Yamaha's Fight For The Top
It seems that Yamaha has made a bold claim and we hope to see it backed up on June 11th. Yamaha claims their new bike is "a new kind of brutal animal, which is about to change the sport motorcycle world."
New Yamaha triple
The firm unveiled a slightly bizarre wire and engine 'sculpture' centred around an all-new, three-cylinder engine, dubbed the 'P3' at last years Cologne Motorcylce Show.
Yamaha hasn't given much away about the new motor, but they are very clear about its significance - openly admitting the company had been too passive in recent years in developing new models. Now they claim the P3 symbolises the return of Yamaha to the top.
The radical three-cylinder is the pet project of Kunihiko Miwa, Yamaha Motor Corporation's Senior Executive officer, and the man who was chiefly responsible for the firm's landmark R1 and R6 sports bikes back in the '90s.
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Miwa told MCN (MotorCycleNews) that Yamaha had gone for a transverse three- cylinder layout as it is lighter and slimmer than a four, and would incorporate Yamaha's latest 'cross-plane' technology as introduced on the current R1.
He said: ‟Over the past few years we know people have been asking 'What is happening to Yamaha?', that we were not producing as many exciting motorcycles as we used to. We are now taking a new approach and now we want to introduce models that give a hint of that future.”
Apart from the introduction of the "P3" we currently know the bike will have upright ergonomics (evident from rider's position), a trend which is continuing to gain popularity.
