Four-wheeled leaning vehicle patents from Yamaha revealed
Patents unearthed by a Japanese motorcycle commentator show Yamaha is working on a whacky leaning four-wheeled vehicle
Not quite a motorcycle and not quite a car, these new patents showing a potential new machine from Yamaha show the firm is working on a seriously whacky new mode of transport!
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It’s a strange looking bit of kit, with a tandem seating arrangement and it slots in somewhere in the hinterland between motorcycle and car. It even features a futuristic steering wheel arrangement that looks like it’s been lifted from an aircraft!
The eagle-eyed among you may recognise the basis of the vehicle, as the front end at least seems to be based on the MW-Vision concept that was shown at the Tokyo Show a few years ago. With that in mind, Yamaha is likely eyeing up electric power for this model, although quite where the battery packs will go is a bit of a mystery.
It could be that Yamaha is planning to sandwich the cells within the floor of the vehicle, much like car manufacturers do. In this way the centre of gravity of the vehicle remains low, and the casing that holds the cells can form a structural part of the machine’s chassis.
And while we are talking about car manufacturers, let’s not forget that Yamaha has a long standing relationship with one of the biggest automotive makes on the planet – Toyota. Should this motorcycle car hybrid prove too larger a pill for the motorcycling public to swallow, it could feasibly be released by Toyota as one of its own creations.
Pics: Super Huge Crayfish.jp
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
