Yamaha has released details of two new design concepts based on its carving, three-wheeled Tricity architecture: the road-going 03GEN-f and dual-purpose on-off-road "cross" 03GEN-x. The Tricity was first shown at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, and has since been released globally to great acclaim for its roadholding and stability. The new concepts indicate Yamaha will further develop the three wheeled motorcycle for new markets.
It all began when Yamaha first showed the Tesseract (below) at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, where it's four-wheeled motorcycle architecture created a sensation.
The Tesseract made headlines globally, and Yamaha continued with the development, finally showing the Tricity (below) at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. While it was missing the fourth wheel of the Tesseract, the dual-front-wheel architecture of the 2007 show bike was evident.
The production three-wheeled Tricity was released globally early in 2014, further developments of the three-wheeled concept were shown late last year in the form of the 01GEN (below), a large crossover motorcycle with the same twin front wheels layout of the Tricity.
Now it looks like the family is splitting further, with Yamaha's press material indicating that the 03GEN-f (below) was designed with the underlying theme "Future Racing," emphasizing the Leaning Multi-Wheel mechanism and visually expressing both the futuristic feel and Yamaha's racing image.
The 03GEN-x (below) is designed with more an off-road "Cross" theme underlying its design, with a different frame and what Yamaha claims is more a "traditional off-road design that is reminiscent of the days of unpaved roads."
While both concept models are based on Tricity, the vastly different designs exemplify the design possibilities of the Leaning Multi-Wheel architecture by offering a sharp contrast to the production model.
Yamaha has always regarded design as the central pillar of its product creation philosophy, establishing "Refined Dynamism" as its design philosophy in 2013.
Accordingly, no details of the engines of the two variants have been released, so we'll just have to hope that the company might offer a bigger engine than the Tricity's 125 single cylinder motor.
With the Tokyo Motor Show just over seven months away, perhaps the most telling line in the press materials was "Yamaha Motor will continue to exhibit and propose its GEN design concept in the future."
For those wondering what happened to the 02GEN concept (above), it appeared in November, 2014 but it's not really from the same family, being an electrically power assisted wheelchair.
The 03GEN Yamaha concepts are shown in the short promo video below.
Source: Yamaha Motor Company
