Yamaha joined the 250-350cc market for entry-level sport bikes with the YZF-R3. It took a bit for Yamaha to join this fray, but in a timely manner its naked 321cc MT/FZ counterpart is confirmed to be coming soon. As a matter of fact, the launch video of the bike was just leaked by a British motorcycle magazine.
2016 Yamaha MT-03
The pervious Mt-03 was originally the name for Yamaha’s 659cc single cylinder based on the XT660’s engine. After more recent tweaking of nomenclature for clarity’s sake, the MT-03 or MT-320 now shares the same 321cc liquid-cooled twin cylinder as the YZF-R3, but in the naked roadster package of the MT/FZ line of bikes. It’s a larger displacement version of the Asian market MT-25, which uses their 249cc twin; it too has a sport bike version in the form of the YZF-R25. Both the MT-03 and MT-25 are rungs on Yamaha’s ladder of displacement, in between the 125cc MT-125 and the 689cc MT-07. To quickly catch up with the competition, Yamaha’s 300+cc entry sits comfortably alongside other manufacturers’ small street fighter iterations, Honda’s CB300F, KTM’s Duke 390, Kawasaki’s Z300, and even Benelli’s BN302.
2016 Yamaha MT-03 dash
At first look… Both the MT-03 and MT-25 are built in Indonesia, and are practically the same bike with a bore difference. They, along with their sport bike YZF-R counterparts, share many of the same specifications from brakes and suspension, to tire size.
YAMAHA 2015 YZF-R3 SPORT WINDSCREEN 1WDF61C0V000
The 321cc parallel twin the MT-03 shares with the YZF-R3, nestled within its diamond steel frame, claims an output of 41hp at 10,750rpm and maximum torque of 22lb-ft at 9000rpm. Powerplant mates to a constant mesh 6-speed gearbox with a wet multiplate clutch. Ubiquitous tubeless tire size spanning this segment of Yamaha’s new lineup comes at 110/70-17 in the front and 140/70-17 in the rear.
Braking is done with a two-piston calliper and hydraulic 298mm floating disc up front. The back gets a single-piston hydraulic 220mm disc. The MT-03’s seat height remains the same as the YZF-R3, at an accessible 780mm or 30.7in. Riding position is made more upright, due to wider handlebars instead of the R3’s cip-ons. Telescopic front forks and a rear swingarm with a monoshock take care of the ride itself.
Both motorcycles also have identical wheelbases at 1380mm or 54.3in and overall lengths of 2090mm or 82.3in. Ground clearance is also the same at 160mm or 6.3in. The MT-03 is a tad wider at 29.3in, than the YZF-R3 by an inch. The YZF-R3’s overall height is taller at 44.7in, by a whole 4 inches. The MT-03 is a bit lighter at a curb weight of 363.8lbs or 165kg as opposed to the R3’s 372.6lbs or 169kg.
2016 Yamaha MT-03
There was confusion as to whether the YZF-R3 did or did not come with ABS, but this has been sorted. The R3 has ABS and the MT-03 most probably will have ABS as standard—in order to comply with European 2016 standards for bikes bigger than 125cc.
