#Yamaha

Of the things we love most, we often think about things we grew to love in our formative years. This is often true for music, vacation destinations, loves, and, yes, motorcycles.

It’s not unusual to hear a Yamaha R1 engine screaming its cross-plane-crank howl down a racetrack, but it is odd to hear eight of them in chorus on a dirt-track course in cars. That was the combo of odd sights and sounds we witnessed at Perris Auto Speedway during an exhibition event at the Budweiser Oval Nationals sprint-car race on November 11.

This news slipped under our radar last month, but when the Kawasaki Ninja 400‘s European debuted at EICMA, the World Superbike Championship announced the new model will be eligible to race in the series’ relatively new World Supersport 300 class.

The final installment of this year’s diatribe should, one thinks, start with an examination of the season preview from back in February. Heading into Qatar, the conventional thinking was that Maverick Viñales, newly and firmly ensconced on the factory Yamaha, the best bike on earth of late, would challenge triple world champion Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda – you remember, the one with the acceleration issues – for the world championship.

If there’s one thing we learned during our 2018 450cc motocross shootout, it’s this: When it comes to building the best 450cc motocross machine, one that excels on all tracks and in all conditions, no bike is ever perfect for everyone.

Whoever said, “you can buy fashion but you can’t buy style” has obviously never seen or ridden Yamaha’s all new 2018 XSR700 Sport Heritage. While this statement usually pertains to clothes, I don’t think it’s far off the mark when it comes to Yamaha’s new middleweight. The threads you wear and motorcycles you ride don’t have a lot in common, but one thing they do share is that they both allow you to express yourself and make a statement. Just about anything retro is “cool”, or in fashion these days, but what the wearer (or rider in this case) does with it ultimately evokes their style. The XSR700 makes it easy to do so on both fronts. Allow me to explain…

All season long, we at MO have been chanting the mantra, “Let Valencia Decide.” With the title unsettled heading into the weekend, the opportunity for a riveting finale existed (if only mathematically), Marc Marquez holding a 21 point lead over Ducati pilot Andrea Dovizioso as the riders lined up on the grid. The math caught up with Dovi on Lap 25 when, desperate to get past insubordinate teammate Jorge Lorenzo, he ran hot into Turn 8, ultimately laying his GP17 down gently in the gravel. And so the 2017 title was awarded at Valencia, having been decided some weeks earlier.

Among the brand new motorcycles it showcased at EICMA, Yamaha announced a couple of small, but not insignificant updates to its YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M.

So, 2017 has all come down to this – a technical showdown between Repsol Honda studmuffin Marc Marquez, gripping a 21-point lead, and a determined Andrea Dovizioso, virtually hopeless onboard the Ducati GP17, for all the marbles on Sunday. Even if Dovi wins, Marquez has to finish worse than 11th in order to choke this one away. To clarify, it is a showdown in only the most technical, theoretical sense. It will take a Dovizioso win and direct intervention by the racing gods to keep Marc Marquez from MotoGP title #4 on Sunday.

Yamaha announced some mild improvements to its FZ-07 middleweight “hyper-naked” motorcycle, including an all-new name. Meet the Yamaha MT-07, restyled and upgraded for 2018. Changes include new bodywork, suspension tweaks, and more. The MT moniker – Masters of Torque, don’t cha know – goes along with Yamaha’s “Dark Side of Japan” marketing campaign to highlight the edgy nature of the 07 and its bigger bros, the MT-09 and MT-10.

A segment of our sport that’s seen plenty of attention recently is the “hyper-naked” segment, standard-styled motorcycles that offer more performance and edgier styling than your run-of-the-mill standard. Yamaha Motors USA made that designation official, giving its FZ-07, FZ-09 and FZ-10 models the “MT” moniker, as well as announcing some updates to its FZ…oops, MT-07 for 2018.

Yamaha continues to consolidate its naming structure by replacing the FJ name with Tracer, which has been used in Europe. Consequently, the bike we’ve known as the FJ-09 will come to the U.S. as a 2019 model (yes, a 2019 model) called the Tracer 900. In the move to the 2019 model year, the Tracer 900 will gain a sibling, the Tracer 900 GT. Both will be available in the second half of 2018 as early release 2019 models. Prices have not been set.

Those of you who were intrigued by the Yamaha T7 Concept shown at last year’s EICMA show will be happy to hear that- wait, what? Oh, sorry. Make that disappointed to hear that the 689cc Twin adventure rally bike is still not ready for production, instead appearing at this year’s EICMA show as a prototype.

The three-wheeled Yamaha Niken will be coming to the U.S.A. in the second half of 2018 as a 2019 model. Yamaha Motor USA confirmed the news after the Niken was presented at the 2017 EICMA show with the help of the Doctor himself, Valentino Rossi.

Amongst a variety of other unveils at the 45th annual Tokyo Motor Show this week, Yamaha displayed its latest version of Motobot, Ver.2. If you’re not already familiar with the Motobot, it’s an endeavor that Yamaha and SRI International have put their heads together on to create “a humanoid robot capable of autonomously riding a motorcycle around a racetrack.” The project began in 2015 when the Motobot Ver.1’s first objective was to run a top speed of 100 kph (62 mph) as well as navigate a slalom course and turn through a corner. Check, check and check.