Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
RideApart
RideApart
Sport

Yamaha Just Introduced Its First Hybrid Powertrain, and Here It Is

I've ridden a number of EV motorbikes now, so I can tell you from experience that there are both good and bad points about the genre. How you ultimately feel about them will depend on your feelings regarding several things.

The TL;DR version is, if you commute frequently in stop-and-go small town or urban traffic, and you don't have to do a lot of battery-draining highway mile-munching, they're great. That's also assuming you find one you like at a price you're willing to pay, but that's another issue.

But the number of motorcycle OEMs that are thinking differently about the EV motorbike range conundrum has now doubled. First, there was Kawasaki and its Ninja 7 and Z7 Hybrids. And now, Yamaha's just introduced its new Series Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology with a short introductory video (in Japanese, but the diagrams are labeled in English).

The demonstrator vehicle shown in the video is a modified XMAX, which has a generator motor that attaches directly to a combustion engine. You can start the bike under electric power, and then use regen braking to return some energy to the battery at what Yamaha somewhat vaguely refers to as "normal speeds." Hopefully, it will give a more specific range of what it considers "normal speeds" closer to the introduction of any planned vehicles that use this technology.

Operating the vehicle at higher speeds will switch it to the combustion engine, but even higher speeds than that will apparently re-activate one of the electric motors, so you get an extra burst of power. Since this is just a preliminary introduction to the Series Parallel HEV concept, full technical details aren't yet available. So, if you've got questions, rest assured; so do we.

There's at least one we can answer at this point, though, and it's this: Does Yamaha intend to use this Series Parallel HEV tech in any other two-wheelers? At this point, Yamaha's pretty clear about its intentions to develop full-size hybrid motorcycles of its own, not just scooters. No, really.

I, for one, would love to see what this thing is like to ride, whether in XMAX form or on a more traditional Yamaha motorcycle. Any time you're interested in having members of the press check it out, I'm game, Team Blue.

Are you excited to see Yamaha develop this technology and push its hybrid two-wheeler game forward? Tell us how you feel in the comments below.

Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox.
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@rideapart.com
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.