The revival of the Red Dragonfly: The Yamaha Y125 Moegi Motorcycle

The Yamaha Y25 Moegi motorcycle is a retro-futurist concept model that was revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2011.

This beautiful bike is powered by an air-cooled 125 cc single-cylinder engine that could reach up to 50 mph. Unlike the YA-1 motorcycle with a two-stroke engine, the Y25 Moegi is equipped with a low-friction four stroke engine. Not bad.

The bike has a very small gas tank, obviously, but in spite of its capacity, intended consumption is 188 miles per gallon with a range of about 150 miles. Yamaha was going for beauty and fuel-efficiency.

In terms of design, the Yamaha Moegi is a light motorcycle that looks more like a bicycle and only weighs 176 pounds. It's 90 percent aluminum, has a slim frame and low-resistance thin tires.

That means, in a crunch, you can carry it up the stairs! The design is clearly targeted to young male and female urban riders with panache for retro bikes.

Quoting YAMAHA: ‟The familiar look and feel of a bicycle and the easy and enjoyable ride make this model appealing not only as a personal vehicle for daily commuting, but it also has an active image that will lure owners on longer jaunts on the weekends.” Source

The new Moegi is based on Yamaha's first motorcycle: the 1955 Yamaha YA-1, nicknamed ‟Aka-tombo” (Japanese for red dragonfly) because of its shape and elegant red colour. Source

The YA-1 had a two-stroke engine, 125cc engine, inspired by the German RT125 built by the company DKW; which also served as an inspiration for many other bikes such as the Polish Sokol 125, the Russian M1A Moskwa, the Hungarian Csepel 125, the Italian MiVal 125T and the British BS Bantam.

Here's an interview with Ikuo Ishizuka, one of the senior engineers from the Motorcycle Design Group, Yamaha Motor. No news yet on when it will be available in Asia or North America.

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