2020 YAMAHA MT-03
R I D E R E V I E W
P44
Both those bikes have a few years
up on the Yamaha in terms of sales
years, with the KTM coming out in
2015 (in the U.S.), the Kawasaki three
years after that.
Yamaha's version of a junior naked
roadster takes heavily from its sport-
bike cousin, using the R3's 321cc
parallel-twin four-stroke motor and
steel diamond chassis. These have
been the same for the R3 since its
inception, with Yamaha staunchly refusing to up the
ante 79cc and meet Kawasaki head-on with a 400cc
version of what is admittedly a very good little motor.
You can claim about 41 horsepower from the
twin-cylinder motor, the power of which hits very
gently and is ideally suited to new riders. There are
no riding modes to play with, no traction control
and just ABS for the two-piston Akebono front and
single-piston rear brake.
The MT-03 fills a gaping hole in Yamaha's U.S.
lineup in the small capacity naked-bike sector. Its
own YZF-R3 has been its top-selling motorcycle
for a couple of years now, so it's baffling Yamaha
would want to wait so long to bring the naked
equivalent to dealer floors.
The small capacity naked game is a hot ticket
these days, and one dominated primarily by Kawa-
saki with their Z400 and KTM with the 390 Duke.
(Above) Although the
MT-03 has been out in
other markets for five
years, the 2020 version
gets a facelift with new
LED lights front and
rear and new colors for
its 2020 U.S. debut.
(Left) The 321cc
parallel-twin motor is
as you'll find in the
YZF-R3 sportbike.
