Is Yamaha developing a high-performance electric motorcycle?

-Patent drawings suggest a big battery and motor

-It is a fully faired motorcycle

-Has a trellis frame

Electric motorcycles are slowly and steadily cropping up on the market. Yamaha is one such mainstream motorcycle manufacturer that has shown electric motorcycle concepts in the past. The latest patent design drawings, however, suggest that a production electric motorcycle from the Japanese manufacturer might be on the cards soon.

A close look at the patent images reveals that the bike has a large battery that is placed where you’d usually find an ICE engine. Unlike some high-performance motorcycles that use liquid-cooling to cool their batteries, the design of the battery in the Yamaha suggests it is air-cooled. This is evident from the multiple fins on the sides and bottom of the battery case. These fins are also said to enhance rigidity while keeping weight in check.

Opting for an air-cooled setup also helps keep the overall weight of the bike low and eliminates the need to shoehorn a radiator, coolant reservoir and pipes into a motorcycle where space is anyways a premium.

The battery is enclosed by a steel trellis frame that is suspended by a USD fork and a high-mount monoshock. This was required given the positioning of the large motor behind the battery pack. Speaking of, details of the motor’s capacity are unknown but expect it to propel the bike from 0-60kmph or 100kmph in a jiffy. The electric motor drives the front sprocket by a reduction gearbox.

Other details about the electric motorcycle that are visible include the design of the alloy wheels, the dual disc brakes at the front and a disc brake at the rear. The fairing and the tail section appear to be sporty and we like how some parts of the trellis frame are left exposed.

The bike will probably be shown at one of the upcoming motor shows where the company will gauge customer response before deciding on launching a high performance electric motorcycle.