If there is one place where electric motorcycles fit perfectly, it is offroad. Yamaha has been working on its YE-01 for some time, an electric motocross that it has been developing and that is now ready to make its first big appearance in public. And, as the Japanese brand confirms, it will go out to ride during the Motocross of Nations being held this weekend in France.
The Ernée circuit is the one chosen by the firm of the three tuning forks, which will put the YE-01 on track as an exhibition. It is not that the motorcycle is going to go out on the track to compete, but rather on different occasions during the weekend it will take to the track as an appetizer for its future participation in the MXEP, the cross country championship for electric motorcycles.
The fact that France is the chosen place is not a coincidence either. In addition to Yamaha, as is evident, being involved in the YE-01 project, the French electric motorcycle manufacturer Electric Motion SAS (EM) is also involved. So there’s no better place to show off a bike that seeks to push the boundaries of MX.
The Yamaha YE-01 made its first big appearance at EICMA
It will not be, however, the first time that the YE-01 can be seen and it was exhibited last November, during the EICMA. What it will be is the first time that it rides in front of the public and it does so, also, included within Yamaha’s ambitious plan to cut emissions.
The Yamaha Group has the so-called “Environmental Plan 2050”, in which it is already working with the intention of reducing its carbon emissions until reaching neutrality throughout its supply chain, including the company’s business activities, by 2050.
To this end, it is carrying out R&D work in different areas and, logically, electrification is part of them and where the YE-01 fits. The striking thing in this sense is that although Yamaha wants to take these steps, it does not want to lose its essence of competition and fun and that is why it follows this path in which a maximum performance dirt bike has a place.
Obviously the path of electrification within Yamaha will continue, in fact within the group it has been working with it for decades, but it had not entered the world of motorcycle competition, one of the strategic pillars of the brand in its most successful history.
