Yamaha is working towards harnessing electric power for its new range of two-wheel-drive motorcycles. The company has filed patents for a two-wheel-drive motorcycle with an electric motor propelling the front wheel.
The patent drawings show the prototype being powered by a hub-mounted motor. The motorcycle’s power cable routing hints that the battery powering the electric motor will be located below the fuel tank. However, it is not clear whether the bike will have a dedicated battery for the motor. The rear wheel on the other hand is powered by a conventional internal combustion engine.
This is not Yamaha’s first attempt at making a two-wheel-drive motorcycle. Back in 2004, the Yamaha 2-TRAC was developed to break KTM’s dominance in the Dakar Rally. While getting four-wheel-drive technology in rally cars might have worked wonders for Audi and revolutionised the sport, the 2-TRAC failed to prove its mettle. Now it remains to see how Yamaha plans to implement this new two-wheel-drive technology on road bikes.
Source: MoreBikes
