One of the yesteryear’s most iconic bikes, the Yamaha RX100 could soon make its way to dealerships in a new avatar. However, this will only happen after 2026. Yamaha built the RX100 from 1985 to 1996. The 2-stroke bike was on sale for whole 11 years before the brand discontinued it. Today, even after 26 years, the RX100 is very popular among restorers and collectors. If you were to restore one today, you would be surprised to find spare parts for the bike even today. However, you do need to hunt for them a fair bit, and pricing may not always be reasonable.
In a recent interview, the Chairman of Yamaha India, Eishin Chihana, said that Yamaha wants to bring the RX100 brand back. However, the company faces two major challenges. The first one is that since the RX100 was a 2-stroke engine, it is impossible for the brand to make a new one that will meet the latest emission norms. The brand can use the same name for a new bike. However, Eishin Chihana says putting the RX100 name on a new model and living up to the bike’s legacy is challenging.
The chairman did not deny a possibility of a new RX100. However, when questioned about the launch timeline, he said it would only be after 2026. This is because Yamaha India has a lot of other models lined up till 2025. He also said that the company has a plan but will not use the RX100 name easily. The brand will only use the RX100 name when it finds a suitable product. The product should come with a design and powerful engine to go with the RX100 name.
Yamaha India’s Chairman also said the company is occupied doing test runs and durability tests for upcoming electric scooters. However, these won’t come anytime soon. Eishin Chihana said that the company’s engineers are working hard, and India will get an electric scooter by 2025. Currently, the brand has electric scooters in Taiwan and Europe. To begin with, Yamaha could import them to India. The company is keeping all the options open. These include importing electric scooters as CBUs, CKDs or assembling them in India with more localisation.
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