There is no easy way to say it, but several reports from the UK refer that an official spokesperson for Yamaha UK uttered the following words:
“Yamaha Motor Group has made the decision not to develop an EU5+ version of the R1 or R1M, focusing on other medium-term business strategies and products that will provide future opportunities.”
Rumors about this possibility have been circulating on the internet for months. It is true that rumors about motorcycles are always highly questionable, and while some of them come true, others do not. Obviously, fans of the R1 and R1M were eagerly hoping that the latter situation would be the case.
Will this open up space for another long-talked-about (and desired) motorcycle in the Yamaha group, the YZF-R9? The name has been a registered trademark of Yamaha for several years, without any public announcement being made up to the time of writing this article. However, as we have mentioned several times in the past, the fact that a manufacturer registers a trademark does not necessarily mean that they will use it.
After all, emissions regulations vary from country to country. Even if emissions were not involved, manufacturers regularly make decisions about which models are performing well in each geographic region and shift focus (and sales units) accordingly.
Following what was said above, just as an example, the R6 was discontinued as a road motorcycle a few years ago. However, it remains available for purchase as a racing bike in the UK, simply because there is still a market for it among racing and track day enthusiasts.
Could that also be the future of the R1 and R1M? They are very popular in various racing categories, such as WSBK, BSB, and MotoAmerica. Although racing events represent only a certain number of motorcycles throughout a year, it is hard to imagine that they will disappear completely.
At the same time, some of these competitions also have homologation requirements for the road that the competing motorcycles must meet in order to be able to line up on the starting grid. If the R1 fails to meet these standards, some changes may have to be made.
It is a complicated situation in any case, as well as a developing story. As always, Motociclismo Magazine will keep you updated with any and all information that may arise. Stay tuned.
