EXCLUSIVE: Yamaha RX100 Will Make A Comeback, But Not Like You Expected

The Yamaha RX100 continues to have a cult following even today, and in our exclusive interview with Eishin Chihana, chairman of Yamaha India, he revealed that the iconic bike will make a comeback. However, it won’t be the same two-stroke smoker like the original one, but a thoroughly modern one packaged in a retro guise.

Another FZ-based Motorcycle? 

The Yamaha FZ platform is currently the most popular platform from Yamaha India and the company could cash-in on the same, reducing production costs. But we seriously hope that Team Blue doesn’t do that. After all, a 149cc air-cooled engine making 12.4PS and 13.3Nm from the FZ Version 3.0 isn’t befitting the RX legacy. Heck, even the FZ 25’s frugal engine is not best suited to don the ‘RX’ tag. So, will there be a new platform altogether? We don’t think so. 

A Liquid-cooled RX? Bring It On!

Yamaha’s 155cc liquid-cooled motor has been constantly raking in good sales and wooing people since its debut in 2008. And with the launch of the R15 V3, the Japanese marque spruced it with Variable Valve Actuation (VVA) to keep it friendly for the urban jungle without compromising the mill’s top-end capability. Now, that sounds like the perfect spiritual successor to the RX100, right?

Indian enthusiasts had been lusting after the XSR155, but we got the FZ-X instead. Perhaps, the RX 155 will fill the void as a retro alternative to the MT-15 Version 2.0.

Unfortunately, it won’t be before 2026 that we see what Yamaha has planned for the RX100’s comeback, but we hope it is not another debacle like the Saluto RX.