Yamaha Outlines Its Electric Plans

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Yamaha’s latest electric strategy will consist of small scooters, like this E01, aimed at urban riders in European cities. (Yamaha/)

We’re barreling into a new era of electric motorcycles, with virtually every major manufacturer on the planet making noises about how they’ll embrace a battery-powered future—but so far there’s surprisingly little of substance from the Japanese manufacturers that have spent half a century establishing themselves at the cutting edge of two-wheeled technology. We’ve had decades of electric concept bikes and prototypes, but production electric models from Japan are few and far between. Now Yamaha is—somewhat tentatively—breaking the deadlock by announcing plans for a range of all-electric models aimed at urban Europeans.

The 125cc-equivalent E01 concept was first shown at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019, but patents for the production model surfaced last year. (Yamaha/)

If you’re hoping for radical, high-performance electric bikes from Yamaha at this stage, you’ll be disappointed. In presenting an early glimpse of its European electric range, the company pointed out that its first electric concept scooter was unveiled back in 1991. The intention might have been to show that it was ahead of the game, but it illustrates just how slow the shift has been.

The most interesting of the newly announced electrics is the production version of the E01 concept that was one of the centerpieces of Yamaha’s 2019 Tokyo Motor Show stand. It comes as no surprise—nearly a year ago we dug up patents showing the upcoming production E01 and the final machine looks exactly like those drawings. What is surprising is that even two years after the E01 was first shown, Yamaha’s intention isn’t to sell these production bikes to the general public. Instead, the firm intends to select a yet-to-be-decided European capital city and set up a scooter-sharing network there, running the bikes as rentals for two or three years to build up a picture of how they’re used, and to iron out any faults, before launching a true mass-market model.

The finished bike looks virtually unchanged from the concept, and is rated for a peak of 15 hp, with a battery pack mounted in the frame. (Yamaha Motor Corp./)

As expected from the original 2019 show bike, the E01 is a 125cc-equivalent scooter—making it legal to ride on a learner’s permit under EU driving license rules. The same rules will also limit its performance to a maximum of 15 hp, although there’s something of a loophole for electric bikes here as they’re measured by their maximum “continuous” power, which is what they can make indefinitely without overheating, rather than by the outright peak. Electric models often have peaks approaching twice their continuous maximums, so even as a 125cc-equivalent, the final E01 could be surprisingly fast.

Visual changes to the E01, compared to the 2019 concept, are limited to more real-world mirrors, redesigned bars, and a reshaped, more practical seat and tailsection. At the front, the concept’s looks are nearly unchanged, maintaining the R1-inspired, low-mounted headlights under the main fairing, with a large, opening flap on the nose hiding the charging port, surrounded by LED running lights. Unlike several other recent electric designs, the E01′s batteries are permanently mounted in the frame, so there’s no scope to quickly swap the packs when they need charging.

With the E01 not expected to be available for sale right away, Yamaha is instead pushing the smaller Neo’s electric scooter in Europe first. Pak power is 3 horses, with 38 pound-feet of torque to push 216 pounds. (Yamaha/)

Given that the E01 won’t be on general sale for at least a couple of years, Yamaha’s initial attack on the electric market in Europe comes in the form of the new Neo’s scooter—using a name that’s previously appeared on generations of 50cc mopeds, most recently the four-stroke Neo’s 4. Yes, the apostrophe is part of the title. The electric Neo’s is due to get a full-scale reveal in a couple of weeks, and initially Yamaha has been reticent about disclosing its technical details, but European type-approval paperwork has given us some insight.

Power, according to those documents, is just 3 hp—although once again that’s a “continuous” figure, so the absolute peak might be higher. That figure is nearly identical to that of the current four-stroke Neo’s 4. As usual on electric bikes, there’s vastly more torque than power—the electric Neo’s is rated at 38 pound-feet, which is more than enough to do away with the need for a multi-speed transmission. Instead, the electric motor, which appears to be hub-mounted in the rear wheel, will be able to drive the bike directly.

The Neo’s gets 13-inch wheels and a hub-mounted electric motor in the rear. (Yamaha/)

In terms of dimensions, the electric Neo’s is within an inch or so of the ICE version in length, width, height, and wheelbase, but it gets 13-inch wheels instead of the 12-inchers of the current model. Weight is rated at 216 pounds, just 6.5 pounds more than the gas-powered model, although the documents also mention a second version of the electric Neo’s that comes in at 234 pounds, suggesting there may be two different battery packs on offer. On both versions, top speed is 28 mph to comply with moped laws in Europe.

On the Neo’s, a removable battery pack lives under the seat, allowing riders to take it inside for charging. (Yamaha/)

Speaking of the batteries, the Neo’s has a removable pack under the seat. Yamaha is already part of the consortia in both Japan and Europe intended to establish standardized swappable battery packs for motorcycles, opening the door to instant refills at shops or gas stations, although initially the removable battery in the Neo’s is aimed at letting owners take it indoors to charge—useful if they’re apartment-bound city dwellers with no on-street charging facilities. In Asia, Yamaha already has a head start on the battery-swap scooter market, partnering with pioneering battery-swappable scooter firm Gogoro to create the EC-05, which is all but identical to Gogoro’s S2 model under the skin, enabling it to use any of more than 2,000 GoStation battery-swap and charging facilities that have been established in Taiwan. At the moment there’s no word on range, but it’s a safe bet that the Neo’s will do better than Yamaha’s last attempt at bringing an electric scooter to Europe; the EC-03, sold in tiny numbers a decade ago, could barely manage 15 miles on a charge.

Yamaha also announced this B01 concept, equipped with pedals, and set to be produced next year, though details are scant. (Yamaha/)

As well as the E01 and the Neo’s, Yamaha has also announced the B01 concept—a machine that straddles the gap between power-assisted bicycles and electric scooters, and which will reach production at the start of 2023.

Designed to take advantage of S-Pedelec regulations in parts of Europe, the B01 will be allowed by law to reach the same 28 mph top speed that mopeds allow, but with much more relaxed rules about licensing. Like true mopeds, it’s got pedals to let the rider help out when necessary, but like a bicycle it does without rear suspension, instead relying on oversized tires and perhaps some springing in the saddle’s mounting post. The chassis is an intriguing, triangulated design that appears to be cast from aluminum, although Yamaha hasn’t released any technical details and we only have a brief video of the bike to go on. Yamaha plans to build it in Europe under a partnership with Fantic, promising to have it in showrooms come the start of next year.

The seemingly aluminum-framed B01 will be built in Europe under a partnership with Fantic. (Yamaha/)

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[Throttled]

Bikes that allow batteries to be swapped makes sense, so long there is also an option to recharge. Recharge when at home, swap batteries when on longer trips.