Yamaha has officially introduced an electric trials bike, called the Yamaha TY-E and also announced an official factory team to participate in the 2018 FIM Trial E-Cup. Yamaha made the announcement at the 2018 Tokyo Motorcycle Show and the bike will be ridden by All Japan Trial Championship factory rider Kenichi Kuroyama at the 2018 FIM Trial E-Cup. The bike is not offered on sale yet, and will be a pure race machine, powered by a high rotation-type compact electric motor and is equipped with a mechanical clutch.
The new electric motorcycle comes from Yamaha's Evolving R&D program, which allows employees in the department to work outside conventional frameworks and devote up to 5 per cent of their working hours developing innovative new projects. According to Yamaha, the R&D employees faced many challenges when designing the bike, including managing the high output from the small size and lightweight components as well as harnessing the high torque output in order to create an easy, responsive and controllable riding character.
The TY-E uses a rotation-type compact high-power electric motor and mechanical clutch
The TY-E is powered by an AC synchronous electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery. The bike comes with a mechanical clutch to ensure full control over torque delivery, while the fly wheel was optimised to improve traction. The Yamaha TY-E uses a carbon fibre reinforced monocoque frame to optimise rigidity while maintaining a low weight. The bike weighs less than 70 kg, and has a maximum ground clearance of 350 mm.
The TY-E is on display at the ongoing Tokyo Motorcycle Show and will see its first competition at this year's FIM Trial E-Cup where only electric trials bikes can compete. The event was held for the first time last year on June 24-25 at Lourdes in France where 11 riders participated. For 2018, the FIM Trial E-Cup consists of two events - Auron in France on July 14-15, and Comblain au Pont in Belgium on July 31.
