There’s no easy way to put it, but several reports from the UK state that an official Yamaha UK spokesperson has said the following words:
“Yamaha Motor Group has taken the decision not to develop an EU5+ version of the R1 or R1M, focusing instead on other business strategies and medium-term products that will provide future opportunities.”
Rumors about this possibility have been circulating on the Internet for months. It’s true that motorcycle rumors are always very questionable, and while some of them come true, others do not. Obviously, fans of the R1 and R1M have been anxiously waiting for the latter to be the case.
Will this make room for another long-talked-about (and longed-for) bike in the Yamaha group, the YZF-R9? The name has been a registered trademark of Yamaha for several years now, without any public announcement having been made at the time of writing. However, as we’ve pointed out several times in the past, just because a manufacturer registers a trademark doesn’t mean it will use it.
After all, emissions regulations vary from country to country. Even if emissions weren’t involved, manufacturers regularly make decisions about which models are performing well in each geographical region and shift focus (and sales units) accordingly.
Following on from the above, just as an example, the R6 was discontinued a few years ago as a road bike. However, it is still available to buy 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 only represent a certain number of bikes over the course of a year, it’s hard to think that they will disappear completely.
At the same time, some of these competitions also have road homologation requirements that competing bikes must meet in order to line up on the starting grid. If the R1 no longer meets these standards, some changes may have to be made.
It’s a complicated situation either way, as well as a developing story. As always, Revista Motociclismo will keep you updated with any and all information that may arise. Stay tuned.