Yamaha has an interesting lineup of scooters in the European and Asian markets which mainly serve the purpose of shuttling folks in and around the city in a practical and stylish way. One particularly interesting model in Yamaha’s scooter range is the Tricity, a sporty three-wheeled scooter with an emphasis on stability.
Many of you may be familiar with the Yamaha Niken, the powerful three-wheeled tourer with the same engine as the MT-09. Indeed, the Tricity shares some of this tech, and even predates the Niken by a few years (it was launched in 2014). Now, nearly a decade following its debut, the Yamaha Tricity has been given a thorough refresh inside and out. For starters, it continues to be offered in two variants in Japan—a beginner-friendly 125cc model and a more powerful 155cc version.
The redesigned Tricity gets new bodywork giving the scooter a much sportier look. The scooters angular front fairing is bulbous and swoops over the two front wheels giving it an aggressive, forward heavy stance. In the middle, meanwhile, it adopts a more standard scooter design with a flat floorboard. It’s the same story at the back, with the scooter adopting a modern style, albeit one that doesn’t detract too much from the styling of other scooters.
Bodywork aside, Yamaha has thrown in quite a lot of new tech in the 2023 Tricity. For starters, it has a Smart Motor Generator which eliminates the need for a standard reduction starter, resulting in a much lighter, more compact, and quieter starting mechanism. Additionally, for more efficiency when riding in the city, the new Tricity is equipped with an idling stop system that automatically switches the engine off when stopped in traffic for a certain period of time.
Rounding up the new tech features is a new digital instrument panel complete with Yamaha’s Motorcycle Connect system which allows you to view notifications for SMS and calls, as well as make use of your smartphone as an additional instrument panel. In conjunction with the updated instrument panel, Yamaha has also given the Tricity a smart key system. Of course, the updated scooter gets front and rear LED lights for improved visibility.
On the performance side of the equation, the Yamaha Tricity 125 gets a 124cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder engine. The Tricity 155, meanwhile, makes use of a bigger, more powerful engine. Similar in construction to other popular Yamaha scoots like the NMAX 155, as well as the Asia-specific XSR155, MT-15, and YZF-R15, the Tricity 155 employs a 155cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single-cylinder motor tuned for a max output of 14.8 horsepower and 10.6 lb-ft of torque.
As for pricing and availability, Yamaha has launched the new Tricity scooters initially in Japan. The 125 variant retails for 495,000 Yen, which translates to approximately $3,766 USD. Meanwhile, the Tricity 155 commands a more premium price tag of 566,500 Yen, or the equivalent of $4,310 USD.
