India Yamaha Motor have filed a trademark for the FZ-X moniker, with the bike likely to be a 250-cc adventure-focused option.
The small-capacity adventure bike space is heating up, what with the Hero Xpulse 200 and Royal Enfield Himalayan going strong, and even the Austrians entering the fray with the KTM 250 adventure. Yamaha have always played the Indian two-wheeler market on the front foot, so it isn’t surprising to see them lay the groundwork for a model set to occupy this emerging segment as well.
Yamaha have two major FZ lines here in India, the 149-cc FZ-FI and the 249-cc FZ 25. Considering the displacements of the models already available in this segment, it would only be logical that Yamaha would use their FZ 25 platform in the FZ-X as well. We took the FZ 25 to the Himalayas and all the way up to Khardung La so we can vouch for the robustness of this platform and the tractability of that 249-cc air-cooled FI single which churns out 21 PS and 20 Nm of torque. Logically, Yamaha are likely to use the same FZ 25 platform and make small tweaks like re-routing the exhaust and increasing the ground clearance for even more off-road capability in the Yamaha FZ-X.
Of course, this isn’t the Japanese brand’s first foray in the small-capacity off-road-ready space. They are already selling an XT 250 in other markets, which has the exact same engine specs as the FZ 25 too. However, The XT isn’t exactly suited for the Indian market so we won’t expect Yamaha to bring that exact model here. The XT gets an 810-mm seat height and premium suspension componentry both of which would have to be ditched for accessibility – physical and financial respectively. Speaking of financial accessibility, we expect the Yamaha FZ-X to be priced at a slight premium over the naked-street style FZ 25, and our prediction is that Yamaha will slap a sticker of Rs 1.80 lakh upward.
One reason for that late 2021 timeline will be the fact that the trademark for “FZ-X” was filed on the 5 November 2020 and is currently in the “advertise before acceptance” stage, meaning any parties who feel this trademark infringes on their intellectual property have to respond within the fourth-month period from the date it is filed. So Yamaha should have this IP under their belt by 6 March 2021 at the earliest.
We are certainly looking forward to seeing what the Yamaha FZ-X is all about and what it brings to the ADV table. Stay tuned.
Senior Correspondent at Bike India Magazine
A travel-junkie who loves rock-n-roll and football, and spends endless hours playing video games in his free time
Harket Suchde – who has written 167 posts on Bike India.
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