YAMAHA has trademarked the names 'R1M' and 'R1S', raising the possibility that the firm could be planning a new higher-spec version of its flagship sports bike.
In Europe Yamaha has applied to trademark 'R1M' and 'YZF-R1M', while in the US and Australia the firm has registered 'R1M' and 'R1S'.
If Yamaha were to make a higher-spec version of the YZF-R1, it would follow a similar move by Honda, which recently launched the track-focused SP edition of the Fireblade, with specced-up suspension and brakes, for £3000 more than the base model.
Adding an 'M' to the R1 name could be a move to link a new edition more closely to Yamaha's M1 MotoGP bike.
The firm applied for the new trademarks on January 15-17 this year.
