Yamaha R25/R3 launch next week?

A NEW Yamaha teaser website is hinting that the firm’s promised twin-cylinder 250cc/300cc sports bike is set to make its debut in just over a week.

The site includes a video that shows various sci-fi-style scenes, including this Tron-esque line drawing that looks like a road-going version of the YZF-R25 concept track bike that Yamaha showed at the end of last year. That machine had slick tyres and no lights, mirrors or indicators, all of which is corrected on this drawing.

While the concept was called ‘R25’ and Yamaha’s specs said the engine it used was a 250cc parallel twin (which might suit the ‘Revstation’ web address and its ‘Revs Your Heart’ slogan, since presumably it will be a bit of a screamer), the production version that we get in Europe is more likely to be a 300cc machine, matching the latest changes from Honda and Kawasaki. Yamaha has already trademarked the ‘R3’ name to suit such a model. The smaller R25 will likely appear only in markets where there is a 250cc licence step.

The concept seen last year had a simple-looking tubular chassis and conventional right-way-up forks, suggesting it could follow the bargain pricing of the MT-09 and MT-07.

Yamaha's official spiel on the concept said: ‘“A superbike you can ride every day” is the development concept behind the “R25,” a 250cc sport bike mounting a newly developed in-line 2-cylinder engine on a lightweight, slim and compact chassis that shares its look with the “YZR-M1” MotoGP machine. It boasts a powerful and sporty ride in the high rpm range while being easy to handle. The R25 is positioned and offered as an entry-model in the sport bike category for developed markets like Japan and Europe, and as a top performance sport bike for emerging markets, primarily throughout Asia.’

There’s also a scooter in the Revstation video, along with a twist-and-go engine and transmission on a table being examined by futuristic-looking people (clearly aliens, or whatever they are, would be baffled by our high-tech centrifugal clutches and belt-operated variable transmissions…). So it looks like Yamaha also plans to unveil the production version of the Tricity three-wheeled scooter seen as a concept last year.