After a long wait, Yamaha finally brought their naked entry level sports bike MT-15 to India a few months ago. Now there are photos doing rounds on the internet that show the naked bike in different shades at a dealership. The Japanese maker had launched the naked street version of the R15 in two shades initially, both the shades were matte finish. The blue and black matte finish of the MT-15 will now reportedly be joined by the glossy red, white, and blue shades. Although, the brand has not yet made the official announcement of the launch of the three new shades of the naked street bike. The new shades will sure bring more bling to the bike and they will also add to the street presence of the MT-15. The shades introduced initially were more subtle with their matte finish while the new gloss colours are bound to turn more heads on the roads. Not that the initial colour scheme of the bike was not interesting as MT-15 has been bringing in good numbers for the Japanese maker ever since it was launched in the market. The sales of the bike are averaging around 4000 units a month.
Launched at a price of Rs. 1.36 lakhs, ex-showroom, the naked MT-1 5 is only a few thousands cheaper than the fully faired R15. The introduction of new shades will likely not have any impact on the price of the bike as this is merely an aesthetic option.
Talking about the bike itself, the MT-15’s design is inspired from Japanese bike maker’s top naked offering MT-09. The entry level offering MT-15 shares a lot of mechanical parts from its fully faired sibling R15 this includes the engine as well. The main difference between the two bikes is the relaxed riding stance of MT-15 as compared to the more aggressive riding position of the Yamaha R15. This makes the MT-15 well suited for handling daily traffic in the cities and also gives it the edge of being a daily commuter as well as a performance bike at times.
As far as the specs of Yamaha MT-15 are concerned, the naked streetfighter comes equipped with a 155 cc engine, the same one found on R15. On the MT-15 as well the engine produces 19.2 Bhp of power and 15 Nm of torque. The liquid cooled mill of the bike is paired to a 6-speed gearbox which has slipper clutch as standard. The bike shares its Deltabox frame, wheels, suspension, engine, gearbox and instrument cluster with the R15 V3. Differences include the ergonomics, with the MT-15 getting a more relaxed riding position thanks to a single piece, high-set handlebar. However, the naked street bike does not come with a dual channel ABS as of now, or even the Pirelli tyres, while both are standard on the R15. Although the maker is running a promo of a free rider jacket on every purchase of the MT-15 across all of its dealerships in India.
