The off-road counterpart to Yamaha’s electric Yamaha PES1 concept street bike, the Yamaha PED1 concept is the second electric motorcycle concept that Yamaha intends to debut at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Like its on-road sibling, the PED1 features a monocoque chassis, along with a DC brushless motor, automatic/manual transmission, and a swappable lithium-ion battery pack.
The core of the Yamaha PED1 appears to be exactly the same as the Yamaha PES1, which one could easily be chalked up to a Yamaha designer reusing renders for each bike. However, the repurposing of the core components showcases a strong element of electric vehicles: their ability to use truly modular designs.
With Yamaha able to “tune” the electric drive system via software for each riding application, it is software, not hardware, that is the main difference between electric motorcycle models. Simply bolting on the appropriate suspension pieces, wheels, and seat and Yamaha can take a PES1 and turn it into a PED1 if the right software is involved.
One of the less-talked-about features of electric vehicles is the ease of which an OEM can build out its model line with these modular designs, which also happens to offer dramatically less cost requirements. Clearly Yamaha is onto this idea, which could help speed-up the company’s entry into the electric motorcycle space.
Technical Specifications of the Yamaha PED1 Concept:
Length×Width×Height = 1,900 mm×758 mm×1,205 mm
Motor type = DC brushless motor
Battery type = Lithium-ion
Transmission = Switchable between manual and automatic
Vehicle weight = under 85 kg
Source: Yamaha
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