Weekly News Wrap-up: India-spec Yamaha MT-15 Spotted, Bajaj Avenger 160 To Launch Soon, KTM 250 Duke ABS Launched & Much More

Four new bike launches and a spy image of an upcoming adventure tourer -- here’s how the week panned out

Yamaha seems to be upping its game, with two new launches under its belt for 2019 and a third following suit this month. On the other hand, Bajaj has plans of expanding its horizon by introducing a new entry-level cruiser. All this while bikemakers like KTM and Royal Enfield update their bike lineup with equipment that’ll comply with the new government safety regulations. A whole lot has happened, but we’ve listed down our top five picks of two-wheeler news stories that transpired during this week. 

Yamaha:

Post the launch of the all-new FZ-Fi and the 2019 MT-09, Yamaha has plans of introducing a third bike, the MT-15, for its India lineup. While the India-spec bike has been spotted testing on a couple of occasions, we had never seen the bike sans camouflage. The picture that was shared online showcases the MT-15 in its true colours and gives us a clearer picture of just how much has changed compared to the Indonesian-spec version. For India, the Yamaha MT-15 does away with upside-down forks, its aluminium swingarm and much more in order to cut costs. Here’s everything you need to know. 

Bajaj:

With a view to expand its reach in the cruiser segment, Bajaj is reportedly working on a small-displacement Avenger Street. In essence, the said bike will share the same engine as the Pulsar NS160 which features a four-valve head. Why’s this important? It’s because the bikemaker may find it easier to rework the modern 160cc engine to help it comply with BS-VI emission norms rather than working on the old twin-spark 180cc motor. More details on the Avenger 160 Street here.

KTM:

KTM along with other manufacturers are working towards equipping their bikes with ABS in order to comply with the recent government safety regulations. The most recent bike to feature ABS in KTM’s lineup is the 250 Duke. It carries a premium of Rs 13,400 over the non-ABS version. Click here for more details. 

Royal Enfield:

With the launch of the standard Classic 350 ABS, the entire Classic 350 range now gets the safety net of dual-channel ABS. But safety comes at a cost, and the additional equipment does push the price of the standard Classic 350 up by around Rs 6,000. Pricing details available here. 

CFMoto:

A relatively unknown brand, CFMoto has plans of entering the booming India two-wheeler market. The company’s street naked bike (250NK) was spotted testing a couple of days ago, and now we’ve spotted CFMoto’s adventure-tourer doing its test rounds in the country. Christened the 650MT, it’s a road-biased ADV that will go up against the likes of the Benelli TRK 502 and the Kawasaki Versys 650. Powering the bike is a 649.3cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin motor which belts out 70PS of power at 8,750rpm and 62Nm of torque at 7000rpm. It comes mated to a 6-speed transmission. It’s expected to enter India via the CKD route with a competitive price tag. Head here for more details.