Reports from Indonesia continue to tease the upcoming launch of the Yamaha MT-25, the fairingless version of the Yamaha YZF-R25 sport bike.
Judging from the other MT models and the spy photos that have come out, the MT-25 is expected to look like the rendering above.
Yamaha Motor USA issued a recall for several motorcycles — FJ-09, FZ-09, FZ6R, Super Ténéré, Super Ténéré ES, and YZF-R6 — that were manufactured between September 1, 2014 and November 17, 2014.
The cause of the recall, which affects 4,900 units, is an incorrectly manufactured shift cam segment stopper, which has a sharp edge instead on the inside of the bend, instead of a smooth radius.
Because of this, the stopper can crack and possibly fracture where the edge is sharp, which in turn would cause the transmission not to shift properly.
Consumer Reports has taken another polling from motorcycle owners, a part of the publication’s continuous assessment on the value of various motorcycle brands and categories.
As usual, the Japanese brands dominated the reliability segment, though that did not automatically translate into the happiest of owners.
Victory Motorcycles takes the cake for keeping its customers happy, which stems from having fairly reliable motorcycles, coupled with good customer service and dealer interactions.
As such, 80% of Victory owners said they would buy a Victory again. Compare that figure to 72% for Harley-Davidson, and 70% for Honda (all other OEMs were below 70%).
The Grand Prix Commission have filled in the last question marks over the 2016 MotoGP regulations.
While the decision on the amount of fuel the bikes would be allowed to run had already been decided last year, the rules on a minimum weight, the number of engines to be used, and how and whether the concessions allowed to manufacturers without a win would be extended into 2016 and beyond.
All of these questions were settled at Qatar.
It’s tough cookies if you want to order a Yamaha YZF-R1M in the European Union right now, as what is shaping out to be the superbike of 2015 has sold out in every European country.
This means only those riders who pre-ordered an R1M online, on Yamaha Europe’s registration system, will be able to get a 2015 model — perpetuating the saying from the translated French: “you snooze, you lose”.
To rub salt into the wounds, all European customers of the R1M will get to join Colin Edwards and other Yamaha racing staff at an upcoming Yamaha Racing Experience events in July. Schwing!
Aside from on-track action that comes during your typical Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS), it might be worth stopping by the world’s most famous driveway to see Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi on the same piece of tarmac once again.
That’s right, Lord March has invited both Rossi and Stoner to his mansion to ride a few bikes and to drive a few cars. Rossi will be participating on behalf of Yamaha Motor, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary of business; meanwhile Casey Stoner will ride a prototype Honda MotoGP bike, likely the Honda RC213V-S consumer halo bike.
The MotoGP rivals are part of a larger group of GP Champions who will be attending the FoS, the list including John Surtees, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, and Freddie Spencer.
The American road racing community is still coming to grips with the loss of Dane Westby this week, after the 28-year-old died tragically while riding his street bike in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
While his family, friends, and fans work through their grief over the loss of Dane, we can at least remember “The Wolverine” for the competitor that he was.
As such, Yamaha has put together a nice video of Dane at the MotoAmerica tire test at COTA. Set to race in the Superstock 1000 class this year, Dane clearly was measuring himself against the faster guys in the Superbike class — the true mark of a true competitor.
That’s just one of the reasons why everyone liked him so much
If the Yamaha 03GEN-f concept is supposed to be a sport-oriented three-wheeled leaning scooter, then consider the Yamaha 03GEN-x concept its dirty cousin. Based on Yamaha’s leaning multi-wheel (LVM) technology, the Yamaha 03GEN-x take the same idea, but applies it to off-road duty.
Laced with a spoke-wheel wheelset, a headlight guard, and tall handlebars, the Yamaha 03GEN-x concept is an interesting take on the dual-sport space.
The idea of course is to bring the stability of the LVM concept, as seen on the Yamaha Tricity, to the off-road segment. We’re not sure how the feet-forward scooter sitting position is going to play on rougher trails, but for gravel and fire roads, the 03GEN-x could be a unique style of fun. What do you think?
Yamaha Motor released two concept trikes today, based on the company’s “refined dynamism design” philosophy. Both concepts build off the leaning multi-wheel (LMW) Yamaha Tricity, which is a trike that uses two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back.
Built like a scooter, with a feet-forward sitting position, Yamaha’s 03GEN-f concept expands on the Tricity’s on-road focus, but with sportier motion in mind.
Yamaha says that it will continue to explore concepts under the “GEN” name, meaning we could see some more LWM models from the tuning fork brand in the future.
The 2006 Yamaha YZF-R1 LE livery, which was a yellow, black, and white homage to Kenny Roberts Sr., is perhaps the greatest livery ever to adorn an R1, straight from the Yamaha factory.
Whether you are a loyal subject of King Kenny, or you just enjoy the fetching, yet simple, racing design, the Roberts livery is a treasure to see in any form — but especially so at speed.
Giving us a glimpse as to what the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 would look like with such a limited edition paint scheme, Oberdan Bezzi has once again whet our appetite ahead of a weekend full of riding.
And for you Giacomo Agostini fans, there is something special waiting for you after the jump as well. Enjoy!
If you believe the reports coming out of India and Southeast Asia, Yamaha is working on a naked version of its YZF-R25 sport bike.
Presumably to be call the Yamaha MT-25, the naked bike would continue Yamaha’s trend of making naked version of its fully faired sport bikes, similar to the recently released Yamaha MT-125 that is available for the European market.