yet again, sans camouflage, at a promotional event in Thailand. The M-Slaz will share certain components such as the Deltabox frame, 149.8cc liquid cooled engine, tail unit and exhaust among others with its fully faired sibling, the YZF-R15.
That being said, the new M-Slaz will also carry its own list of new and premium features such as a beefy upside down suspension upfront and an all new fully digital instrument panel. In terms of overall design, this motorcycle will be more than just an YZF-R15 without the fairing. The front will don a newly designed low-slung headlight that will be placed between the beefy, golden colour painted USD forks.
A Yamaha FZ style flat handlebar will perform the steering duties while a new instrument cluster, which was recently unveiled through a promotional video, will display all the required information. The instrument cluster will be a completely digital and compact unit holding all the meters and tell-tale indicators.
The tachometer, redlined at 10,500, occupies the left to central part of the instrument panel while the odometer and trip meter are positioned at the bottom left portion. The right part of the digital cluster displays speedometer, digital clock and fuel gauge. Tell tale indicators occupy the space above the digital display, with the cluster comprising lights for high oil temperature, neutral indicator, high-beam indicator, engine warning light and turn indicators.
Rumours were doing the rounds that the MT-15/M-Slaz may come with a keyless ignition and while we had an close look at the instrument panel, we really could not spot the key slot. So are we looking at the first motorcycle in the segment with the feature? We really hope so.
The fuel tank, especially because of its extended shrouds, does remind one of the KTM 200/390 Duke. But the black plastic cladding around its fuel filler cap and a contrasting colour tone that runs from the centre of the fuel tank sets the M-Slaz apart from its Austrian rival. The top part of the side panel is an extended piece of the fuel tank. The split step-up seat is quite different from the one on the YZF-R15. However, similar to its fully faired sibling, the M-Slaz also misses out on rear panel mounted pillion grab bar and comes with a pillion seat integrated strap.
Rear of the motorcycle is occupied by a neatly designed and compact LED tail light while numberplate illumination and blinker lights are conventional bulb units. The extended tail unit on the motorcycle is identical to that of the YZF-R15.
Mechanicals are likely to remain similar to the Yamaha YZF-R15 and the M-Slaz is expected to be powered by the same 149.8cc, SOHC, 4 Valve engine capable of delivering 17PS of power and 15Nm of torque. The engine will come mated to a six-speed gearbox.
Sharing the stage with the stock M-Slaz was a souped up version of the roadster that was equipped with optional accessories such as adjustable brake and clutch levers with crash guard. engine crash guards, shorter tail and a Yoshimura exhaust system. The details on the modded version, however, aren’t readily available.
According to the new teaser video, the motorcycle will be unveiled at the 32nd Thailand International Motor Show 2015, on December 1. While we wait for more inputs from the event, here is the official teaser video and some more images of the upcoming M-Slaz, along with the souped up version. Do share your views about the motorcycle with us through the comments section.
Spy Images Courtesy: MZ Crazy Cars
Awesome.. I still ride my 2008 R15 on weekends .. it runs like a dream on the ghats, handling better than most of the bikes
Will definitely buy this one too blindly trusting Yamaha's quality.