Yamaha R3, MT-03 Not BS6.2 Compatible But Still Good For Sale In India

Yamaha bringing back the R3 and also adding its naked sibling to its portfolio was met with a big dejection. Obviously, it didn’t have much to do with what the bikes are but rather the bigger concern was their price tags. At Rs 4.65 lakh and Rs 4.60 lakh for the sport bike and naked, Yamaha has already limited its clientele. But it doesn’t matter much, at least to Yamaha India currently.

As of now, the two 300 cc motorcycles are hailing from Indonesia, where Yamaha has a prominent facility. And unlike previously when the R3 was being sold as a CKD product, both bikes are now arriving as CBUs. Hence, the steep asking price was definitely going to be in play, even though we thought it would be a bit more salvageable.

Also Read: Yamaha R3 And MT-03 Track Ride Review: Why Yamaha?

Indonesia isn’t currently playing up to India’s BS6.2 emission norms. So, you will not find the R3 or the MT-03 with an OBD-2 port and the 321 cc engine that the two employ is not ready for E20 fuel. But Yamaha is able to get away with it because these are CBU products, which are sort of exempt from adhering to India’s vehicle homologation laws.

But there’s a catch. Only 2,500 units of a CBU product can be sold annually. So, 2,500 R3s and 2,500 MT-03s would ideally be allowed to sell in 2024. And Yamaha has already made it a bit easier for themselves by keeping the asking price so high that we don’t quite think all of these allocated units will eventually end up on our roads.

So, until and unless Yamaha gets serious about India and its big bike potential, we will have to make do with extremely competent motorcycles with ridiculously high asking prices. This might not bode well for the bigger 700s and 900s that Yamaha plans to get to our country. However, it might not be as soon as you would think. Stay tune to know when you can expect the larger Yammies on sale in India.