Yamaha is best known for its work on two wheels, but we've seen a recent raft of weird and wonderful concepts designed to improve or redefine our idea of mobility on three, and even four wheels. The most recent 05Gen and 06Gen concepts fall on the weirder side of the ledger and are designed to provide a unique way to cover short distances at a leisurely pace.
05Gen
The first of Yamaha's new concepts is the three-wheeled 05Gen, which is designed to let drivers (or riders?) cover short distances without being totally closed off from the world. With a small footprint, the concept isn't too big to use on city streets or even in a crowded shopping mall.
Riders are able to store their things in a small storage compartment, and the concept will lean into turns to help prevent it from toppling over.
Just like an eBike, the pedals are backed up by an electric assist system, but unlike most eBikes, there's a panoramic windshield designed to provide a little bit of shelter from light winds and rain. Yamaha likens it to a light garment draped over the rider's body.
06Gen
Yamaha's latest four-wheeled concept, the 06Gen looks like the love child of a golf cart and the Disneyland parking shuttle. It was also designed to handle short-range urban trips, but this time there's room for the driver's friends to come along for the ride.
The materials in the cabin have been chosen to feel inviting, with soft materials and curved surfaces to encourage passengers to face each other and chat, rather than just sit idly in a row.
Instead of calling on an overgrown windscreen to protect its occupants, 06GEN has a proper roof. With no windscreen or windows, you're still not totally sheltered from the elements, but that's not really the point. Instead, Yamaha wants the design to invoke engawa, which are the covered verandas often found on Japanese houses.
Both concepts will be displayed at the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture from July 4 until June 15 2017.
Source: Yamaha
Guess it doesn't rain or snow sideways in the land of Yama ha ha..
I use an umbrella that I hold over my head at intersections, and then lay on my front basket after getting up to speed (the force of the wind holds it in place). No protection, though, for the feet and lower legs.