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Yamaha Claims It Will “Change the Sport Motorcycle World” on June 11

In the now time-honored tradition of teaser videos, Yamaha has produced the following vid in advance of unveiling a new model on June 11.  In the text accompanying the video, which is also printed below, Yamaha claims the bike is “a new kind of brutal animal, which is about to change the sport motorcycle world.”

Of course, we have come to expect a large dose of hyperbole when new models emerge, and the video tells us nothing more than the new bike will have upright ergonomics (evident from the rider’s position).  We have long advocated upright ergos (see our 2006 discussion here, and our more recent comments on the strengthening trend).

Aside from the seating position, nothing else is revealed at this point. It should be noted that Yamaha has broken new ground in the past (their lead in the development of four-stroke motocross bikes beginning with the YZ400 comes to mind), so it is within the realm of possibility that there is something groundbreaking here, as well. We suspect, however, that this new model will be an upright sport bike, not unlike other nakeds, featuring some styling exercises designed to appeal to younger, independent thinkers similar to those targeted by the Bolt. We will all find out on June 11. Here is the text from Yamaha, followed by the video:

While some onlookers may see Japan just as a traditional and respectful society where conformity is the norm, behind this stereotypical image lies a vibrant sub-culture where new fashions and ideas are constantly emerging.

From the spectacle of drift racing through to the insanity of Japanese speedway, the other side of Japanese society has been responsible for some wild and wonderful trends.

The same creative forces that drive the darker and unconventional side of Japan now have created a new kind of brutal animal, which is about to change the sport motorcycle world.

139 Comments

  1. John A. Kuzmenjo says:

    MT-09.
    Not bad, but not about to change the sport motorcycling world…unless the 3-cylinder engine is more fun to ride than I think it is.

    Wednesday it traditionally the day when Yamaha Motor Co., USA announces new models, and the 2013 Yamaha dealer meeting is currently going on right now.
    Hopefully, we’ll have more to see tomorrow.

  2. mr wonderful says:

    well it is the 11th where is the damn thing as it is 8pm atlantic my time

  3. bagadonitz says:

    Would it have killed them to publish some gallery pictures not in the dark in an alley? What does the bike look like? I wonder what it sounds like?

    They should fire the marketing department.

  4. Bud says:

    Yamaha really needs to fire their styling department.

  5. Ryan M says:

    That’s the bike that will change the sport bike world? Another standard?

  6. Starmag says:

    “Change the sport motrcycle world” huh… with a 3 cylinder variant of an FZ-8? The hype (wait till you see our dark side!,also ) makes this bike seem like a disappointment, when , without the hype, I’m sure it’s a great bike. 115HP from a great sounding 3 cylinder pushing only 413LBs wet seems like fun, but not world changing.
    Too bad the top half of the bike and the back half of the exhaust aren’t very pretty in my eyes.
    Too bad you won’t be able to carry a passenger very far because the back half of the bike had (for what reason?) to be styled like the now common wasp’s butt, which also makes for very ugly taillight/licence plate brackets..

  7. ApriliaRST says:

    Zzzzz. Back to sleep. I see NOTHING about this bike to justify the hype.

    • Dave says:

      The UK market will get ot for 6,700UKP, which is apparently a great price in that market. The bike has sculpted aluminum frame and swing arm and a new, true street sport engine. Given that most of the lower priced biked to come out lately are plastic covered steel frame/swing bikes this one is good news even if it’s not the right bike for some. Maybe Yamaha has more to come?

      • Dave says:

        Claimed wet weight is 413lb. That’s pretty light!

        • ApriliaRST says:

          It’s probably a nice enough, IOWs fun enough, bike… but my bikes have to serve a purpose, namely being useful as transportation. Unless this engine ends up in a bike with weather protection and places to put stuff (bags?), it’s a no-sale for me.

    • Ryan M says:

      I agree..

  8. Rich says:

    Sorry, forgot to mention 850cc. Here’s the website. http://www.yamaha-motor.eu/eu/products/motorcycles/mt/mt-09.aspx?view=explore

  9. Rich says:

    Well, it’s out. Called the MT-09. 3 cylinder naked. Looks like a fun bike. See if we get it in the states.

  10. jonnyblaze says:

    It’s out! The MT-09. Naked 850cc triple.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcj5b7pfdyc

  11. Baza says:

    Bring on a 350 -599 cc two stroke! Preferably 599cc, to get the lower ACC levy rate in NZ.

  12. Mabe says:

    Bring XJR1300, please!!

  13. Panic Stop says:

    I think it will be a updated XS-650 in a bobber or street tracker package.

  14. Redruff'nsore says:

    Judging by the teaser, looks like a it be a great bike for smoking rock cocaine. Sorry, I’ve had a few hoppy beers tonight

  15. MiracleBill says:

    I want a sport standard with a triple and I don’t care who makes it. If no one fulfills my wish I may have to buy the CB1100. The buzz on the crossplane triple has been going on since the Fall. All we learn from the video is the Dark Side bike will have an upright riding position.
    I have been begging Triumph to make a modern version of the Thunderbird Sport which died off in 2004. It’s a bolt upright, feet underneath, wide bar standard that handles beautifully with fully adjustable suspension front and rear. It has a torquey 885cc triple that makes beautiful music.

  16. Brent Meeker says:

    “Naked bike”? A bike is nude, not naked. “Naked” means unprotected, not unclothed. It’s the rider that is naked. A half hour on the freeway and he’ll be wishing he had something to protect him from the 80mph wind.

    • Starmag says:

      Like a plexifairing that can be taken on and off in under a minute? A friend just bought a MG Norge with a huge amount of permanantly attached plastic in it’s fairing. I’d rather have a clear fairing that can be taken off when not needed. The coverage is actually better on my plexifairing than what comes on the Norge.

  17. Starmag says:

    Mr. Edge, there’s some great guesses here. How about a small prize for who’s the closest, judged by you?

  18. Agent55 says:

    It’s the release of the new triple in some sort of sporting street-package. Looking forward to it!

  19. Fe570 says:

    As long as we are all shooting in the dark, I hope they threw the 70hp 500cc twin from their Phazer snowmobile into the WR250R/X frame!

  20. Haydn says:

    Given that Yamaha has just entered into the Professional stunting arena in Australia by signing and promoting a top rider it makes sense the bike will be aimed at this.. I think it will be an 800cc version of Triumphs street triple, probably with some more bodywork to make the link to a traditional sportsbike.

  21. Mark M says:

    Google the “Yamaha Cage Six concept” bike. I bet we’ll see something like that with a little less flair.

  22. Gronde says:

    It’s hype. Rest assured, nothing earth shattering is going to be revealed on June 11th. This is just a marketing ploy designed to get your attention on the day it’s released and nothing more. Are you really going to get excited over a triple?(Triumph been selling them for years) Even the re-release of a new generation 2-stroke won’t change your entire life because 2-strokes aren’t for everyone,even if they’re clean burning. You can all rest easy til’ June 11th as the spin doctors at Yamaha are just having a little fun with you. Go back to staring at you smart phones and save up your money for that retro CB1100 with the skinny tires.

  23. Skido says:

    Could Yamaha be bring back the 2-stroke in direct injected form? Cheap and fun.

  24. Doc says:

    Don’t really care about the new bike. All I want to know, who is the black haired Monster umbrella babe in the R1 commercials?

  25. paul A says:

    If they really want to change the sport motorcycle world make the damn thing affordable.

  26. Sam says:

    I ‘GOOGLED’ “new Yamaha 3 cylinder motorcycle” and actually seen a picture of it. It looks exactly like the FZ8 but has 3 exhaust pipes!

    Sam:)

  27. MotoChris says:

    Yamaha already owns the technology for HPDI, the 2 stroke fuel injection. Could it be a large dsplacement stroker that weighs less than a 600 with class leading hp??? 🙂

  28. DiN0 says:

    Even tho it looks like the cross plane triple is coming, I”ll dream about the Tesseract… Just for the fun of it!

  29. Tonup says:

    The logo on the helmet chin has me intrigued… Triangulated triple cylinder arrangement!?!
    Is that even plausible?

    • Tim says:

      You’re on to something. I doubt triangulated, but definitely it’s a hint that it’s the triple they’ve been working on.

    • Starmag says:

      Tonup, (great moniker by the way), you may be right. It could be half a Horex! That WOULD be cool. Could the in-line triple motor they’ve been showing be just a ruse?

      • Starmag says:

        If it really is half-a-Horex, kudos to Yamaha. What a great idea. Compact, smooth enough, and great exhaust sounds. Here’s hoping that like the Horex:

        A) you can see the engine

        B) the engine itself is styled to be beautiful

        C) the engine is in a motorcycle, not some three or four wheeled contraption

    • Norm G. says:

      re: “The logo on the helmet chin has me intrigued… Triangulated triple cylinder arrangement!?!”

      just the pawnbroker’s logo. j/k, who knows that that is. keep thinking i’ve seen that somewhere before though…?

    • Rocky says:

      If it is a VR3 configuration, I wonder how the firing order would be arranged… There would need to be some serious counterbalancing. Also, they would need to find some elegant solutions for intake and exhaust routing… Still, elegant solutions is what Yamaha have always done best – in my head at least, I have always associated the tuning fork brand with clever, novel engineering.

    • x-planer says:

      Like part of a VW VR6 motor? Interesting. It would set ’em apart from other triples for sure.

      • MiracleBill says:

        An inline triple doesn’t exactly have them blending in with the masses. The streets aren’t flooded with Triumphs and MV Agustas.

        • Starmag says:

          Ture enough, however, manufacturers love exclusives and as evidenced by this thread, consumers love the “latest thing”. (as long as it works properly, and even sometimes when it doesn’t).

  30. Ross says:

    Might it be the final product of that crossplane triple they displayed at the bike show?

  31. Gabe says:

    675cc Triple to replace the 8-model-year-old R6. Do I get a prize if I’m right?

    • Norm G. says:

      i’d like to think yamaha’s too smart to fix something that isn’t broken. wait, my smartphone’s been bombarded by a flurry of texts. beaubier, gagne, beach, lewis, gerloff, and lowes all say they like their R6’s exactly the way they are (ie. winning) thank you very much.

      • Dave says:

        Sales #’s are what determine if a product is broken or not. Those guys opinions and wins mean little if the bike’s sales continue to dwindle.

        • Norm G. says:

          change for the sake of change is not a sales bonanza make. apples to oranges. you’re confusing bike side for the robust model of car side.

          • Dave says:

            Not confusing anything. If the sales decline, the two choices are change or watch it die. A smart company will always choose to change and we’ve seen how quickly any of them will walk away from AMA racing (Suzuki USA after dominating for a decade) if they don’t like the direction of the breeze.

  32. Rickrace says:

    How about a hyper moto with Some real power, instead of a dead beaten xt 500 oil dump-sump.

  33. ol' D.W. says:

    “Brutal Animal”…so probably not a 400 or 750 triple, or even a 750 single motard. Hmm, what could it be? Maybe we will finally get a liquid cooled v-twin liter bike 15 years too late? Well I can dream can’t I?

  34. graham mccullough says:

    i am hoping it’s that retro 1300cc nacked they sell overseas.

  35. Jim says:

    Yamaha 3 cylinder competition for Tuono & 2014 Superduke? If so, Yamaha has my attention.

  36. Michael_H says:

    Yamaha doesn’t have a 250-300cc sportbike in its product lineup. The Honda and Kawi bikes in that category have the market to themselves. Since the is for an urban (as opposed to highway motorcycle), it is reasonable to speculate that Yamaha is going to introduce a product to fill that medium displacement niche.

  37. Vrooom says:

    Apparently the marketing department is getting a bonus this year based on the buzz they’ve generated here. Hard to imagine that it will “change the motorcycling world forever”, but I’ll hope for a sport enduro kinda bike.

  38. Gary says:

    I’m interested to see what it is, but I wish they wouldn’t let the marketing hacks over-hype things. Just show it and tell us what it is, and we can decide if it will “change the sport-motorcycle world”. It could be a really cool bike that just isn’t all that earth-shaking and then it will just feel like a let-down when otherwise it woud have just been what it is.

  39. Kirk says:

    Just a stab here, but with the already patented and obviously running 3 cyl mill with cross-plain crank that they have been working on for over a year could it not be a 675-800 cc Adventure sport bike? Something like a cross between a Tenere and an FZ? Something 415lbs or less that is capable of running down fire roads but carving the canyons, too.

  40. ibking says:

    I’m going to bet this new animal will have more than two wheels, and around 700cc silver & black and belt drive and very sporty.

  41. Chris says:

    I’m putting my money on new FZ-1, something similar to the Ninja 1000.

  42. ABQ says:

    I am guessing that it will be a dual rotory engine with electronic shift. No?

  43. mickey says:

    Yea, I don’t know. The gold image on his helmet looks like 3 nuts and it says something below that, but I can’t make it out.

    Dress suggests something hooligan, riding posture suggests nothing over 100 horsepower to me. I’m thinking big super moto or streetfighter.

    • Norm G. says:

      re: “Dress suggests something hooligan”

      exactly, that’s got nothing to do with a high investment, clean sheet design triple. motogp electronics have nothing on these costs.

  44. clasqm says:

    One word:

    electric

    Well, its as likely as all the other wild guesses in this thread.

  45. Lone Amigo says:

    I hope it’s not a Gromaha.

    Yamagrom?

  46. TF says:

    a naked 3-cylinder scooter, black, fat tire.

  47. Great to see some exciting news and for Yamaha to tease us with their future announcement. It is a little disappointing to see how quickly some people just start commenting in a negative way. It is easy to find fault or look for the bad in all things. The world has plenty of naysayers and negative thinking people. Look for the good in people and in the future.
    Put away those grumpy and hateful thoughts or comments. Or like the old saying goes, “if you do not have anything nice to say, then do not say anything.” Make it a great day. Life is short. Be kind.
    Anywho…some exciting mystery news will be coming soon about a new motorcycle. A pleasant surprise for all us motorcycle fans.

  48. jake says:

    Would love to see Bolt-esque styling but in a cafe type racer. Perhaps the bike will be a Japanese version of a Buell.

  49. andy1300 says:

    Yea, it will be a big three cylinder 1000cc to 1300 cc….

    • Scotty says:

      “Yea”?? Your definately waxing biblical Andy this had better be epic 🙂

  50. rustopher says:

    How about a hybrid battery/hydrogen powered 2 wheeler?

  51. stinkywheels says:

    They’ve done brutal with VMax a couple of times. That’s a hard act to follow. It’ll be interesting to say the least. I won’t even try to guess. I’d love to see a lightened Vmax with a real gas tank and no fat tires and hokey styling gimicks.

  52. paul A says:

    Maybe an FZ4 400cc three cylinder

  53. Tom R says:

    A Darth-Hooligan machine with flat black and dark grey colors, three-cylinder 900-1200cc motor, 240-section rear tire, 120-150 hp, very Diavel-ish and quasi-customizable with bolt-on accessories (sorry about all the hyphens).

    Whaddaya all think?

  54. halfbaked says:

    This whole thing reminds me of how the current YZ 450F was supposed to revolutionize the motocross world.

    • Dave says:

      It did, by making open-class horsepower ride-able by mortals. It just didn’t have any real effect on the quality of the racing.

  55. Dale says:

    Direct injected two stroke?

  56. Starmag says:

    Unless this thing runs on water, this ad copy about changing the sport motorcycle world is way over the top, and will make Yamaha lose face, (which seems to be important to the Japanese). Yamaha had a 3 cylinder dohc four stroke in 1977 and current versions are available from Triumph and MV Agusta. Not groundbreaking. If it’s a dark styling exercise, see the Nightster, Bolt, etc. Not groundbreaking. Supermotos have been done. Naked sportbikes have been done. Wait, don’t tell me, it’s a naked three cylinder supermoto painted flat black named ” Night Rash” or “Lone Wolf” or “Dark Hemlock” and it will come delivered in blacked out crates that look like coffins with racing stripes on them. You still won’t be able to carry anything on it, including a normal sized American female older than 18 for more than 10 miles because the back seat , suprise, suprise, will be shaped like a wasp’s a$$,but just think about how “rad” you’ll look! Maybe calling it “Lone Wolf” will be perfect. How’s that for dark, Yamaha marketing team?

    • Dino says:

      Time for someone’s Happy pill!

      • falcodoug says:

        🙂

      • Starmag says:

        I actually meant that to be a funny riff on what they themselves are suggesting in the video. Oh, well.. In my lifetime the Japanese (who I love ) have gone from “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” to “Wait ’till you see our dark side!” and their styling has gone from timeless beauty to insectoid. Judging from the still above from the video, they are implying riders should look like insects as well. I recognize it’s getting hard to come up with something that hasn’t been done before, but the”new” seems to be the enemy of the functional and beautiful.The Venus Demilo isn’t “outdated” and a “horrible retro” just because someone can now make an angular robotic female statue out of stainless steel.

        • Dino says:

          Maybe it was time for my happy pill! I did think the wasps a$$ was funny, and spot on. And an “updated” Venus De Milo (“now, with full arms!!”) is a good analogy.. If it ain’t broke, they still try to fix it.

          So much hyperbole in advertising now, I just ignore it, but everybody has to try to out-do the competition.. Sad. Just show us the goods, and maybe we can start meeting nice people on them again.

    • Norm G. says:

      re: “Unless this thing runs on water, this ad copy about changing the sport motorcycle world is way over the top, and will make Yamaha lose face, (which seems to be important to the Japanese). Yamaha had a 3 cylinder dohc four stroke in 1977 and current versions are available from Triumph and MV Agusta. Not groundbreaking.”

      and there it is.

      ps: don’t forget bmw’s K75 from the 1980’s.

  57. hipsabad says:

    so, this is going to change the sport motorcycle world…will that be like the way they converted the world with their Kodo concept embodied in the high-selling MT-01 ?

    • brad says:

      the MT-01 would have been amazing if it didn’t weigh so much, and probably would sell now either way… if it had ever come to the US

  58. ApriliaRST says:

    I’m betting on a bike powered by an inline triple, belt drive.

  59. Kawatwo says:

    A modern RZ350 would be good, 4 stroke triple maybe? Thinking a triple for sure of some size as someone mentioned above.

  60. Bob says:

    After the Bolt, I’m expecting the Nut. Hope I’m wrong.

    • thoppa says:

      Before the Nut, there has to be the Washer, right ? I’d bet they cut a cylinder off the Fazer 1000 for a 750 triple, but what to call it ? the Blazer ? the Tazer ? the Erazer ?!

      • Dino says:

        +1 to both of you, but I’m afraid you are both wrong…

        There’s a Bolt… Here’s a Screw! The three cylinder screw. Maybe a Nail? Go ahead and hammer it!

      • Provologna says:

        No. Eraserhead. Google the movie and check the plot.

    • Michael_H says:

      Or it could be a bike called the Dolt, for low information riders.

  61. MGNorge says:

    What say it’s an all black motorcycle, or whatever?

  62. Allworld says:

    I’m going with the in-line 3. Somewhere in the 750-800cc range I ride a Street Triple R 675, and MV Agusta is biting at the heels of Triumph, so this could get interesting.

  63. Michael H says:

    Maybe a bike with even bigger tank flanges than the Bolt. That would rock.

    Or a naked with the FJR1300 engine.

    • Dino says:

      Maybe tank flanges that are so big, they bent them into spoilers, or wings! Yeah!!

      Some peoples heads would explode!

  64. endoman38 says:

    I expect it’ll be as successful as their ‘backward cylinder’ YZ450F was. Sense the sarcasm here?

    • Pete says:

      I love my backwards cylinder 450. May not have revolutionized anything but it still rocks

  65. Gutterslob says:

    It’s gonna be some scooter, I tell ya!!

  66. George says:

    well I’m sick of waiting,be back on the 11th to hear all the griping cause it’s not a………..

  67. Richard says:

    Could they perhaps have their own 3-wheel vehicle to go head to head with Can-Am???

  68. Harry says:

    They seem like getting out from Japanese UJM stuff..

  69. TF says:

    Guessing here, but: a juiced-up, cheaper and better copy of the Triumph Speed Triple.

  70. Pablo says:

    For some reason when i read the line “A brutal animal” forced induction jumped strait into my head. I would love to see a Jap manufacture pump out a mid displacement 600cc-800cc bike with a turbo or supercharger hanging off it.

  71. Andrew says:

    I’m guessing it’s a commuter-friendly 250cc machine that will give Yamaha something to compete with against CBR250R and Ninja 300. “Brutal” part refers to how they build up your expectations, then crush them 🙂

  72. Paul says:

    They already offer two standards FZ-1 and FZ-8 so they have that market covered. I think the 8 is a pretty recent redesign as well, but the FZ-1 is long in the tooth with no major changes. Ducati gets a lot of press on their hyperstrada. Perhaps they are moving in that direction. So I can look forward to another bike that really has no utility. I long for the days when half faired Bandits were en vogue. I never knew we had it so good.

  73. Norm G. says:

    re: “It should be noted that Yamaha has broken new ground in the past (their lead in the development of four-stroke motocross bikes beginning with the YZ400 comes to mind), so it is within the realm of possibility that there is something groundbreaking here”

    not so much.

  74. Jeremy in TX says:

    They had me at “brutal”. My interest is piqued. I hope that new triple they have been developing has a new mate.

  75. Tim says:

    Based on the ‘yamaha-motor.eu’ at the close of the vid, I’ll be surprised if this ‘new’ bike even makes it to the States. Might be a Euro only model. Could it be a SuMo version of the 660 Tenere? Probably something better than that.

  76. Sam says:

    They have been working on a highly advanced 3 cylinder engine for sometime. I’m sure if Yamaha wanted to they could out power Triumph’s 3’s.

    I still remember my first V-max—they know how to produce HP.

    Sam:)

  77. mk says:

    a KTM Duke competitor would be nice

  78. todder says:

    Looks like supermoto based on the riding gear and shadow of the front fender.I

  79. Starmag says:

    “Yamaha – Revs your Heart” Gad that’s awful- hard to believe some ad agency actually got paid for that. Even as a translation from Japanese. As for the bike, a lightweight ,beautiful ,great sounding three cylinder roadster that carries two full sized adults in comfort with hidden bag mounts and a quick detachable full coverage windshield would really break some new ground, but from the tone of the ad I’m afraid Yamaha is looking to get even more “rad”. Meaning ugly. I hope I’m wrong. The “transformers generation” in the styling departments need to go work for Lockheed.

  80. Mike Johnson says:

    The Cage Six

  81. Tom R says:

    “Brutal animal”? I have to admit that this piques my interest. Since this is from the company that brought us the V-Max, I am looking forward to whatever they unveil.

  82. Chuck Smith says:

    3 Cylinders?

    • x-planer says:

      I’m guessing that is right. It’ll be a 3 cyl crossplane crank bike with good ergonomics, spare “steampunk” kind of retro styling, not a lot of body work and will be affordable. Sounds like it’ll be fast too.

  83. Kent says:

    MT 03…MT 03…MT 03!!!

    Probably not! 🙁

  84. Motowarrior says:

    I’m really surprised that the marketing for this new bike focusses so much on the culture of Japan and not on the motorcycle itself. Seems a bit strange to me. Always interested in something new, however, so let’s see what they have come up with. Hope it isn’t just some lame styling exercise…

    • GuyLR says:

      It might be because they don’t want to show the bike yet but just lay down where it’s coming from. They can’t give out the details until they show it on the 11th so we just get the teaser. Then you’ll see the real marketing.

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