# Yamaha making their own emtb!



## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Soon you'll be able to go pick up a yzf250 (motorcycle) and an emtb at the same shop! Now that's one stop shopping. Their prototype will be revealed at Interbike Sept 22. Their motors are bulletproof.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

Why am I not surprised?

-Walt


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Agreed, inevitable. Ebike Action magazine! 250watt shootout! Dunlop, Bridgestone, and Pirelli next to outfit the tires?


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## Oscello (Sep 29, 2016)

They should call it the EZ250 for multiple reasons.........


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## JAK (Jan 6, 2004)

My FB had an article on the Yamaha Ebike shitaqua w/ aresponse from Dave Turner...

Motorized mountain bikes are perfect for expediting the banning of mechanized everything off public trails, as has been repeated over and over in these PB threads by a lot of other MOUNTAIN BIKERS, but the opposition will lump us all together, bikes is bikes.

Yamaha help? That is laughable, the little effort put out by the 5 large motorcycle companies the last few decades has done NOTHING for their land access and the petrol motorized access has shrunk to motocross tracks and squirrel cages called OHV parks. For those of you that live rural with a billion acres of public land can shrug your shoulders and walk away. But the fact is most of these toys are bought where most of the people live and that is where most of the opposition lives and where most of the conflicts will arise and ultimately where most of us will be banned for the most part 'cause an electric motorized pedal bike looks too much like a human powered pedal bike. Easier just to change the laws/rules/bills whatever to say NO MECHANIZED VEHICLES. All for what?

Laziness, yes yes I know I am spitting into the wind, and that the peoples pursuit of an easier life and the manufacturers ability to sell them what they want will steam roll us curmudgeons. I just want to say 'I told you' so when some lazy fat f*ck on a 750watt eMTB is crying about the NO BIKES signs in the parking lot. So sorry to offend you, but really WHO is going to buy a MORB? Lazy riders not wanting to squeeze in a couple more rides per week to get their fat asses stronger to hang with their best buds, just more people looking to make excuses for their lifestyle and fix it with a credit card instead of take responsibility and either ride more/eat less or if one is getting old and 'crepid, ride the same amount of TIME and accept we will ride less distance.

At the very end it's all about the time we had on the bike, not mileage. Enjoy the time away from work/stress/concrete jungle whatever. And this ain't about disabled people, this is about trying to jump start the floundering bicycle industry with electricity and the big companies that are driving this movement thru sexy product development and subsequent marketing will deal with the aftermath after they pay off their tooling costs haha.

Ride Centres are the future people! Controlled access, segregating us from them, we will all be in a squirrel cage right where they want us, not roaming about causing harm to Mother Earth and Her beloved hikers and horses.

David Turner
Turner Bikes


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Oscello said:


> They should call it the EZ250 for multiple reasons.........


I like it. I'll take it. I enjoy taking it easy.


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Gee, why am I not surprised?






They'll join Bultalco, Ducati and KTM/Husqvarna in chasing that crossover market.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

All Hail Dave Turner.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

I hope their frame is more fluid than that 2014 video.


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## chuckha62 (Jul 11, 2006)

Read the comments in response to the Pinkbike article. You think this place is bad...


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## #1ORBUST (Sep 13, 2005)

JAK said:


> My FB had an article on the Yamaha Ebike shitaqua w/ aresponse from Dave Turner...
> 
> Motorized mountain bikes are perfect for expediting the banning of mechanized everything off public trails, as has been repeated over and over in these PB threads by a lot of other MOUNTAIN BIKERS, but the opposition will lump us all together, bikes is bikes.
> 
> ...


Biggest COPE response ever I lold


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Gutch said:


> I hope their frame is more fluid than that 2014 video.


They were just making motors back then. It'll be interesting to see if they just source chinese clones to slap their stickers on like most motorcycle/car companies, try to design fs ebikes to compete with the bike companies or if they'll go in a more moto direction like Bultalco. To me, it seems like they should leverage their moto suspension knowledge and develop a motor/gearbox combo to enable a modern moto like rear suspension.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Have fun on the atv trails.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Harryman said:


> They were just making motors back then. It'll be interesting to see if they just source chinese clones to slap their stickers on like most motorcycle/car companies, try to design fs ebikes to compete with the bike companies or if they'll go in a more moto direction like Bultalco. To me, it seems like they should leverage their moto suspension knowledge and develop a motor/gearbox combo to enable a modern moto like rear suspension.


Yeah, the funniest are the car companies, Jeep, Porsche etc. Yes, their swing arm etc could be close? Dirt bikes don't have pedal bob to contend with though.


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Gutch said:


> Yeah, the funniest are the car companies, Jeep, Porsche etc. Yes, their swing arm etc could be close? Dirt bikes don't have pedal bob to contend with though.


I'm no suspension engineer, but part of the problem of designing a fs bike you can efficiently pedal is that the force vector produced through the chain changes depending on what gear you're in. It used to be even worse back in the triple chainring days, so by going to 1x both up front and in the rear, you'd be simplfying that issue. Besides, you've got a motor, who's going to be pedalling anyway?


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

Bob isn't much of an issue with single pivot designs anymore due to (as Harryman points out) the lack of front derailleurs/different chainrings being used. You can get about all the antisquat anyone needs by basically just putting the pivot ~65-70mm above the BB (where your chainring interfaces with the chain for a ~32t).

Dirt bikes are more concerned with axle path, they just stick the pivot concentric with the driveshaft (pretty high, so a slightly rearward axle path) and the squat when you blip the throttle is a sort of feature the people like and use in various ways. 

If you're just basically pedaling to get the motor to go, suspension kinematics doesn't matter very much so I imagine we'll just see high single pivot type designs. Which is what most mountain bikes are now anyway.

-Walt


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## Lemonaid (May 13, 2013)

JAK said:


> My FB had an article on the Yamaha Ebike shitaqua w/ aresponse from Dave Turner...
> 
> Motorized mountain bikes are perfect for expediting the banning of mechanized everything off public trails, as has been repeated over and over in these PB threads by a lot of other MOUNTAIN BIKERS, but the opposition will lump us all together, bikes is bikes.
> 
> ...


I'm seriously going to look into buying a Turner bike next chance I get. I think just got a man crush...


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## JAK (Jan 6, 2004)

Hodads, the whole lot of ya!! Frikkin boogie boarders of the wheeled world!


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

^^Haha! Hey is that Machado with a fro in your avatar?


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## ghoti (Mar 23, 2011)

Cool that they make their electric motors look like the gas ones. Clearly demonstrating the relationship and classification of these bikes right?


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## JAK (Jan 6, 2004)

Ha! No, it's Neal Schon busting out a lick for Steve Perry. It must be either one of the songs "I'll Be Alright Without You" or "Be Good to Yourself" where Steve Perry references the inadequacies of the need of eMotors on bikes...


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## jminus (Sep 4, 2008)

Watching that 2014 video just highlights how ridiculous pedal assist is conceptually. That bike should have a twist throttle. Once they are putting out 750W+ continuous, why make me pretend to pedal at all? 

...Unless of course, you are a motorcycle company trying to subvert existing land use regulations to get your motorcycles back out on public lands that banned dirt bikes.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

JAK said:


> Ha! No, it's Neal Schon busting out a lick for Steve Perry. It must be either one of the songs "I'll Be Alright Without You" or "Be Good to Yourself" where Steve Perry references the inadequacies of the need of eMotors on bikes...


Kinda looks like him though, no? 

Edit...I haven't heard or used the term hodad in years. Reminds me of long days in the water growing up. Good times.

Back to the scheduled Yami e-moto talk, sorry.


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## JAK (Jan 6, 2004)

It does. 

I wonder if Machado would would ride an esurfboard?


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

nope


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## Cornfield (Apr 15, 2012)

JAK said:


> Hodads, the whole lot of ya!! Frikkin boogie boarders of the wheeled world!


Don't you mean Spongers? The correct term is Bodyboarders, get it straight!

lol, I guess I've been involved in a few sports with user group conflicts.


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## jochribs (Nov 12, 2009)

The best was back in the late 80's when Mike Stewart was at Pipe and someone called from the shoulder that he should stand up...and he did. Pretty sure he took it though. 

I say it as if I was there...nope...but I read about it with admiring grom eyes,


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I imagine all the motorcycle companies will develop electric motorized vehicles including some with pedals. I'll have a good laugh if they push mountain bike companies out of the pedal + motor market and the bike companies start complaining about motorized vehicles on trails. 

Well laughing until I get run off a climb by a motorized beast with vestigial pedals cruising through me at 20mph anyways.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

I'll take the EZ450F


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

I've been a Yamaha fan for decades...snowmobiles and dirt bikes...and I have a great Yamaha dealer locally. Very intrigued by their e-bike. Thanks for posting this.

https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blog/post/yamaha-electric-bike-updates-2018/


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## eFat (Jun 14, 2017)

COMING SOON


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## Lemonaid (May 13, 2013)

I propose to the mods add Yamaha, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, and Suzuki to the manufacturers section.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

Lemonaid said:


> I propose to the mods add Yamaha, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, and Suzuki to the manufacturers section.


Makes sense. If I am buying a cycle with a motor I might as well get it from a motorcycle company. They have a lot of experience with that. :thumbsup:


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Lemonaid said:


> I propose to the mods add Yamaha, Ducati, Harley Davidson, Honda, BMW, Kawasaki, and Suzuki to the manufacturers section.


Kawasaki, Ducati, KTM, Husqvarna and Butalco already make ebikes, so might as well.


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## outlaws (Aug 26, 2008)

What a letdown after seeing the bike lineup

The site is live now:
https://www.yamahabicycles.com/


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## eFat (Jun 14, 2017)

Yes, not really what I expected.

There is a first for everything so we can expect more in the future...


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

Cheap chinese clones.....

It really comes down to, the electric motor guys know nothing about bicycles and the bicycle guys know nothing about electric motors. Untill one starts to hire away talent from the other, I don't see one company ruling all.


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## Lemonaid (May 13, 2013)

Looks like they're going the cheap generic route with their bikes. Which is probably smart considering the experience they have selling bicycles. They invested more on their website and marketing than on bike development. Probably picked the frames from a catalog. 

I remember back in 2005 my very first full suspension mountain bike was a Yamaha bike from Sports Authority. It was such a piece of crap I sold it without even opening the box. I promptly bought a used Stumpjumper FSR.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

This is just the start to get their foot in the door. They expend additional resources if they see a business case to do so. Motorcycle companies certainly have the engineering and manufacturing capabilities to develop sophisticated products for this market.


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

vikb said:


> This is just the start to get their foot in the door. They expend additional resources if they see a business case to do so. Motorcycle companies certainly have the engineering and manufacturing capabilities to develop sophisticated products for this market.


Doesn't take much. There are, essentially, four snowmobile manufacturers, Yamaha being one. You have to appreciate how limited the US snowmobile market is compared to bicycles, yet Yamaha has been in in from the beginning and is still going strong in that market. They understand how to address a limited market and once committed, they know how to make it work.


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## andytiedye (Jul 26, 2014)

From Yamaha I would be looking for something more like an electric dirt bike. Motorcycle frame, throttle, lots of power. That's what Yamaha's customers will be looking for, not a 750 watt pedelec.

There is certainly a market for a quiet dirt bike. The gas ones make enough noise to wake the dead. 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Cuyuna (May 14, 2017)

andytiedye said:


> From Yamaha I would be looking for something more like an electric dirt bike. Motorcycle frame, throttle, lots of power. That's what Yamaha's customers will be looking for, not a 750 watt pedelec.
> 
> The gas ones make enough noise to wake the dead.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


I think they'll be working on both. One model line as a dirt bike replacement, another as something that can be run on mountain biking trails. Eventually.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

andytiedye said:


> From Yamaha I would be looking for something more like an electric dirt bike. Motorcycle frame, throttle, lots of power. That's what Yamaha's customers will be looking for, not a 750 watt pedelec.


I'm sure that's coming as well.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Lemonaid said:


> Looks like they're going the cheap generic route with their bikes. Which is probably smart considering the experience they have selling bicycles. They invested more on their website and marketing than on bike development. Probably picked the frames from a catalog.
> 
> I remember back in 2005 my very first full suspension mountain bike was a Yamaha bike from Sports Authority. It was such a piece of crap I sold it without even opening the box. I promptly bought a used Stumpjumper FSR.


It's very possible that your Yamaha bike from Sports Authority was not made by Yamaha, that Yamaha had nothing to do with it other than collecting a fee to let another manufacturer stick their logo on it. Just like the Honda, Kawasaki, Hummer, etc bicycles.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

If I was in the market and had expendable income, my money would be on the Pivot with Shimano STEPS. Shimano has always been solid.


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## Cornfield (Apr 15, 2012)

chazpat said:


> It's very possible that your Yamaha bike from Sports Authority was not made by Yamaha, that Yamaha had nothing to do with it other than collecting a fee to let another manufacturer stick their logo on it. Just like the Honda, Kawasaki, Hummer, etc bicycles.


Don't forget about Jeep!


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

I'd fully expect them to bring an electric MX bike to the market, Alta has proven it works and the future for MX is electric only tracks located right in town. The performance is there and you eliminate the noise and exhaust issues. Plus, what better way to grow interest in the sport than having MX bikes being ridden where every kid can see them?

Time will tell how serious they are with emtbs.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

Yes, but no VP smell. That'll suck.


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## AGarcia (Feb 20, 2012)

Gutch said:


> If I was in the market and had expendable income, my money would be on the Pivot with Shimano STEPS. Shimano has always been solid.


Yep. And Shimano and Pivot work together closely.


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## Gutch (Dec 17, 2010)

No doubt. I'd pay S-Works money because I love my 429 Trail, but 12k? Yikes!


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## AGarcia (Feb 20, 2012)

Gutch said:


> No doubt. I'd pay S-Works money because I love my 429 Trail, but 12k? Yikes!


Likewise, I love my Mach 429SL. I can see 8k, maybe even 8k with lesser components... but 12k? Too rich for my blood, in particular for something that would see so little use for me.


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

Harryman said:


> I'd fully expect them to bring an electric MX bike to the market, Alta has proven it works and the future for MX is electric only tracks located right in town. The performance is there and you eliminate the noise and exhaust issues. Plus, what better way to grow interest in the sport than having MX bikes being ridden where every kid can see them?
> 
> Time will tell how serious they are with emtbs.


E mx bike is the logical conclusion.


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## AyyLMAO (Sep 22, 2017)

just hope they turn to be as realiable as a WRFs or YZFs ! it might be time to own another yamaha after my '96 TTR 
i'm so interested into these pedal assist e-bikes right now that I even registered here... see you around


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