TheScooterScoop

Yamaha makes the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show fun again with a boat load of new prototypes. Continuing with their tradition of flashing fanciful scooters during the Tokyo show and doing a damn good job of taking the spotlight away from Honda, Yamaha has some real eye-candy for you this year starting with their take on the MP3, or maybe even MP4 if there were such a thing. Check out the Tesseract Concept!

A a hybrid 4-wheeled vehicle powered by a combination of a liquid-cooled V-twin gasoline engine and an electric motor. It is also designed with a unique dual-scythe suspension that enables cornering with a lean (banking) like a motorcycle despite the 4-wheel format. There is also a dual arm-lock system that keeps the machine upright when at rest without a stand. It offers excellent performance and maneuverability with a machine width roughly equivalent to that of a 2-wheeler. If the grim reaper upgraded his horse, this is what it would look like.

Next on the list is this comfy little foot-forward cruiser, the Luxair concept.

This is a hybrid type motorcycle with a gasoline engine and an electric motor that function in parallel, with the electric motor kicking in during acceleration to assist the engine and switching over when cruising to perform a electricity generating function that re-charges the battery. The engine-brake force created during deceleration is also used to generate electricity to charge the battery. Yamaha’s super-thin YIPU (Yamaha Intelligent Power Unit) is built into the rear hub to provide the electric power assist during acceleration and when wheeling the vehicle by hand, and it also provides a reverse function. In a collaboration with Yamaha Corp. (music) this model also mounts a special audio system. That’s all pretty pimp if you ask me. My ass is itchin’ to sit on this baby. Maybe, if we’re lucky, Skorji will have some sweet concept pr0n to share in two weeks. I can hardly WAIT!

Here’s an update to a prototype who’s name always brought a smirk to my face, the FC-me. This is the FC-Dii.

This model is a further evolution of the “FC-me” fuel cell motorcycle using a methanol-water solution as fuel, unveiled in Sept. 2005 with significant performance improvements. This new version is enhanced with new features including: (1) a Yamaha-exclusive compact cell stack that features the highest level of power density in the 1kW class, (2) a detachable lithium-ion battery for easy recharging, (3) modular design components, readily available parts and improved serviceability aimed at achieving practical use and (4) a fuel cell system which achieves a top-level performance of 30% system efficiency for a DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) system. The development of this model has been assisted with some funding from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Sounds like Yamaha will be the first out the gate with a fuel cell scooter at this rate. You GO Yamaha!

This cute little fold up is called the Bobby.

This is an electric commuter vehicle with collapsible seat, fold-in rear wheel, handlebars and footrests for compact, convenient storage. For owners of a cell phone with the FeliCa function (a Sony “non-contact” IC card technology), the main power switch can be turned on and off simply holding up your cell phone to the switch. The bike is also equipped to access a variety of Internet services. Sweet! I’m not sure exactly why I’d wanna access internet services while I was on my scooter, but I’m sure they have a reason why in Japan… Like the Jetsons, maybe the scooter reaches out to your microwave over the internet and warms up your noodles?

Now, speaking of Jetsons, if Judy rode a C3, it would look like this.

This is a convenient “minimum electric commuter” bike with a light weight, compact body with a helmet storage space. Nice! Looks like something I’ve got in my kitchen and in some ways it’s almost neo-Vespa like.

The AQEL is back. Not sure where I had seen this before, maybe it was last years show.

This is a fuel cell motorcycle mounting the “Yamaha Hydrogen Fuel Cell System” fueled by compressed hydrogen gas from a tank with a capacity of 35MPa. By adopting a hybrid system mounting a secondary rechargeable battery and metal separators in the fuel cells, it has been possible to achieve a compact lightweight design. The adoption of Yamaha’s super-thin YIPU (Yamaha Integrated Power Unit) also improves environmental performance and increases ease of use as a commuter bike. Not bad. A bit awkward looking, but riding around with compressed hydrogen is a bit awkward anyway.

In a look back to Tokyo shows of old, we can see another fanciful concept from 1991 that remained a concept, the 1991 Frog EV electric scooter. This won’t be at the show, I just figured since we were talking concepts…

We could also mention this thing, the Yamaha R Concept scooter. Where it came from, I have no idea… but it is kinda cool.

Thank you Yamaha for giving us something to dream about this year. We know we’ll never see them on the road… but it’s fun to dream. Arigato again to our scooper Aki Hasegawa in Japan for bringing this to our attention. Looks like he and Skorji will have their cameras BLAZING in the Yamaha booth!