Wired.com: Tesla Motors proved electric cars can be sexy, and Yamaha is out to show electric motorcycles can be, too.
We already knew that, of course, having ridden the utterly amazing Mission RS electric superbike. But it’s still nice to see a pair of sexy machines from Yamaha, which will help push electric motorcycles a little further into the mainstream when it starts selling them… soon. Buried within Yamaha’s 2013 annual report is a brief mention of the PES1 and PED1 electric motorcycles, “which we aim to launch in the near future.”
We first saw the PES1 and PED1 last fall at the Tokyo Motor Show, and Yamaha promises the road-going PES1–for passion, electric, street–will “offer the operability expected by existing motorcycle fans” while delivering a “new riding experience.” It doesn’t look very fast, but it reportedly weighs less than 220 pounds. Having ridden the Zero DS for awhile, we know the always-on torque of an electric motor in a lightweight package can be a hell of a lot of fun on a twisty road, even if the top speed isn’t terribly impressive.
And then there’s the PED1–passion, electric, dirt, natch–will be even lighter, weighting just 188 pounds. Yamaha claims it will fit in the back of an SUV and “expand the scope of electric vehicles to the off-road world.”
Specs? Range? Who knows? Yamaha isn’t saying much, but has said in the past that bikes use a fully automated gearbox that can switch from manual to automatic control with the flick of a switch, so there’s that.
Although the Internet says these machines are coming in 2016, Yamaha’s report didn’t offer a specific timeline. We aren’t counting on these motorcycles to provide the excitement of, say, a Mission RS or even a Zero SR, but we’re still happy to hear they’re coming. Having Yamaha get in the game is a milestone for electric motorcycles.
