After Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India entered the retro-looking bike sub-segment with the CB350RS earlier this year, on Friday Yamaha India launched the FZ-X, a neo-retro motorcycle.
However, unlike the CB350RS that is priced at about Rs 2 lakh and has a big 348.36cc engine, the FZ-X is priced starting at Rs 1.16 lakh (it has a much smaller 149cc engine).
The engine of the FZ-X generates 12.4 PS of peak power at 7,250 rpm and 13.3 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. The exhaust note, Yamaha said, is extensively tuned to produce a powerful sound.
It is also equipped with Bluetooth-enabled Yamaha Motorcycle Connect (Y-Connect) app. Using this app, the company said the rider can check smartphone notifications on the instrument cluster, get to know maintenance recommendations, track the bike’s last parking location, track fuel consumption, receive malfunction notification, among other things. It also has a feature called the Revs Dashboard, which displays data such as engine rpm, degree of throttle opening, rate of acceleration, an eco-friendly riding indicator, etc, on the smartphone.
As far as design is concerned, the FZ-X gets a higher handlebar that is positioned closer to the rider, which, in sync with a relatively flat step-up seat and well-positioned foot-pegs, offers improved ergonomics, according to the company. Its ground clearance is 165 mm and it weighs 139 kg (with oil and a full fuel tank). Safety features include side stand with engine cut-off switch, lower engine protector guard, and Bosch single-channel ABS. It rides on block-pattern dual-purpose 100/80-17 (front) and 140/60-17 (rear) tubeless tyres.
Yamaha said the FZ-X will be available at the dealerships by end of June; it will have three colours: blue, copper and black. Ex-showroom Delhi prices are Rs 1,16,800 (the variant without Bluetooth) and Rs 1,19,800 (the variant with Bluetooth).
