Yamaha Showcases the Dream of an All-Wheel-Drive Ebike

Next week, the Japan Mobility Show will start in Tokyo for the first time. Being kind of a home game, this is a highlight for Yamaha this year. The manufacturer is using the fair as a podium to show what it imagines the ebikes of the future could look like. The approach and appearance of the two prototypes on display can certainly be discussed heartily. But they certainly offer exciting details.

With the Booster Easy and the Booster speed pedelec, Yamaha emphatically demonstrated just a few months ago how ambitiously the company wants to push ahead with the development and marketing of its own ebikes. Apparently, the company is determined to grow beyond the status of a motor supplier. The Yamaha Moro 07, Yamaha Wabash RT and Yamaha Crosscore RC, launched in Europe in 2022, should pave the way for this. However, the latter step mainly showed that models that have been available in the USA for a long time and have only been adapted to European needs in terms of motor performance can hardly impress anyone here. Yamaha’s need to catch up in terms of looks and technology was obvious.

The bike park is calling

This makes the two studies Y-00Z MTB and Y-01W AWD all the more pleasant to look at. The Y-00Z MTB is an e-mountain bike. According to its own statement, it reflects the “Yamaha Motor Off-Road DNA” concept. If you look at the suspension with the obviously large travel of both the fork and the shock, the concept seems to be rather enduro-heavy. The battery, which is fully integrated into the down tube, ist to be considered good form for this type of ebike as well. At first glance, however, we cannot see any mounting points for a possible range extender.

Separated in one system

What is immediately noticeable is the separation of the electric motor and the bottom bracket. In contrast to the majority of the competition, Yamaha positions the mid-motor on this bike in the frame triangle between down tube and seat tube – but separately above the crankset. Some of you may know this from Rocky Mountain and its Dyname 4.0 drive. The ebike motor has its own, relatively small drive sprocket. This drives the crank with the help of the chain. In the pictures we have, it looks as if the chain is only running over two teeth of the motor sprocket at a time. In its further course, the chain also engages in significantly fewer teeth on the chainring at the same time than is usually the case. Especially with regard to the chainring, the frictional connection seems to be better solved in the Rocky Mountain system, for example. There, the chain is transported with the help of half the chainring.

A whole new steering feel in the future?

The next striking detail is a cylinder protruding forwards from the head tube, which is somewhat reminiscent of the reservoir of a suspension system. In fact, however, it belongs to an electric power steering system (EPS) with a magnetostrictive torque sensor. Yamaha is working with such solutions on some of its motocross and superbikes. As reported by the US magazine Pinkbike, some YZ450F and YZ250F motocross bikes raced with this system in the Japanese championships last year. Apparently, Yamaha would like to transfer knowledge and technology from the motorbike to the ebike. Possible advantages would be optimised handling and greater stability when riding, according to the manufacturer.

The strikingly coloured upsidedown fork is probably also inspired by motorcycling. Its exterior is adorned with the logo of KYB, or Kayaba Kōgyō K.K., as the manufacturer is called in the Aisatian part of our world. KYB manufactures hydraulic solutions for pretty much every vehicle that travels in the air, on rails or in the water. The company generates most of its turnover with suspension struts for cars and motorbikes.

The powerhouse

The second study is almost more impressive than the Y-00Z MTB. And somehow we seem unable to escape the cosmos of automobiles. Because the Y-01W AWD, as an all-wheel drive vehicle, is actually driven at the front and rear wheel. The centre motor, this time united with the crank, is joined by a motor in the hub of the front wheel. To ensure that both harmonise perfectly, sophisticated electronics control the entire system.

On this model, two motors also mean two batteries. You can see one in the pictures in the down tube. The other is probably hidden in the black triangle below the top tube. Whether we are interpreting this correctly remains uncertain. Yamaha provides plenty of pictures, but is very cautious with textual information about the studies. Even when asked, there was nothing more enlightening. So we can only use logic here and there. And logic says that two batteries and two motors together would result in a rather large weight. Definitely not a foray into the world of light assist bikes, which weigh well under 20 kilograms.

Sporty adventure

Nevertheless, the Y-01W AWD makes a very dynamic impression. Even the triathlon handlebars are seamlessly integrated into the handlebar-stem unit. Maybe it’s because of its far-forward shape that you can only imagine a sporty, stretched body position on this ebike.

In terms of its equipment, it seems to be geared towards gravel and bikepacking adventures in rougher terrain. The four small headlights on the suspension fork are particularly striking. They should certainly illuminate the track well. Whether they meet the requirements of German road traffic regulations is another matter. In addition, the frame offers the freedom to put on really wide tyres. Luggage can go on a larger rack at the back and a smaller one at the front. We again encounter an upsidedown suspension fork, albeit here with significantly less travel.

Thus, dressed up for off-road use, the use of triathlon handlebars is a little surprising at second glance. However, not everything about the two studies has to fit together one hundred percent. After all, we’re looking more at conceptual designs than at models for series production. But they certainly make us look forward to future ebikes from Yamaha. Let’s wait and see which detail might make it onto the production model.

Y-00Z MTB and Y-01W AWD in video

Pictures: Yamaha Motor Co, Ltd.