Yamaha RX100 : This has caused excitement amongst bike lovers in India and vintage bike collectors in the country, as Yamaha has officially confirmed the comeback of the RX100, a motorcycle that redefined motorcycling in the country in the 1980s and 1990s.
This surprise return is a decisive thrust to retrieve the segment that used to be lorded over by another legend: Rajdoot. What makes this one even more special is the 75 kmpl mileage.Engineering at its best, to marry nostalgia with technology!
Yamaha RX100 The Return of a Two-Stroke Icon
The RX 100 journey When Yamaha finally stopped producing the original RX 100 in 1996, it was the end of an era for a generation of riders who fell in love with the bike for its raw power, distinct exhaust note and minimalist design.
In the decades that followed the machine became a cult — if maintained, examples of the motorcycle now sell for several times what their original cost was as collectors and enthusiasts vie for a chance to own a piece of motorcycling history.
We’re amazed with the way the secondary market has been looking at original RX100s,” says Eishin Chihana, Chairman, Yamaha Motor India, as he spoke during a preview event in Bengaluru.
“When machines that were put together close to three decades ago are fetching more secondhand than a new price tag on a new bike, that says something pretty serious about the amount of love being invested in a specific bike,” they noted.
That emotional demand coupled with an ever strengthening fan-based and social media-led demand for the RX100 eventually made Yamaha’s global management convinced that a revival of the RX would be an emotional and business case if the new motorcycle could meet the latest emissions and efficiency regulations without losing any of the pizzazz that made the original so endearing.
A Worthwhile Journey And Now I’m Here- Writing backwards through the decades with seven (or so) decades of daydreams captured and SET TO PRINT -09- You got to start at the beginning!
The new RX100 does a brilliant tightrope walk of maintaining and improving. At first glance, that silhouette is unmistakeably familiar – the same short-overall-length, tubular frame and minimalist proportions of the original are still featured.
The teardrop shape for the fuel tank was kept and it is fitted with period correct Yamaha badging and pinstriping, available in the three launch colors: Heritage Black, Competition Red and the iconic Torque Blue which was a common colour scheme in many other original models.
Their close examination, however, reveals slight enhancements. The headlight is still circular but it features LED units in a unique format. The taillight and turn signals are now LED in their construction, keeping the classic looks.
The instrument cluster is a nice nod to the past with style over content – what looks like a bunch of old school round gauges is in fact an old school round gauge and on a square display integrated into the highway speed-o.
Same goes for the tank mounted dash, you’ve got a good looking clock. rpm, and speed-o, plus all the regular warning lights as functional conventionally mounted gauges.
“We always did this project with the utmost respect for the original,” says Ryota Kawaguchi, lead designer on the project. “Our design idea was really simple but honestly a little bit difficult: If the original RX100 team had access to current technology, what would they build? All decisions were processed through that frame.”
This carried over into what to keep and what to update. The tread bike keeps the low, flat seat profile of the original version but with better padding for comfort over long distances.
Those unique, striking side panels look nearly the same — though they are now composed of modern composites as opposed to sheet metal. Perhaps most critically for purists, the exhaust system preserves the upswept shape and polished chrome of the original, although its internals have been engineered from scratch to comply with current emissions levels.
Yamaha RX100 Engineering Revolution: How 75 KMPL Happened
Most dramatic of all is the radical departure from the original under the vintage-style skin. The plain-Jane air-cooled 2-stroke mill from the first RX100 is history. It is replaced by an entirely new 110cc four-stroke engine that incorporates several patented technologies designed for this field of application.
“At first, the efficiency goal sounded impossible,” says Takeshi Inamura, Chief Engineer on the project. “We were aware that to achieve 75km/litre, every part of the power unit would need to be re-evaluated, but at the same time it was also important that the machine’s physical appearance did not change,” he explains – “we wanted to keep the proportions of the RX100 the same.
This engine benefits from the Variable Valve Timing technology, FI system similar to the ones on a Gixxer Cup race machine, and optimised cam profiles and intake valves making it hugely efficient and reliable. These techs are mated to a six-speed transmission, one more cog than before with taller overdrive ratios that lower engine revs at highway speeds.
Backing this new technology is a range of control systems and rider aids that appears to have little competition in this market.
These features consist of a smart throttle system that monitors the way the bike\s ridden in order to maximize fuel delivery, automatic start-stop which short-termity kills the engine during long idling, and regen braking technology that captures energy during deceleration to run the R1Ts LED lighting system and to ease alternator load on the engine.
That said, despite all this hi-tech, the engineers at Yamaha have gone to great lengths to retain the raw feel of the original RX100.
The all-new engine’s power curve has been optimised to produce a high level of ‘thrust’ as soon as the throttle is opened, boosting the bike’s hole shot performance, drive and controllability off the start line, and making the new YZ250F engine one of the most exciting in its class to aurally experience through the use of an exhaust system that features sound chambers producing a snarling supercross howl that tugs at the heartstrings of the hardcore enthusiast provided by the optional Power Tuner accessory.
″We put as much development time into the sound and the feel of the vehicle as some of the efficiency technologies,″ says Inamura with a wry grin. A motorcycle is an emotional product — especially one with this heritage. And if it doesn’t tug at the rider’s heartstrings, no fuel economy number and few price considerations are likely to matter.”
Yamaha RX100 Targeting Rajdoot’s Market Legacy
Where the resurrected RX100 is now in a position and Yamaha’s has made it clear that Rajdoot’s historic territory is firmly in its crosshairs.
However, when the popular Rajdoot 175 was launched amid the Indian public in the 1970s and early 1980s as a very reliable and load carrying motorcycle, they managed to capture a big share of the market until the original RX100 called to stop that avalanche, only to itself to be folded up as well.
This new round in the rivalry arrives as nostalgia-fueled sales are becoming increasingly critical for India’s motorcycle market, with a bunch of manufacturers dusting off old nameplates in a bid to cash in on emotional purchases.
But Yamaha’s approach is very different from that of its rivals, who’ve tended to stick old-school badging onto otherwise conventional products of modern design.
This is not just a marketing exercise, says Ravinder Singh, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Yamaha Motor India. “Motorcycles like RX100 and Rajdoot connected well with the customers with something that is more than just specification.
They were freedom, dependability and status. Our job was to respect that legacy and keep the motorcycle current to the people who are riding motorcycles today.”
This relevance also consists of putting some of the practical objections that made the Rajdoot so successful in its era, to rest.
If the previous RX100 leaned more towards the performance side of things than utility, this RX100 breaks the balance with features that cater to everyday use – a small luggage rack that’s been integrated into the telescopic rear end, better weather proofing for electrical bits and greater ground clearance, with an eye on our not-so-great tarmac.
Yamaha RX100 Market Reaction and Consumer Reception
Preliminary feedback from dealers and preview riders indicate Royal Enfield’s decisions are already proving to be a hit with three key consumers: nostalgic, original owners who want to relive the days of their misspent youth on an RX; younger riders who love retro-styled bikes, and sensible commuters who want a commuter with claimed fuel efficiency numbers we’ve never seen before.
“It’s the 75km/l efficiency that makes it feel more than a weekend nostalgia” buy and a proper daily use proposition\” states motoring analyst Vignesh Chandran. “That’s potentially game-changing in a sector of the market where running costs dictate purchase decisions,” Najafi said.
Dealer pre-registrations are said have now reached almost 300% more than the target units Yamaha sales planners anticipated, and have subsequently forced Yamaha’s hand in this production capacity decision.
More significant is the geographical spread of these reservations – the bulk of them aren’t just limited to the main urban centres where lifestyle and nostalgia-driven purchases are expected to take place, but are spread out across smaller towns and rural areas where the first RX100s and Rajdoot models formed the core of personal mobility for an entire generation or more.
“What we are seeing” says Singh, “is an unprecedented interest from places like Dhanbad, Siliguri, Tirunelveli— markets where emotional considerations are usually trumped by practical ones.” “Those numbers have turned a heritage carrier into a viable alternative.
Yamaha RX100 Pricing Strategy and Market Positioning- The Net Zero Emitters Market is entrely about vanish off
The new RX100 is priced slightly higher to live up to its upgraded engineering and iconic status in its segment; yet it is priced to reach out to its target audience.
While official prices will be revealed at the launch next month, sources within the company estimate that the 110cc base version will be costlier than traditional 110cc commuter bikes by about 15-20 per cent and the premium variant with more chrome touches and a commemorative badge will carry a higher price tag.
That pricing tier puts the bike in an interesting spot, being more costly than basic commuters, but more affordable than larger-displacement machines with comparable fuel economy numbers.
If true in real-life conditions, the 75 KMPL efficiency claim could put it into the ranks of more economical among the internal combustion motorcycles presently being offered in India and could offset some of the higher upfront cost too by savings on running costs in the long term.
With Yamaha’s nationwide release drawing near, the interest for this nostalgic and yet futuristic union keeps increasing.(Yamaha RX100)
If the rebirthed RX100 will ever be capable of disrupting the trail Rajdoot carved through India’s motorcycling lore, is something we will have to wait and watch, but the amalgamation design-statement,-mileage-merchant and heartstring-tugger has already turned heads in a sea of me-too streetside gladiators and ultra-pragmatic commuters.
About time1 for the fans of the original RX100 that had come of age worshipping it, this is much more than a launch—it’s the return of a cultural reference point that defined their motorcycling lives. That it comes with performance figures designed for the contemporary world only makes the homecoming better.
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