Yamaha’s new scooter, Cygnus Alpha spied

Yamaha Cygnus Alpha, a new scooter from the Japanese manufacturer, has been spied sans camouflage. The launch of the scooter seems to be near and we can expect Yamaha to unveil it officially at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo.

Most of the details can be gleaned from the side profile picture of the scooter, courtesy Motorbeam. Though the vehicle is based on the Yamaha Ray, the fresh styling cues make it different from the other siblings. The first evident change making it different from the Ray is the headlamp. The headlight is on the handle and not integrated into body like the Ray or the Ray Z. The instrument cluster seems to be redesigned as well. There is neither a glove box nor  space for storage or an external fuelling cap. The body panels are similar to those of the Honda Activa or Aviator. The scooter boasts of a thick flat seat and a large aluminium grab rail. Sadly, the Cygnus Alpha is not as peppy as the Cygnus X 125, which is on sale in some other countries. 

Coming to the mechanical bits, we were hoping that the scooter will sport a 125cc engine and also be planted with good riding dynamics. However, looking at the wheelbase, which seems to be the same as the Yamaha Ray, we think it is the same 113cc engine that has been borrowed from the other siblings. It however might have been tweaked to perform better.

More manufacturers are trying to enter the scooter segment which has seen some tremendous growth in recent times. Yamaha Motors India seems to have done that with this new scooter. They announced earlier that they will not introduce any new motorcycles and will be concentrating on the Indian scooter market till 2015. The Yamaha Cygnus Alpha will directly compete with the Honda Activa, Suzuki Access and Piaggio Vespa. This new scooter might be priced between Rs 48,000 and Rs 55,000. More details should be revealed close to the unveiling and launch.