India Yamaha Motor will offer anti-lock brakes, or ABS, only when the system becomes mandatory for two-wheelers above 125 cc by 2019. Yamaha has launched the new Fazer 25, extending the company's quarter-litre range in India, but the new motorcycle doesn't come equipped with ABS, even as an option. The Yamaha Fazer 25 shares the same engine, chassis and cycle parts as the Yamaha FZ25, and the only change is cosmetic - the addition of the full fairing. But ABS, an important safety feature for motorcycles, isn't even offered as an option.
Roy Kurian, Senior VP - Sales & Marketing, India Yamaha said ABS will be introduced in 2018
Speaking to journalists at the launch of the new Yamaha Fazer 25, India Yamaha Motor Senior Vice President - Sales and Marketing, Roy Kurian said that the Fazer 25 has adequate brakes and ABS isn't really required on the bike. To a question, when Yamaha will introduce ABS in its models, Kurian responded, saying that ABS on motorcycles will become mandatory by 2019 anyway, and that is when Yamaha will introduce ABS across its model range.
Also Read: Yamaha Fazer 25 - All You Need To Know
Yamaha YZF-R3 also didn't get ABS, even as an option, in India
Yamaha's last middleweight motorcycle, the Yamaha YZF-R3 was launched in 2015. The R3 gets a 320 cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine which makes 41 bhp and 29.5 Nm of torque. At launch, the Yamaha YZF-R3 was priced at Rs. 3.25 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Despite being a well-rounded product, the R3 though failed to become a commercial success. And like other Yamaha motorcycles in India, even the YZF-R3 didn't have the option of ABS, despite being a powerful, twin-cylinder motorcycle.
So far, ABS is offered in several motorcycles, even in the 200 cc category, like the TVS Apache RTR 2004V and the Bajaj Pulsar RS200. With ABS becoming mandatory in less than two years' time, it does makes sense to make the switch sooner, even if as an option, and make riding a motorcycle safer for the consumer.
