Yamaha is marking the 30th anniversary of the first bicycle to offer riders assistance from a battery powered electric motor with the launch of a limited special edition of the premium YDX-Moro 07 eMTB.
Yamaha started thinking about making life easier for cyclists pedaling into the wind or going uphill as far back as the 1970s, when engineers mounted a 25-cc gasoline engine to a bicycle prototype and, later, a mountain bike rolling with a 35-cc engine.
When compact, high-performance batteries and smaller computers emerged in the following decade, along with advances in electronics, the research effort took off in a different direction culminating in a brand-new human power/electric power hybrid mechanism called the Power Assist System.
Following early prototyping in 1989 – and success in convincing regulatory authorities in Japan to approve the Yamaha PAS setup as a bicycle so that folks didn't have to worry about obtaining a driver's license or even wearing a helmet – a pedal-assist bicycle finally went into limited production in 1993 across Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Hyogo prefectures ahead of nationwide sales from April the following year.
The "world's first electrically power-assisted bicycle" featured a brushed DC motor and computerized controller with a rated output of 235 watts, a torque sensor to detect the force applied at the pedals, a chunky battery mounted behind the seatpost that was reckoned good for around 12.5 miles (20 km) of pedal-assisted riding per charge, and a price tag of JPY 134,000. Established bike makers in Japan quickly followed Yamaha's lead, and the ebike market was born.
Yamaha continued to innovate in the space, introducing a new nickel-cadmium battery in 1995 that could be removed from the frame to allow for recharging indoors. A mid-mount brushless DC motor with a more natural, conventional bicycle feel to the assistance followed in 2003, and an 8-speed internal gear hub was included in 2008's Brace bike (a year that also marked a million ebike drive units produced in total).
The company previewed a road-going concept in 2013 ahead of the YPJ-R series in 2015, and entered the US market three years later with an eMTB, a road ebike, a fitness focused hybrid and a commuter model.
The 30th anniversary special edition model is based on last year's YDX-Moro 07 electric mountain bike, and sports the same patented Dual Twin frame, full suspension, a Shimano Deore XT drivetrain, 27.5-inch Yamaha alloy rims wrapped in Maxxis Minion tires, and Magura MT5 four-piston disc brakes.
It rocks a 250-W (500-W peak) PW-X3 mid-mount motor for 85 Nm (62.6 lb.ft) of torque, five levels of pedal-assist up to 20 mph (32 km/h), plus walk-assist and an automated support mode that adjusts assistance from the motor depending on factors like "riding conditions, whether accelerating, braking, or climbing." There's a 500-Wh downtube battery, and riders are also treated to a minimalist Interface X control unit with simple switch power adjustment, three-color LED support indicator, battery status and Bluetooth connectivity.
This birthday edition wears a "unique polished aluminum finish" along with Yamaha Racing blue rocker link and headtube, a 30th Anniversary badge and commemorative decals. The limited production run ships to US dealers from June 1, and is priced at US$6,499 – a hundred bucks more than the standard YDX-Moro 07 model.
"Yamaha's passion for performance is driven by our racing heritage, and the YDX-Moro 07 Special Edition is a true thoroughbred for the next generation of eMTB riders," said Yamaha's Rob Trester. "Since the 1993 launch of our first electrically power-assisted bicycle 30 years ago, which was hailed as a first of its kind, Yamaha has been a world leading innovator in ebike technology with millions of riders globally."
Source: Yamaha Bicycles