Yamaha finally confirmed the long-running rumours by unveiling an R25-based naked bike in Indonesia over the weekend.
Called the MT-25, the new naked bike fits perfectly into the existing MT lineup, which is known as the FZ lineup in North America (think FZ-09 and FZ-07), with an aggressive stance and minimal bodywork.
The MT-25 has the same motor that’s found in the R25, without any retuning trickery for optimal street performance. While sportbike-derived naked bikes often get tweaked to bias power delivery towards more low-end torque, the 250 cc parallel twin is already aimed at exactly the kind of day-to-day use the MT-25 will see.
The removal of the fairing didn’t result in much weight loss – the MT-25 weighs in at just under 165 kg, down only one kg from the R25. However, the upright bars should deliver a much different riding experience in urban traffic.
What we’re wondering now is this: Will we see a similar model in Canada? While Yamaha took a while to introduce the R3 in our market, we eventually did get an upsized version of the Asian-market R25 sportbike. Will they follow that pattern and introduce an FZ-03 to North America? There’s no official word yet.
[…] Yamaha unveiled their MT-25 naked bike overseas in the spring, we predicted it would only be a matter of time until they built a version […]
HaHaHa! I hear that. Although when i was younger i dreamed of Honda Interceptors, then that new thing came out, a GSXR750, it had radial tires, the tach started at 3000rpm because really, nothing happens below that anyway right? Funny, now i’m 45 that 250 looks like the fun I can handle as opposed to what I thought I could have on a bigger bike.
Why weren’t these available when I
wasn’t fatwas younger?