Bigger and Badder – Yamaha electric motor gets bigger. Yay!
Yamaha is now accepting orders for its new 350-kw (469-hp) electric motors which it will sell to other companies looking to build vehicles in the hyper-EV segment. Many high-end electric super cars feature multiple electric motors that push horsepower numbers over 1000 so Yamaha’s motor is a worthy entry to the segment. Yamaha has long been developing electric motors for cars and two-wheeled vehicles as well as being a major supplier of electric mills to the burgeoning e-bicycle segment.
The depth of Yamaha’s R&D commitment makes one wonder why the company doesn’t have a mainstream electric bike of its own by now—electric scooter notwithstanding. The company obviously has the know-how. Surely somewhere in Yamaha’s skunkworks there is an electric street motorcycle in development with the segment now having so much momentum.
We think the existing Yamaha model just crying out for an electric option is the Niken—if only because the ICE version is not setting the world on fire. Would many complain if that bike disappeared only to return with an electric powertrain? With its two front wheels, fortified front suspension, additional tracking and weight carrying abilities, it could handle a substantial battery pack and an electric motor and actually looks like it should be an electric bike. The Niken GT price is already high so the electric bike premiums we have all become used to seeing wouldn’t come as quite the additional shock. Or they could bring the VMax back as an electric—but even for a VMax, a Yamaha electric motor with 469 hp could be a little too much.
- Canadian Biker #353
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