The 2011 Bike Launch speculation Thread

[bilalans]

Agree. Apart from the "new" R15, I'm also waiting to see the faired GT250R in all its glory, regardless of whether it comes in 2012 beginning or ending.
Twin discs upfront, 150 section tyre, USD forks, vacuum fluorescent display, all features unheard of on 250s-this bike is one people will lap up!

me too waiting for the same .. i heard that it will be a look alike as GT650R so I m very curious to see the end result live...

[chicane1879]

Agree. Apart from the "new" R15, I'm also waiting to see the faired GT250R in all its glory, regardless of whether it comes in 2012 beginning or ending.
Twin discs upfront, 150 section tyre, USD forks, vacuum fluorescent display, all features unheard of on 250s-this bike is one people will lap up!

Pricing will be the keypoint there otherwise the CBR with it's brand 'tag' will have the upper hand despite being sparsely equipped in comparison!!

[stefanm]

Spanner in the works?

As we all know there's nothing concrete with regards to a 'new' Yamaha R15, other than a few so called 'spy' pics, so far all we know is that there is cosmetic changes, we see blog after blog, harping on about an increase in power, they all have the same figure set at 22PS, now if we use google etc the original launch was expected at 21 or 22PS and the result was 17PS, big disappointment, but still sales were and still are pretty good. Today I had gone to the SVC for some minor issue, I asked the mechanic working on my bike, quite casualy about the face lifted version, he told me it will be launched in September, I asked if the engine is the same, he told same 100%!

Now for those who are eagerly expecting a straight competitor for the CBR in terms of output and/or CC, most likely you will be disappointed, the cosmetic changed will be there for sure. If you think about it the R15 is around 1/3 less in cost than a CBR, it's the best in it's class, why would Yamaha change it too much and increase the price to suit enthusiasts at the expense of sales, being in a good niche is a good thing, progression is slow especially in India. The other aspect is also, the Ninja 250cc has been best in it's class for a seriously long time, other bikes in this class are the CBR 250cc and the Hyosung 250cc, all have been launched globally before their launch in India, Kawasaki has hardly made any major changes since day one. Let's face the facts our country is hardly a testing ground for established motorcycle manufacturers, so don't expect too much!

With all that said, the Mojo seems like a good bet, well maybe if it wasn't so fugly/weird looking! specs look good though!?!

[Sarvajit]

Pricing will be the keypoint there otherwise the CBR with it's brand 'tag' will have the upper hand despite being sparsely equipped in comparison!!

Yes-I expect it to be priced between the CBR&Ninja.
The statement by Diya Garware saying the pricing will have to be up there with the best, so we can expect it to be pretty competitive.
My guess-2L OTR.

As we all know there's nothing concrete with regards to a 'new' Yamaha R15, other than a few so called 'spy' pics, so far all we know is that there is cosmetic changes, we see blog after blog, harping on about an increase in power, they all have the same figure set at 22PS, now if we use google etc the original launch was expected at 21 or 22PS and the result was 17PS, big disappointment, but still sales were and still are pretty good. Today I had gone to the SVC for some minor issue, I asked the mechanic working on my bike, quite casualy about the face lifted version, he told me it will be launched in September, I asked if the engine is the same, he told same 100%!

Now for those who are eagerly expecting a straight competitor for the CBR in terms of output and/or CC, most likely you will be disappointed, the cosmetic changed will be there for sure. If you think about it the R15 is around 1/3 less in cost than a CBR, it's the best in it's class, why would Yamaha change it too much and increase the price to suit enthusiasts at the expense of sales, being in a good niche is a good thing, progression is slow especially in India. The other aspect is also, the Ninja 250cc has been best in it's class for a seriously long time, other bikes in this class are the CBR 250cc and the Hyosung 250cc, all have been launched globally before their launch in India, Kawasaki has hardly made any major changes since day one. Let's face the facts our country is hardly a testing ground for established motorcycle manufacturers, so don't expect too much!

With all that said, the Mojo seems like a good bet, well maybe if it wasn't so fugly/weird looking! specs look good though!?!

I agree with this-the engine&chassis being way ahead of its time, the major change should be cosmetic&any added power should only be to compensate the extra weight.
I expect a change like RTR was to the A150-1 or 2 bhp extra but no cc increase.
If there is a cc increase, then they can push the power too, but we are again speculating!

[hss]

Pricing will be the keypoint there otherwise the CBR with it's brand 'tag' will have the upper hand despite being sparsely equipped in comparison!!

Given the features of GT250R, its price of 2L OTR should be a good price...Anything more and it will go out of a lot of people's budget just like Ninja.

..and 150 rear tyre !!!! I didn't know that. That's a real fat tyre..

[xionite]

the N250R sells for 3.3 lac in the UK.

and the GT250R is priced at 2.75 lac there.

so unless Garware plan on selling the GT250R at a 30% discount...

a price-tag of 2 lac is impossible.
(impossible for the GT250 too)

[MACH50]

a price-tag of 2 lac is impossible.
(impossible for the GT250 too)

Possible, if every non critical component is sourced from the local manufacturers of our great country.

Other than the engine,transmission,fueling system and chassis........every other component of the bike can fit to the local bill.

[RAK]

As we all know there's nothing concrete with regards to a 'new' Yamaha R15, other than a few so called 'spy' pics, so far all we know is that there is cosmetic changes, we see blog after blog, harping on about an increase in power, they all have the same figure set at 22PS, now if we use google etc the original launch was expected at 21 or 22PS and the result was 17PS, big disappointment, but still sales were and still are pretty good. Today I had gone to the SVC for some minor issue, I asked the mechanic working on my bike, quite casualy about the face lifted version, he told me it will be launched in September, I asked if the engine is the same, he told same 100%!

Now for those who are eagerly expecting a straight competitor for the CBR in terms of output and/or CC, most likely you will be disappointed, the cosmetic changed will be there for sure. If you think about it the R15 is around 1/3 less in cost than a CBR, it's the best in it's class, why would Yamaha change it too much and increase the price to suit enthusiasts at the expense of sales, being in a good niche is a good thing, progression is slow especially in India. The other aspect is also, the Ninja 250cc has been best in it's class for a seriously long time, other bikes in this class are the CBR 250cc and the Hyosung 250cc, all have been launched globally before their launch in India, Kawasaki has hardly made any major changes since day one. Let's face the facts our country is hardly a testing ground for established motorcycle manufacturers, so don't expect too much!

With all that said, the Mojo seems like a good bet, well maybe if it wasn't so fugly/weird looking! specs look good though!?!

Yes this might be a cosmetic change.....but the Yamaha SVC guy told me that they are going for training next month for the new R15. But one question I still find difficult to answer is that, why would the company spend on trainings if it was a cosmetic change and not a major change?

[stefanm]

Yes this might be a cosmetic change.....but the Yamaha SVC guy told me that they are going for training next month for the new R15. But one question I still find difficult to answer is that, why would the company spend on trainings if it was a cosmetic change and not a major change?

It's all speculation at this point, maybe the training is a refresher for the mechs or Yamaha are really pulling a rabbit out of a hat, don't hold your breath, if you expect too much you will most certainly be dissapointed, if you only expect cosmetic changes, you may be pleasantly suprised, I don't expect too much as the bike will probably be priced similar to the current model.

[xionite]

if every non critical component is sourced from the local manufacturers of our great country.

Other than the engine,transmission,fueling system and chassis........every other component of the bike can fit to the local bill.

so u agree... it's impossible.

do you seriously think Garware can pull that off with the GT250R?

realistically?

[Sarvajit]

Yes this might be a cosmetic change.....but the Yamaha SVC guy told me that they are going for training next month for the new R15. But one question I still find difficult to answer is that, why would the company spend on trainings if it was a cosmetic change and not a major change?

Training is given every now&then-last month my mech. was sent to Bangalore for R15 engine opening&fixing training.
I felt there could be a power bump as the silencer looks different.
But then again, it could just be a small tuning change to compensate for the extra weight.

It's all speculation at this point, maybe the training is a refresher for the mechs or Yamaha are really pulling a rabbit out of a hat, don't hold your breath, if you expect too much you will most certainly be dissapointed, if you only expect cosmetic changes, you may be pleasantly suprised, I don't expect too much as the bike will probably be priced similar to the current model.

Same here-I feel they have worked on the rear portion&maybe tuned up the bike a bit to improve low end torque.
The bike in its present avatar is selling well, regardless of these.

My personal opinion is:
1. If they are bumping the power to 22ps&hoping they can sell better than the CBR, with a 30-40K price difference, that will not click with the small size as per the pictures.

2. Money spent on redesigning the engine etc., testing (which they have been doing since ages) stands a chance of not getting recovered as there will be more&bigger 250s coming.

3. Existing model buyers will also look elsewhere if they are shelling out more for a less displacement bike.

4. They are supposedly launching the FZ250, which being a single cylinder bike will not be that powerful. IF the new R15 is 22ps, will that not cannibalize the new 250's sales?

5. Segments of R15&Fazer/FZ buyers are different.

Going by these logical calculations, I feel they would have just put a fatter tyre, split seats, LED tail lamp etc.&tuned up the bike a bit with the existing ECU itself so that no major expense on engine/chassis remodeling is incurred&existing sales are boosted!

But inspite of all this, Yamaha could prove all of us wrong as it has done 3 years back!

For my part, I have decided:
1. If the new R15 parts (including ECU etc.) are swappable onto the present one as a direct fit, I will consider.

2. I will not sell my present R15 regardless of whether the changes are backward compatible or not.

3. My next 250cc bike will be a twin cylinder, mostly Hyosung 250.

Cheers!

[nagoo]

face it no comp will bring product every year .. and a new product means lot of things rather just planning and executing .. it need lot of processes ..from proposal to share holders approval to planning, design , TD ,to production ...

this R15 is just a facelift .. it may or may not contain extra power .. but still its gonna be good seller ..

and me too just waiting for GT250R .. there is nothing exciting about single cylinders anymore after riding R15

[hss]

FZ250 was supposed to come this year.

No spy pics of this bike anywhere so far...

[bprags]

In which month is the Auto expo going to be held next year?

[nagoo]

In which month is the Auto expo going to be held next year?

its always Jan ... everytime , so no need to wait for long