BACK before Yamaha revealed the new 2015 R1 and R1M, the firm also trademarked a third model name – YZF-R1S – for use on a motorcycle.
Now that the R1 has been launched, it’s clear to see that the R1 is the base version and the R1M gains its additional letter thanks to its higher spec; it makes it closer to the M1 MotoGP machine, hence the use of the letter ‘M.’
But what’s the R1S, and where is it?
What we know is that the R1S name was trademarked in America but not Europe. It could be simply an alternative moniker that might have been used instead of R1M on the high-spec model, perhaps because of the risk that the R1M would be referred to as the ‘Rim.’ But the firm has used the R1M name worldwide, and it still hasn’t dropped the trademark application for the R1S, which suggests it might still have ideas of using the name on a new edition.
It’s also worth noting that in Yamaha’s first teaser video for the 2015, several drawings showed designs with a single-sided swingarm. Could Yamaha have plans for another version, complete with a single-sider, to use the 'R1S' name?
Given that the 2015 allocation of the R1M has long since sold out, despite a price tag of £18,499, it’s easy to imagine that someone at Yamaha must be thinking there’s profit to be had from another high-spec, limited-production model…
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