Yamaha YZF-R15 is a very successful product from the brand around the world. In India too, the R15 gets massive attention. However, with the rise of the interest in the scooter segment in India, Yamaha is now planning to launch a new maxi scooter named as NMax. It is expected to be launched in 2019 and would take on the maxi scooters like the Suzuki Burgman, TVS NTorq and the Aprilia SR150.
The NMax offers a bulky body that looks very wide. It gets a comfortable seating position with wide footboards and an independent handlebar that gives the front apron a maxi scooter look. It even gets a full-size exhaust, further adding sporty element to it.
The most interesting part about the upcoming NMax 155 would be the engine. It would be powered by the same 155cc engine that powers the Yamaha YZF R15 V3.0 in India. However, the power has been revised to suit the scooter. The liquid-cooled, four-valve engine of the NMax would produce a maximum power of 14.8 PS at 8,000 and a peak torque of 14.4 Nm at 6,000 rpm.
It would be much more powerful than the Aprilia SR150, which is currently the most powerful affordable scooter in the Indian market right now. The Aprilia SR150 is powered by a 150cc, air-cooled engine that produces a maximum of 10.4 PS and 11.4 Nm.
However, Yamaha has been tweaking the products for the Indian market and we may see the happening with the NMax 155. Yamaha removed a lot of equipment that is standard on the international variant of the Yamaha YZF-R15 V3.0 and the same can happen with the NMax 155 when it reaches India. The highly price-sensitive Indian market often sees features missing from the products and there is nothing new about it.
Internationally, the scooter comes with LED lighting set-up, 13-inch tyres, fully-digital instrument clusters, disc brakes on both the wheels and a windscreen at front. In Indonesia, the scooter is priced at around Rs. 1.5 lakhs. In India, Yamaha would strip down the features to bring down the price to around Rs. 1 lakh when launched.