IN
THE
WIND
P36
YAMAHA ELECTRICS
ON THE WAY?
T
he Yamaha PES-1 street and PED-1 off-road
electric concept bikes of 2013 appear to be a
step closer with newly registered Japanese pat-
ents revealing they could be set for a showroom
debut next year.
The bikes are part of a new strategy from Yama-
ha, aimed at developing multiple electric vehicles
(EVs) from a single platform. Both the off-road and
on-road machines share the same main frame,
motor and batteries, although they don't share
components like subframe, pegs, bars, wheels,
suspension and bodywork.
The bikes will be powered by lithium-ion bat-
teries. However, the patents reveal the frame's
center section is actually a battery box, with bat-
teries located inside it. These batteries can then
be lifted out like a briefcase, meaning straight
swaps should be easy, ensuring you always have
a charged power source, much like swapping bat-
teries in a camera.
This arrangement would also allow for Yamaha
to have twin or even triple battery packs to allow
for higher performance, much like going up in
capacity from a 125cc, 250cc and 500cc.
No official word has come from Yamaha itself,
but with the international shows coming up in Eu-
rope, more on the prototypes may be revealed. CN
Is the Yamaha PES-1 electric-powered
street bike nearing production?
YAMAHA TEASES
WITH FZ-03 VIDEO
Y
amaha has released the first video for
their eagerly awaited entry-level ma-
chine in the MT/FZ-03.
The smallest machine in the MT/FZ line-
up, the new naked bike will be powered
by the same 321cc parallel-twin four-stroke found in
the R3 sportbike, a machine that recently won Cycle
News' head-to-head shootout with the KTM RC 390.
Aimed at new and younger riders, we anticipate this
new MT/FZ-03 to be just as big a sales hit as the FZ-
09 and FZ-07.
The U.S. release date for this new Yamaha hasn't yet
been confirmed, but for now, check out the video. CN
Yamaha is giving sneak peaks of the FZ-03.
