Yamaha launching the Ray Scooter in the Indian market

Yamaha-Ray Wait For You

     Yamaha India has rocked the Auto Expo 2012 with the launch two special edition bikes, unveiled all-new global scooter and displayed 2012 model of Yamaha YZF-R1. Yamaha Xeon 125, Mio and Fino scooters were also on display. The company is planning to increase its production capacity in the country from the current 6.5 lakh units to 10 lakh units by 2013. Yamaha, which already has two plants in India, is also planning to come up with a third plant. Yamaha kept its promise by unveiling all-new global scooter 'Ray' at the auto show, it was unleashed by none other than John Abraham. The shade on display was striking purple in combination with jet black. The gearless scooter is aimed squarely at girls and the production version of the Ray Concept will be developed in coming months and it will be on-sale by September 2012. Yamah also launched two special edition bikes, one is Yamaha R15 Limited Edition Fiery Red and second is Yamaha R15 50th Anniversary Red & White.

    

   Yamaha R15 Limited Edition Fiery Red has been painted in a striking red shade with flame decals on both sides. Yamaha R15 50th Anniversary Red & White is inspired from the anniversary editions of Yamaha YZF-R1, R6 and R125 and looks awesome in red and white. The As per the company both the bikes are very exclusive and only 4000 units will be manufactured. Yamaha R15 50th Anniversay is priced at Rs. 1.11 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) and the Fiery Red Limited Edition R15 is priced at Rs. 1.10 lakhs (ex-showroom New Delhi), which is around Rs. 3000-3500 costly than the regular Yamaha R15 Version 2.0. Other bikes on display were Yamaha R15 Version 2.0, FZ16, FZS, Fazer, YZF R1, FZ1 and other regular models from Yamaha India's Stable.

    Yamaha will be launching the Ray Scooter in the Indian market on the 14th of September, 2012. The company has already started bookings of the Yamaha Ray, which can be done for Rs. 5000/- at Yamaha dealers across the country. Deliveries will start in the second week of October. This is Yamaha’s first foray into the lucrative scooter market in India. Internationally Yamaha has a good line-up of scooters on sale. If the Yamaha Ray does good numbers, the Japanese automaker could bring in more scooters to India, thereby challenging Honda for market share eventually.

When Yamaha unveiled the Ray Scooter at the 2012 Auto Expo, the company did not reveal any specifications about the product. There were abundant guesses about the cubic capacity of the Ray. Since the Ray is a Yamaha product, most people thought it would be powered by a 125cc engine. However Yamaha has gone with a 113cc, single-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled SOHC engine. This engine will produce around 8 BHP of peak power at 8000 RPM and around 8.62 Nm of peak torque at 7000 RPM (torque figures are not confirmed). The company claims a mileage of 45 km/l.

The Yamaha Ray scooter will feature telescopic front suspension and a good amount of under seat storage. It weighs around 105 kgs and is being positioned towards female riders. The on-road price in Pune would be Rs. 51,000/-, while the on-road Mumbai price would be Rs. 56,500/-. Yamaha will be producing the Ray at its Surajpur facility. The company plans to export the SZ and FZ-series motorcycles to South America and Africa in the future. The motorcycle major is also working hard to increase localization on its products, which would ensure more aggressive pricing of future bikes.

Yamaha R 15 series

    Yamaha R15 was the first model for the Indian market designed in the true supersport image and featuring a high-level balance of enjoyable running performance on winding roads. Now, Yamaha India has launched 2011 model of Yamaha R15, which is priced at Rs. 1.07 lakhs (ex-showroom New Delhi). The company is promoting it as 'R15 Version 2.0', which resembles to R1, to some extent. Previously, it was expected to be launched in April, then in July, finally New Yamaha R15 version 2.0 is here, it is one of the most awaited bikes of 2011. But the sad part is that New R15 Version 2.0's specifications are exactly the same in comparison to R15 Version 1.0 except the kerb weight which is now 136 kgs. The engine displacement, maximum power and maximum torque figures are same. Yamaha fans would be feeling very disappointed with this because they were waiting for R15 Version 2.0 from 10-12 months and it was expected that power will be increased from 16.8 bhp to 20-22 bhp and torque from 15 nm to 18-19 nm but Yamaha India has kept all the technical specifications intact.

      According to Yamaha India while maintaining the proven ease of handling of the R15 version 1.0, the R15 version 2.0 boasts of spruced up looks and better performance in circuit riding. The design elements are borrowed from the supersport model YZF-R1 that is adapted from YZR-M1 MotoGP race machine. The R15 version 2.0 has undergone changes as compared to the present YZF-R15 in the specs of the Engine Control unit (ECU), drivetrain unit, a long aluminum swing arm, wider front and rear tires (radial tire for the rear), split seat, LED taillights and new-design middle cowl & tail cowl. On sales target, Mr Roy Kurian, National Business Head, said: “We aim to sell 5.3 lakh bikes by this fiscal. For YZF-R15, our target is 3,000 bikes per month.”