Yamaha Motors India has launched the much awaited MT-15 motorcycle in India today. The pricing for the bike starts at Rs. 1.36 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. Dubbed as The Dark Warrior by Yamaha in one of its TVCs, the MT-15 is a streetfighter version of the popular R15 motorcycle sold in India. The bookings for the MT-15 have been going on since more than a month now and the test rides are expected to start soon. The Yamaha MT-15 faces competition in the form of the Bajaj Pulsar NS200 ABS (1.12 lakh), KTM 125 Duke (1.18 lakh) and the TVS Apache 4V ABS(1.07 lakh) among others in the naked affordable performance segment.
Talking of performance, the Yamaha MT-15 is powered by the same 155 cc, single cylinder liquid cooled engine that is found on the Yamaha R15. This is one of the best motors around and pumps out a healthy 19.2 Bhp of power along with 15 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox along with a slipper clutch. The fuel efficiency of the bike is decent at 45km/l. However, the bike has been only equipped with a single channel ABS, which is a let down since the R15 comes equipped with a dual-channel unit and is priced at Rs. 1.39 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The Yamaha MT15 runs on 17” 10 spoke alloy wheels fitted with 110/70 section tyre in the front and 140/70 section tyre at the rear. As for the body dimensions, the bike measures 2,020 mm in length, 800mm in width, 1,070 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 1,335 mm. It has a gross weight of 138 kgs while ground clearance is pegged at 160mm.
The MT-15 launched here sports some changes when compared to the international version. The bike misses out on front USD forks and aluminium swingarm in order to be priced competitively in India. It runs on MRF tires which further hints towards the cost-cutting involved. As already mentioned, the MT-15 is the streetfighter version of the R15 and hence shares almost all of its mechanical bits with the popular fully faired bike. The MT-15 offers a most relaxed riding position that is suited for daily commuting. This has been achieved by replacing the clip-on handlebars with regular units while the position of footpegs has also been altered slightly. The overall rider’s triangle is more relaxed than the R15 which is a good thing for its target buyers.
Among the most striking visual features of the MT-15 is its unique front cowling which seems to be inspired by a Samurai helmet. The rear end of the bike sports a slightly chopped off design which adds to its aggressive streetfighter look. It gets a fully digital instrument cluster, a 282 mm disc up front and a 200 mm disc at the rear.
The bike is available in blue and black paint shades. Buyers have been showing great interest in the bike every since the news of the bike being launched in India came out. It will be interesting to see how the MT-15 fares against its competition, especially when it is priced at a premium compared to them.
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