The 14.3 litre fuel tank has also been redesigned, and now it rises up like a dome from the front of the seat. Although it appears very ergonomically contoured, with ample knee recess to hug the tank, there’s just something about it that makes us wish Yamaha had stuck with the fuel tank from the prototype.
If you’re riding the Yamaha R25 in India, that rear end is going to be the view that most road goers will be seeing of your ride. The LED tail lamp is beautiful and minimalist and complements the pillion seat very well. But practicality be damned, we wish that the rear mudguard and number plate holder be shorter though. The flashy Akrapovic titanium end can has been replaced by a more conventional stubby exhaust, mounted as close to the engine as possible for better weight centralization. It is more subdued and sober, but if you prefer some more visual and aural oomph, Akrapovic has you covered.
I know swingarms aren’t a design element and are meant to be functional but Yamaha again designs the best looking swingarms, and the R25 is right up there with the best.
110/70 and 140/70 tyres upfront and rear respectively, mounted on gorgeous five-spoked spiderweb alloys round up the supersports look. Yamaha also does livery exceedingly well. All the three colour options, Racing Blue, Black Predator, and Diablo Red, on offer in Indonesia right now look gorgeous. Of course, the Racing Blue factory colour has that certain appeal to it.
Yamaha Motor Indonesia has commenced bookings for the R25, with a sticker price of 53 million Indonesian Rupiah. No, that’s not a typo, it’s just how devalued their currency is. In India, that translates into roughly INR 2.7 lakh, which is a reasonable price for such a stellar package.
Yamaha Motor India hasn’t announced an launch date for the YZF-R25 but we believe it will be here sometime late this year or early next year.
When it is launched here, the closest competition to the Yamaha R25 in terms of performance and dynamics will come from the Kawasaki Ninja 300. Price-wise, we believe it will be fielding off the Honda CBR 250R (the 2014 version is coming later this year), the KTM Duke twins, and the yet-to-be-launched Pulsar 400SS. Take every price speculation you read online about the R25 with a pinch of salt, because no one absolutely has any clue right now of how Yamaha is going to price it. For all we know, it could very well be priced below 2 lakhs, or it could even nudge the 4 lakh mark if they decide to go the CKD route, no matter how unlikely that is.
The Kawasaki Ninja 250 Mono with its 250cc single-cylinder engine produces 28PS and 22.6Nm, while the bigger Ninja 300 (INR 3.62 lakh, ex-Mumbai) produces 39 PS of peak power and 27Nm of torque. The KTM 200 Duke (INR 1.38 lakh, ex-Mumbai) makes 25PS and 19Nm, while the 390 Duke (INR 1.91 lakh, ex-Mumbai) produces 44PS and 35Nm of power and torque respectively. Bajaj is also planning to launch the fully-faired Pulsar 400SS later this year and we expect them to break the price barrier again as they’ve done many times earlier.
The Honda CBR 250R (1.56 lakh to 1.92 lakh, ex-Mumbai) produces 26PS and 22.55Nm from its single cylinder engine, making it a distant competitor to the R25. It is also more of a sports-tourer in the lines of Honda’s VFR range than the super sports category that it shares its name with.
Then there’s the upcoming Hero MotoCorp HX250R that reportedly is good for a whooping 31PS. That is quite a lot of power from a single cylinder engine, and should ruffle a few feathers if it makes it into production soon. Triumph’s entry-level Daytona has also been spotted testing in India, so the market is quite ripe for a quarter litre showdown.
Images courtesy: iwanbanaran.com
yamaha makes the best looking swingarms…???
then what about the swingarm of KTM D200..?? :
Power and torque figures are interchanged