We knew that Yamaha was going to have a big unveiling coming up soon as part of the brand’s new “Switch ON” campaign to showcase its electric vehicle, but we were surprised by the number of vehicles that Yamaha ultimately rolled on stage. With six new electric two-wheelers to show off, Yamaha made a splash and underscored its commitment to light electric vehicles ranging from electric bicycles to electric scooters in the 50cc to 125cc equivalent class.
Perhaps the star of the show was the most radical looking two-wheeler on stage, the Yamaha B01.
The eye-catching truss frame creates a step-through bike that fits nicely in the electric moped category with its large street tires and mid-mounted electric motor tied to a pedal drivetrain.
In fact, the bike looks so good that it even conjures up memories of another recently revealed electric bike, the Fantic Issimo. I recently saw the Issimo in person at the Milan Motorcycle Show and it is a beauty of an electric moped.
As it turns out, Yamaha appears to have partnered with Fantic, resulting in the Issimo finding its way onto Yamaha’s stage adorned with a new Yamaha badge.
Whatever it’s called, the bike certainly embodies a fresh new design to challenge many of the same old recycled moped designs we’ve seen over the years.
Yamaha floated specs of up to 45 km/h (28 mph), making this a speed pedelec in Europe (similar to a Class 3 electric bike in the US).
It definitely sounds like Yamaha plans to bring the B01 concept to life.
As President of Yamaha Motors Europe Eric De Seynes explained:
“Its future will become true sooner. We will start the production of this vehicle within one year, beginning in 2023.”
It’s hard to say what motor and battery Yamaha plans to put in the B01.
The Fantic Issimo came with a Bafang M500 mid-drive motor in the urban version of the bike, and the company paired it with a 630Wh battery. Yamaha very well may want to use its own brand of motor instead of opting for a Chinese alternative like Bafang, but that remains to be seen as the B01 works its way towards production.
Electric bikes for gravel, streets, and mountains
Yamaha also showed off three electric bikes in the categories of gravel bikes, road/commuter bikes, and mountain bikes.
The gravel bike is the Yamaha Wabash RT and the commuter bike is the Yamaha CrossCore RC. Both were also unveiled in the US, where we got to see the complete specs. The bikes share the same 500W mid-drive motors developed by Yamaha as well as the same 500Wh batteries.
The third bike, a dedicated full-suspension electric mountain bike, appeared to be shrouded in some kind of digital camouflage.
While the Yamaha Motor Europe team made it seem like this was a new model, it might just be new to Europe since it looks suspiciously similar to the Yamaha YDX Moro unveiled previously in the US. That e-bike uses an innovative wishbone frame that tucks the rear suspension up inside of the two-part top tube. It’s a clever way to increase the suspension travel and save plenty of room for the battery at the same time.
50cc and 125cc electric scooter equivalents
Lastly, we finally got the chance to see the two electric scooters we were actually expecting.
The Yamaha E01 concept that we first saw back in 2019 was finally launched as the new NEOS. A second NEOS scooter was also unveiled alongside the E01’s offspring, though we weren’t given any detailed tech specs on either model. Instead, we’re told we’ll have to wait “another few weeks” to learn more.
Both scooters will likely compete well in the European market, leveraging Yamaha’s brand heritage and technological prowess when it comes to two-wheeler design.
What do you think of Yamaha’s new electric two-wheelers? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
And to help you get your thoughts together, check out the full unveiling ceremony in Yamaha Motor Europe’s video below.
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