YAMAHA R3 (2019 - on) Review

The A2-compliant Yamaha R3 (officially called the Yamaha YZF-R3) has received its first update since launch in 2015 to help bring it in line with the rest of the manufacturer’s sports machines and act as a stepping stone between the A1-friendly Yamaha YZF-R125 and 116bhp Yamaha R6.

Riding the bike on road and track in Valencia, Spain, the R3 has been morphed from a respectable, well-rounded sportster, to a head-turning R1-inspired pocket rocket.

Although a more sports-orientated model than the previous machine, the R3 remains a practical all-rounder, with Yamaha keenly aware that many of the riders purchasing this machine will do so as an only mode of transport.

This bike replaced the 2015-2018 Yamaha R3.

Watch: Yamaha R3 video review

Yamaha have developed the new R3 to be more engaging than the previous machine, without sacrificing any of the everyday practicality.

In order to achieve this, the Japanese firm have gifted the bike with new gold non-adjustable 37mm upside down KYB forks, which replace the conventional items on the 2015 version. Designed for greater rigidity, the rear shock now also features a stiffer spring and revised standard preload and damping, too.

The result is a predictable, well-handling motorcycle that would be just as at home on the daily commute, as it would be charging along your favourite backroad. The stiffened springs give good feedback and are still able to soak up any potholes and speed bumps with ease.

At no point on our 155km road ride did the bike feel out of shape or incapable of tackling the surface before it. Combined with a comfortable seat, sitting on the R3 is a nice place to be and you would easily be able to cope with longer stints in the saddle on both motorways and rural routes.

Alongside the suspension, the 2019 R3 also benefits from new Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 tyres, which replace the previous OE Michelin Pilot Streets. Offering adequate dry road grip, but lacking feel when pushed particularly hard on circuit, they would be perfectly acceptable for daily use, however should be replaced if trackdays are on your agenda.

What’s more, the brakes are lifted straight from the old model, with the ABS cutting in noticeably at the front end under rapid deceleration and pushing back against the lever.

The riding position has also been tweaked, with the clip-ons now 22mm lower than the previous incarnation, as well as being two-degrees more open. Although more sporty, it’s by no means a focused over-the-front stance and the R3 remains a comfortable and easy-to-use motorcycle.

Alongside this, helping you to corner is a revised fuel tank and cover, which now sits 20mm lower and 31.4mm wider above the knees, allowing you to hug the tank more firmly mid-corner for greater control.

With a low seat height of 780mm, a light clutch and a kerb weight of just 169kg, it’s ideal for those stepping up from a 125cc machine, or shorter riders and was perfectly capable of scything through Valencian traffic jams, as well as cutting through the glorious mountain roads.

The new machine shares the same practical 41.4bhp 321cc parallel-twin engine as the previous incarnation, with Yamaha keen to retain the same forgiving, novice-friendly nature achieved with the old bike.

Although non-threatening, the motor is far from dull, revving cleanly all the way to its 14,000rpm redline in a linear fashion, whilst delivering a thrapping throaty soundtrack, reminiscent of a mini-twin race bike.

On a twisty road, it can be incredibly engaging, with the rider having to work the slick gearbox hard in order to keep the motor buzzing in the upper echelons of the rev range. This is important, as the bike can feel gutless below 5000rpm when you really want to press on.

Around town, the ratios are perfectly acceptable, with the bike happily cruising between third and sixth gear depending on the scenario, with enough left in reserve to keep ahead of the traffic at all times.

Unfortunately, although the gearbox felt crisp on the road, when pushed on track during the launch, the bike did occasionally fail to shift into fifth gear and also jumped out of fourth into third under hard acceleration.

Underneath the second-gen Yamaha R3’s new looks lies the same tubular steel frame and 41.4bhp 321cc parallel-twin engine as the original 2015 model.

Gaining a small update for Euro4, the Japanese firm instead focussed their time on the looks and handling, with fresh bodywork, switches and a more modern LCD dash, plus better tyres, USD forks and stiffer shock.

Build quality is impressive, with no unsightly panel gaps. Gold USD forks also invoke a more premium look than the old bike, improved further by the R1-inspired front fairing. Behind this sits a fairly basic set of switches. Everything placed logically, but the buttons are smaller than on rivals like the Honda CBR500R, which can sometimes make operation fiddly – especially the indicators, which sometimes fail to engage with bulky gloves.

With less torque than the rivalling CBR, to extrapolate the most from the R3, you really need to wring its neck, too - extracting every morsel available from its 321cc engine between gear changes, waiting for the neat display to flicker into life before snatching the shift.

With next to nothing below around 6000rpm, you need to ride it like an old two-stroke and overtakes must be planned methodically, with larger obstacles sometimes requiring two downshifts to gain the desired momentum.

Our Yamaha R3 owners' reviews show nothing but glowing comments at time of writing.

At £5299 cash and £5396 on the road at its launch, the 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 comes in at exactly the same price as the 2018 out-going machine, making it serious value.

What’s more, on top of the upgraded suspension, aerodynamics, styling, gauges and riding position at no extra cost, the R3 is also very well priced alongside its rivals.

At £6099 on the road, Honda’s 2019 CBR500R produces just 5.5bhp more than the Yamaha at an additional cost of £800. At 192kg wet, its also considerably heavier than the R3, cancelling out some of that power advantage.

That said, the Yamaha is £50 more expensive than the base model Kawasaki Ninja 400 and the KTM RC390. However it is £100 less than the World Superbike championship inspired KRT edition Kawasaki.

By 2023 the R3's list price had shot up to £6400.

Twin test: Yamaha R3 v Honda CBR500R

First published 26 June 2019 by Dan Sutherland

With their comfortable, roadbiased stance and frugal twin-cylinder engines, it’s all too easy to cast A2-compliant sportsbikes off as little more than a styling exercise, with none of the traditional thrill power or cornering prowess that we seek when choosing a bike.

However, 500 miles on the Yamaha R3 and Honda CBR500R have smashed that preconception to pieces, with both offering bags of cornering ability and enough poke to keep up with and stay ahead of the traffic – all wrapped up in a set of sleek, superbikeinspired plastics.

Both would make the perfect poster bike for the aspiring sportsbike enthusiast, but top honours have to go to the CBR. Although £800 more expensive, there’s more road presence, a better soundtrack and plusher suspension. Capable, frugal and comfortable, it’s the perfect do-it-all performance bike, regardless of your skillset.

Alongside the vastly improved styling, the Indonesian-built machine has also received a new full LCD display, which replaces the part digital design on the older bike.

Sitting above a set of MotoGP-inspired machined triple clamps, the new dash is logically structured, with all of the necessary information noticeable at a quick glance.

Displaying your speed most prominently, there is also a gear indicator, adjustable shift light, fuel consumption information, rev counter and even trips for fuel reserve and oil. What’s more, despite the piercing low sun on the day of our test, it was also easily readable in any light conditions.

Yamaha R3 accessories

To help give your R3 a more personal touch, Yamaha have produced a series of accessories to sit in tandem with the bike. Ranging from an Akrapovic slip-on end can, to a pillion seat cover, the range goes much further than simple aesthetics, with both a tank and pillion seat bag also offered as part of the manufacturer’s commitment to practicality.

What’s more, from March 2019, Yamaha would also sell you a ‘Sports Kit’ consisting of a larger double-bubble screen, number plate bracket, crash protection and LED indicators in one complete package.

Yamaha R3 colour options

For 2020, the Yamaha R3 was available in an M1-aping Icon Blue or stealthy Midnight Black.

And then to celebrate 60 years of Grand Prix racing, Yamaha unveiled a special livery for the R3 in 2021. The bike is finished in a classic red and white speed block livery with a yellow numberboard on the nose fairing.

Yamaha R3 GYTR race kit transforms bike into Supersport 300 racer

Alongside the introduction of a revised YZF-R3 road bike for 2019, Yamaha have revealed a new GYTR performance kit to transform the standard machine into a World Supersport 300 (WSSP300) race bike.

First revealed to the press at Eicma 2018 alongside the exclusive GYTR R1 superbike, the Japanese firm will supply all of the parts as well as a standard R3 for €12,000, with the onus then placed on the customer to fit them ahead of competition.

Standing for Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing, performance is said to be boosted from 41.4bhp to a target 49bhp – the maximum power output in the FIM world championship 300 class.

This is achieved through a GYTR engine kit, including a revised piston skirt angle and anti-friction materials, as well as re-designed cams. Sitting alongside this is a full Akrapovic exhaust system that delivers a throaty growl that bellows throughout the rev range.

Away from the motor, the bike also stops and steers much more effectively than the standard machine, thanks to an Öhlins front fork cartridge kit and rear shock, a Brembo floating front disc, Z04 pads and Goodridge brake lines.

MCN was fortunate enough to ride the new machine at the launch of the 2019 YZF-R125 and R3 late last week at Ribera circuit, just outside Valencia, Spain.

With the temperature skating at around 15-degrees, next to no cloud cover and a set of treaded Pirelli Supercorsa SC1 race tyres being lightly toasted in their warmers, it was the ideal time to take a spin ahead of the 2019 season.

Gently brapping in sync in the pit box, the three demonstration bikes are warmed up for their respective riders. As I slip on my crash helmet and gloves, the Yamaha mechanic gently lifts number two off its paddock stand, ready for my 10 minute stint on track. I feel like a factory-backed racer, ready to head out for superpole.

As you might expect, the GYTR machine feels nothing like the production A2-friendly R3. It’s taller, firmer and the riding position is much further forwards; discarding any of the road bike’s traits as a comfortable inner-city runaround.

The seat is also unforgiving and lacks any form of padding, however will rarely be used by a professional rider, as they hang off around every turn.

A blip of the Domino quick action throttle reveals a more direct and faster response time and once underway it feels noticeably more powerful than the standard bike, with a greater spread of torque throughout the rev range and more acceleration out of the corners.

Once up to speed, the Akrapovic-laden R3 sounds purposeful without being obnoxious and will deliver devilish pops and bangs on deceleration. It’s an all-encompassing noise that dials out any distracting wind noise, allowing you to focus solely on the task at hand.

Replacing the standard Dunlop Sportmax GPR300 tyres are a sportier set of Pirellis, which bite the ground hard and prevent any chance of a slide at the hands of this tester. Combined with the Öhlins suspension, it feels firm and agile, turning in faster than the road bike could ever hope to and you spend the first few laps convincing yourself it’s not just going to topple over as you tip in in search of an apex.

Moving through the gears is also a slick affair, snatching shifts up and down the box purposefully, with no hints of a false neutral. This is despite the bike lacking its usual quickshifter, which had to be removed in order to put the demo bikes back into a road-based pattern.

The full spec sheet:

• Yamalube oils
• GYTR engine kit
• Akrapovic full exhaust system
• FIM Dorna homologated ECU
• Suter slipper clutch
• Febur radiator
• Domino quick throttle/clutch lever
• Öhlins front fork cartridge
• Öhlins rear shock
• Brembo floating front disc and Z04 pads
• Goodridge brake lines
• Plastic bike race fairing
• Mikymotors painting
• Race seat
• BMC filter
• Gilles Tooling rear sets and brake protector
• Fabbri Accessori screen
• DID chain
• GB Racing engine protection
• Domino grips
• Pirelli Supercorsa SC1 (WSSP300)