Yamaha India has confirmed that the launch of new 2019 MT15 will take place on 15th March. The venue for launch event is Buddh International Circuit. Ahead of the actual launch, first undisguised photos of India-spec 2019 Yamaha MT15 have leaked onto the internet. The bike was first spotted back in January this year. But that was a camouflaged test mule.
The new images clearly reveal the differences between MT15 for India, and the one on sale in the international market. To keep costs low, Yamaha India has stripped off some features. This is the same route they took for R15 V3, on which the MT15 is based. Below are the photos of MT15 in Matte Blue for India. This is also the communication colour of the bike in India, it was also seen in the ‘Dark Side of Japan’ TVC.
To enlist the changes seen on India-spec MT15, it does not feature USD in the front, fuel tank is less contoured and features a large Yamaha logo, dual tone colour option is missing, alloys are different, tyres are from MRF, etc. What looks similar, is the headlight, seats, instrument cluster. In spite of missing out on features, the MT15 does look inspired by the bigger bikes of MT family.
Powering the 2019 Yamaha MT15 in India will be the same 155 cc single cylinder engine which does duty on the R15 V3. This engine delivers max power of 19.3 PS and peak torque of 15 Nm. These are top notch figures for a motorcycle in the 150 cc segment on sale in India. Acceleration is expected to be better than the R15 V3, thanks to lighter kerb weight.
In spite of losing features in India, R15 V3 is one of the best selling Yamaha motorcycles in India, in spite of being the costliest in the segment. Yamaha could be expecting a similar performance from the MT15 as well. The bike has already been showcased to dealers in India. Bookings are open.
Braking will be carried out by a single 282 mm disc in the front and a 220 mm single disc at the rear. It is not clear if the MT15 will get single channel ABS or dual channel ABS. Yamaha R15 V3 comes with a dual channel ABS, and is priced at Rs 1.39 lakh, ex-sh. To keep cost low, MT15 could get a single channel ABS. Single channel ABS could be competitively priced from Rs 1.15 lakhs, while dual channel could cost Rs 1.2 lakhs.
