Articles tagged with "Yamaha"
Page: 1 2
Yamaha developing CVT enduro bike
Yamaha is developing a CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission) enduro machine according to recent patent applications. Conceived by Leonardo da Vinci 500 years ago, the CVT power delivery characteristics could well be a boon in slippery off-road conditions, particularly with some help from a computer. The CVT's biggest advantage is ensuring the motor is always running “in the power band” and as the infinitely variable gear ratios change, it should deliver one smooth rush of power from standstill to top speed. (read more...)
Yamaha set to release world's quickest motorcycle
June 4, 2008 Yamaha will release what is expected to be the world's quickest accelerating production motorcycle at a press conference later today in Madrid. The production 2009 V-Max will come almost 25 years after the original and groundbreaking 1200cc monster custom was first seen, and is expected to be almost identical to the concept machine shown at the 2007 Paris and Tokyo Shows (pictured above). With an 1800cc fuel injected motor, the new V-Max will produce 210 bhp and feature state-of-the-art everything. The launch is due in Madrid later today and Yamaha is using the internet for a simultaneous unveiling here. If you can’t wait until then, here’s our photo gallery from last year’s Paris and Tokyo Shows. (read more...)
Yamaha builds a giant fishtank on wheels
January 24, 2008 Intent on driving the marine market size and retaining its share, Yamaha Australia has created two of these massive, 15 metre long, three metres tall, and 2.5 metres wide fishtanks on wheels to tour dealerships and boat shows. Part portable fishing show, part mobile fish tank and part educational program, the 13,000 litre Yamaha SupaTanks are designed to give the public a fish-eye-view on the world of angling. (read more...)
Yamaha unveils Rossi’s 2008 YZR-M1 MotoGP machine
January 19, 2008 Yamaha unveiled its 2008 YZR-M1 MotoGP machine this week in a large event held in conjunction with sponsors Fiat in Turin, Italy. Last year the M1 was one of the slowest machines on the grid and played a major role in Valentino Rossi’s worst season for a decade, prompting Rossi to roundly criticise the machine publicly and Yamaha to test a V4 configuration and pneumatic valves in the hope of closing the horsepower gap to Ducati’s desmodromic valve system. With Honda employing a pneumatic valve system in its 2008 machine, Yamaha will be the only contender relying on traditional valve springs to close its valves this year. Despite this, Yamaha’s frightfully expensive throttle control system (Rossi) shares favouritism for the title with Ducati’s Casey Stoner (both 6/4). (read more...)
The 400 horsepower PWC cometh
UPDATED IMAGE LIBRARY - The Personal Watercraft (PWC) market is in the grip of a horsepower “arms race” with a rash of new machinery announcements including a 342 bhp 2.2 litre V6-engined PWC from Austrian company HSR-Benelli and a 308 bhp 2.2 litre V8-engined PWC from the famous Italian MV Agusta motorcycle company. It all appears to have been catalyzed late last year when Kawasaki announced its 250 bhp Ultra 250X into a market where Seadoo’s 215 bhp RXP was previously the fastest of the bunch. Subsequently, SeaDoo has announced 255 bhp RXP-X and RXT-X models, Honda has announced a turbocharged 1500cc Aquatrax and Yamaha has announced a new lightweight purpose-built, turbocharged and intercooled 1812cc Super High Output (SHO) motor in its 2008 range. Given the radical upsurge in power outputs, one wonders what might be available a year or two from now. Read on … (read more...)
2008 Yamaha YZF-R6 receives widespread “stealth” updates
Next year’s R6 might not look very different to the current model, but under the sharp-looking bodywork Yamaha’s 600cc Supersport missile has received some significant revisions aimed at improving the bike’s already scalpel-like handling and screaming power. As always, the 600cc Supersport road/track bike category will be extremely hard fought in 2008. With Triumph’s class-smashing 675 Daytona ruling the roost from out of nowhere for the last two years, the Japanese companies are throwing all their knowledge and technology at the category to wrestle back their supremacy. The customer is surely the winner in this battle - next year’s Yamaha YZF-R6 will contain more electronic goodies and tricky technology straight from the racetrack than anything that’s preceded it. (read more...)
Yamaha’s iPod ready compact electric motorcycle
August 17, 2007 Yamaha first unveiled the EC-02 electric motorcycle as part of a range of sustainable machines in 2005. Not wanting to be left behind in the age of the ubiquitous personal music player, the latest incarnation of the short-range commuter features a tank mounted iPod dock. (read more...)
Yamaha unveil 11.2 Channel flagship home theater receiver
August 13, 2007 Yamaha have unveiled their latest a new home theatre - the RX-Z11. Aimed at setting a new benchmark in the category, the receiver carries an industry-first THX Ultra2 Plus certification and full HDMI version 1.3a including 1080p resolution with over a billion colors, supporting the latest HD formats for Blu-Ray and HD DVD technology. The 11.2 channel RXZ11 adds front and rear presence speakers to traditional configurations and includes custom install features that suit complex multi-room/zone configurations. (read more...)
All new Aussie Yamaha motorcycles to come with free DataDot theft protection
July 31, 2007 Motorcycles offer a boundless sense of freedom to their owners – and they’re also seen as boundlessly free by bike thieves who know it only takes two men to lift a parked bike into a van and nick-off with it. But a bike that can always be traced back to its original owner is difficult for thieves to make a dollar from and Yamaha is taking advantage of this fact on behalf of its customers. Since February this year, every new Yamaha motorcycle, scooter and ATV sold in Australia has been sprayed with DataDotDNA theft protection – microscopic dots that carry identifying information linking every part on the bike back to its original frame number and making stolen bikes extremely difficult to on-sell or part out. DataDotDNA are doing these sorts of deals across the world with a number of different manufacturers now, and becoming a worldwide standard in vehicle identification. (read more...)
Yamaha shows 125-class fuel cell scooter
October 30, 2006 Yamaha showed a new fuel cell scooter at this week’s 22nd International Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition (EVS22), in Yokohama, Japan. Though only a prototype, it shows things can go a long way in a year. Yamaha has been developing fuel cell technology for 20 years, and this time last year it was proudly showing it’s FC-ME (wouldn’t you think such a clever company would get a Western-savvy marketing exec to vet their names), a lightweight machine powered by Yamaha’s Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) system, and with the performance of a 50cc scooter. This year the FC-AQEL hydrogen fuel cell scooter prototype has 125cc class performance – though no power figures have been quoted, that’s at least a 100 percent increase over last year’s best and enough grunt to make the FC-AQEL viable in most global markets. Now all we need is a hydrogen infrastructure. (read more...)
Yamaha’s Maxam scooter bound for overseas markets
October 26, 2006 This time last year the motorcycling world was amazed to see Yamaha unveil a two wheeled limousine of extravagant proportions in the form of the Maxam 3000 prototype (image gallery). The 3000 in the model designation was there to signify the beastie was indeed 3000mm in length - almost 10 feet long! What wasn’t conveyed and hence wasn’t obvious to the rest of the world was the success the crossed tuning fork brand was having in its domestic market with the Yamaha Maxam 250 scooter – a similarly limousine-like scooter designed for two-up riding as a “weekend leisure cruiser.” The Maxam 250 is selling in droves in Japan and there’s a mmassive aftermarket and official Yamaha accessory listing of all manner of aesthetic and practical parts to complement the machine’s obvious strength of having loads of storage. Now it appears that Yamaha is to offer this limousine scooter to the rest of the world, beginning with a showing in Australia this week at the Sydney International Motor Show alongside its 189 bhp R1 sports machine. We can’t wait to throw a leg over this one – the seat height is so low that even the smallest of Japanese females (one of the target groups for the bike) can get both feet flat on the ground. Great image gallery. (read more...)
Yamaha’s all-new 189 bhp, US$11,600 YZF-R1 Supersport
October 17, 2006 Yamaha’s all new 2007 YZF-R1 Supersport machine hits showrooms in a few weeks time and the new bike is bristling with innovative technology, including the world’s first variable air funnel intake on a motorcycle. The YCC-I (Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake) electronically varies intake length to maximise combustion efficiency at all rev levels and so produce a more linear power curve. The new R1 also sports ‘fly-by-wire’ throttle first used on Valentino Rossi’s world championship winning YZR-M1 race bike. The YCC-T system (Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle) senses a rider’s accelerator operation and an ECU instantly calculates the optimal throttle opening to provide instant response and smooth power in every situation. These high tech features combine with a strong four-valve engine to produce an astonishing 189 bhp (139 kw) @ 12,500rpm with ram air effect. Power is transmitted to the tarmac via a race-style slipper clutch and once the power gets there, a pair of six piston radially mounted front brake calipers ensure the rider is always in control. A fifth generation ‘controlled flex’ aluminium chassis and swingarm further improves stability and handling, while futuristic styling incorporating advanced air management reduces air resistance while boosting intake for maximum performance. (read more...)
Power steering first for Yamaha Grizzly ATV
August 31, 2006 In a first for the ATV market, Yamaha has introduced an electric power steering system on its new Grizzly 700 EPS. The Grizzly’s power steering system varies with both vehicle speed and engine speed (RPM), so that the rider benefits from more assistance when needed at low speeds and tight corners and less when on the move. Powering the Grizzly 700 EPS is the proven fuel injected, four-stroke forward-inclined single cylinder and liquid-cooled engine now with a ceramic composite coated, all-aluminium cylinder and a swept volume of 686cc, a reverse-facing air intake, electronic fuel injection, straight intake tracts and four valves per cylinder. The Grizzly comes in several variants including a duck hunting version complete with rifle carrier and a box to keep the ducks in (pictured). Another great photo gallery with this story. (read more...)
Yamaha's Fazer becomes even more brutal
March 23, 2006 Way back in the Northern hemisphere autumn of 2000, Yamaha released the Fazer 1000 – a more upright, naked version of its R1 1000cc supersport machine for riders who wanted maximum power but didn’t want the "praying mantis" riding position because they spent a goodly proportion of their time on city streets. Over the last few years, as competition has increased in the 1000 supersport category, the R1 has evolved considerably while the Fazer has had only minor revisions. At the Salon Moto de Paris last year, Yamaha showed two versions of an all-new Fazer - a naked streetfighter N model sporting a cutting edge headlight design and the faired S model with half-cowl and R1 style lights. Both models reach the showroom floor this week, with an all-new aluminium frame and swingarm with optimal balance between torsional, lateral and vertical stiffness for a great-handling, responsive ride … oh, and 150 bhp in your right hand and a mid-range that’s 7% stronger than the already brutal R1! The new Fazer might now be the fastest point-to-point motorcycle on the roads if there's a city between those points. (read more...)
Ducati narrowly leads Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha in World Superbike title chase
March 6, 2005 World-class racing on machinery closely related to that on the showroom floor is what continues to drive the success of the World Superbike and Supersport Championships. With four races now complete in the World Superbike Championship, it now seems certain that Honda, Ducati, Yamaha and Suzuki all have realistic chances of taking the title, with as many as ten potential race-winning riders on the grid. Realistically though, championship leader TroyBayliss (Ducati 999, 75 pts), James Toseland (Honda CBR1000RR, 74 pts), Troy Corser (Suzuki GSXR1000, 63 pts), MotoGP veteran Alex Barros (Honda CBR1000RR, 55 pts) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha YZF R1, 42 pts) will be the key players with both Barros and Haga set for significant machinery improvements in the coming weeks. In the Supersport championship, the title already looks to be a race between the Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR of reigning champ Sebastien Charpentier and the Yamaha Germany YZF-R6 of Kevin Curtain. (read more...)
Yamaha introduces ride-by-wire motorcycle
October 31, 2005 Yamaha recently released the details on its 2006 R6 Supersport motorcycle. It has a fuel-injected 599cc four cylinder engine with four titanium valves per cylinder and revs cleanly to its 17,500 rpm redline, making maximum power of 133bhp at 14,500 rpm – that’s 221 bhp per litre – roughly the equivalent of a front-running MotoGP bike. It’s engine also has a slipper clutch as standard and it is the first production motorcycle with a ride-by-wire throttle. That’s right – there are still throttle cables but they run to a computer, not the carburettor slides. (read more...)
Yamaha V-Max 2005 and MT-OS concept bikes
October 25, 2005 One of the trends of the most recent motorcycle shows in Paris and Tokyo has been showing new concept motorcycles and being very vague with the information accompanying them. Yamaha has shown a raft of new and fascinating such motocycles at the Tokyo Show but we’re still very much in the dark on two of its concepts. The MT-OS was first shown at the 2005 Paris Motor Show and is a radically styled version of the 89 bhp 1670cc Yamaha MT-O1 – as if the MT-01 wasn’t radical enough. The other is also a reprise of the nearly 20 year old V-Max – Yamaha’s original muscle bike has been brought right up to date though we suspect that the new motor is going to have a much larger capacity. Like 1.8 litres, and 200BHP? Now that’d be worth the two decade wait. Extensive photo galleries inside. (read more...)
Yamaha unveils hybrid electric motorcycle and limousine scooter
October 28, 2005 UPDATED IMAGES Yamaha revealed a hybrid motorcycle concept at the Tokyo Show which is quite unlike any form of two wheeler seen to date. The motorcycle, to be known as the Gen-Ryu, uses the high output lightweight compact YZF-R6 600cc motor and an electric motor to deliver the type of performance normally associated with a much larger capacity engine, and is packaged as a futuristic cruiser with advanced aerodynamics and some form of noise cancelling in the cockpit area to enable voice activation of the navigation system, mobile telephone, intercom communications with the pillion and other similarly equipped riders plus a dazzling array of advanced technologies such as headlights which turn to the inside of the corner and rear cameras playing through LCD screens in the dashboard. The Gen-Ryu will be joined on the Yamaha stand by the previously reported and equally radical stretching and shrinking DEINONYCHUS and the limousine-styled Maxam scooter. With massive overhangs, plush white leather upholstery and long, feet-first styling, the Maxam is the most distinctive two wheeler we’ve ever seen. (read more...)
Yamaha introduces computer-operated clutch and electronic shift actuators on FJR1300
October 28, 2005 UPDATED IMAGES Yamaha is introducing an interesting innovation to motorcycling with a 2006 version of the Yamaha FJR1300 – a computer operated, electric gearshift which eliminates the need to operate the clutch. The Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift (YCC-S) system is very similar to the electronic shifting systems used on F1 race cars and as with the cars, you can choose to shift up and down with your left thumb or the old fashioned way with your left foot – neither requires the clutch. Its apparently smoother and faster but we’re not sure if the motorcycle community will be queuing up for this one and the blogs are already full of “scooter” jokes though it must be said this is not an automatic motorcycle. There’s something immensely satisfying about snicking up a gear and feeding in 145 horsepower but we’ll treat it with an open mind until we can throw a leg over it. (read more...)
MotoGP Qatar: Rossi’s tenth victory secures team title for Gauloises Yamaha
October 2, 2005 Just six days after lifting the MotoGP title with Valentino Rossi in Malaysia, the Gauloises Yamaha Team were celebrating again today as Valentino Rossi’s record-breaking tenth victory of the season secured the Teams’ World Championship at the Qatar Grand Prix. Yamaha is likely to secure the trifecta by winning the constructor’s title at the Australian GP in a fortnight’s time. Once again, Spaniard Sete Gibernau was the front-runner for most of the race, relenting once more when the chequered flag grew near to finally finish fifth. Gibernau has led 111 (32%) of the 347 laps in this year’s 14 races compared to Rossi’s 87 laps (25%) yet Rossi has won ten Gps and a championship compared to Gibernau’s zip and eighth place in the standings. The Spaniard remains the most obviously capable rider other than Rossi and is reportedly negotiating a move from Honda to Ducati for next year. (read more...)
Yamaha's radical adjustable electric motorcycle
October 28, 2005 UPDATED IMAGES For the last 125 years, motorcycles have been made up of two wheels and a motor, and they have all been arranged as a wheel, a motor and another wheel – in that order – all of them. But the freedom afforded to designers by the in-wheel electric motors which technology has recently spawned will make for some interesting changes over the coming years and Yamaha is the first of the motorcycle manufacturers to seriously look at alternatives available in the next generation of motorcycles. The Deinonychus prototype takes full advantage of the greater chassis design freedom afforded by an in-wheel motor, and offers a completely new type of two-wheel-drive (2WD) EV (electric vehicle) with "Stretch & Shrink" functions in the vertical and horizontal directions. Yamaha’s exhibition at the Tokyo Motor Show features a number of futuristic commuter vehicles other than the Deinonychus including a fuel cell prototype, a hybrid prototype and a production electric scooter. For the record, a Deinonychus is a lightly built, fast-moving, agile, bipedal, killer dinosaur. This article includes a full rundown of Yamaha's other electric, methanol and hybrid scooters shown at Tokyo (read more...)
Yamaha 700 Raptor snags world record crossing
September 19, 2005 Yamaha launched its 700cc fuel injected Yamaha YFM700R Raptor two months ago and as part of the promotional activities for the potent new All Terrain Vehicle, it backed two Australian adventurers in a trans-Australian crossing on a pair of new machines. Matt Brown and Ross Ledger left Byron Bay Lighthouse, the eastern-most point of Australia and spent two weeks crossing Australia before arriving in Steep Point, WA earlier this month. The achievement will gain them entry to the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest trip ever completed on an ATV. (read more...)
MotoGP Brno: Rossi and Yamaha again
August 29, 2005 Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi became the first rider in the history of the MotoGP World Championship to score nine wins for five consecutive seasons, as he clinched victory in the eleventh round of the 2005 campaign at Brno yesterday. Rossi’s record-breaking ride featured an intense battle with Sete Gibernau (Honda) that again came down to a dramatic finale, with Rossi making his definitive pass at the end of the penultimate lap. Gibernau tried to fight back but as Rossi edged clear through the final series of sweeping corners, the Spaniard’s slim hope of a victorious response disappeared completely as he suffered a “fuel starvation” problem and was forced to retire. (read more...)
World Superbike Brands Hatch: Corser 1 & 2 and extends lead, Haga & Yamaha 2 & 1
August 7, 2005 Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Troy Corser placed first and second in the two fiercely-contested 25-lap battles at Brands Hatch today, swapping positions with Yamaha’s Noriyuki Haga in the final race to take 45 points away from the weekend and further extend his championship lead to 110 points. Corser and Haga were wheel to wheel from the start to the finish of the races and served up a feast of closely-fought action in front of more than 100,000 spectators. (read more...)
MotoGP: Yamaha and Rossi sign for 2006
August 2, 2005 Yamaha Motor and Valentino Rossi signed a contract extension yesterday, ensuring that Valentino will stay with Yamaha for the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. Rossi won the 2004 MotoGP World Championship with Yamaha and is currently competing in his second season with the Japanese manufacturer's factory team. The Italian leads the 2005 MotoGP World Championship by 120 points, following his 8th victory of the season at last weekend's German Grand Prix. Significantly, it was Rossi’s 76th Grand prix victory and moved the 26-year old into equal third place in the all-time victory list alongside the late Mike Hailwood. Rossi rode his victory lap with a flag that read, “Rossi 76, Hailwood 76, I'm sorry Mike,” in deference to Hailwood. Only the greats Angel Nieto (90) and Giacomo Agostini (122) remain for “The Doctor” to conquer should he be able to remain focused for that long given the constant enticements to move to four wheeled motorsport. That said, Rossi’s 76th win last weekend had all the hallmarks of Rossi magic. (read more...)
Page: 1 2
