Autoportal India

Yamaha Motor India recently released a new brand commercial where it subtly teased the YZR-R7 and the MT-09 SP, hinting at a possible launch in the country. The teaser comes almost three months after the company had talked about the possibility of bringing the R7 and the MT-07 to India in small batches.

The commercial essentially displayed Yamaha’s entire lineup. Interestingly, the two aforementioned motorcycles had Tamil-Nadu registered licenses upfront. The company will likely debut the two motorcycles during the festive season this year. Considering that the new OBD-2 regulations will come into effect from April 2023, Yamaha will likely push for a launch this year since they do not comply with the new norms yet.

The motorcycles are expected to come as Completely Built Units (CBI), which would make them slightly pricey. We expect the R7 to cost around Rs 11 lakh and the MT-09 to come in at around Rs 12.3 lakh (ex-showroom). To put things into perspective, the R7’s competitor, the Kawasaki Ninja 650 comes in at around Rs 6.88 lakh (ex-showroom). Meanwhile, the MT-09’s major rival, the Triumph Street Triple RS comes in at Rs 11.35 lakh (ex-showroom).

Hence, while the brand is most likely to finally enter the big bike segment, it may not cater to a lot of people due to its price