New Yamaha YZF-R1 to be launched in 2010

Yamaha, Japanese auto manufacturer, is planning to launch a new version of Yamaha YZF-R1 in India by 2010. Pankaj Dubey, India Yamaha Motor National Business Head, announced that the new Yamaha YZF-R1 will be more expensive than the current version of Yamaha YZF-R1. He added that the new machine from Yamaha will be powered by a 998cc mill. The upcoming model boasts of a liquid-cooled inline four cylinder engine as against the Yamaha YZF-R1 2007 model which sports a liquid cooled four-stroke mill. For the first time in biking world, Yamaha has installed a cross-plane crankshaft in the machine. India Yamaha intends to grab the 50 per cent market share in two-wheeler segment. It also aims to touch sales mark of 2,20,000 units annually. India Yamaha launched the super bike, Yamaha YZF-R1, in 2007. During this period, the company introduced Yamaha MT-01 in India. Yamaha VMAX was added in the portfolio of Yamaha bikes in India in 2009 only. This 1679cc machine is priced at Rs 20 lakh in India. Meanwhile, Honda launched Honda CB Twister and TVS introduced TVS Jive in India, recently.