International Dealer News 160 April/May 2021 IDN 160 April/May 2021 | Page 23

THE BRADLEY REPORT

Yamaha has concluded the sale of its Motori Minarelli subsidiary to Fantic . roles of the Hamakita and Nakaze factories ( both in Hamamatsu City ) to the Iwata main factory . The company has been reallocating the production duties of its Iwata main factory and other surrounding factories since 2020 with the aim of improving production efficiency and market adaptability as part of a global structural reform of its production bases . The consolidation and relocation work for these two factories will begin in stages from 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2024 when Hamakita will close , reducing the number of motorcycle and marine engine production bases around the headquarters from the current six to five .

Yamaha YZF-R7 returning for 2022 By Ben Purvis

An original ' OW02 ' Yamaha YZF-R7 would likely cost around € 40.000,00 - assuming you could find one - but Yamaha is to revive the name for a much more affordable 2022 model . The R7 ' s reputation and price far exceed its achievements . Just 500 were made in 1999 with the specific aim of winning the WSB title , but despite the heroics of Noriyuki Haga , it never achieved that goal . That has not stopped the R7 being far more appreciated and prized today than title-winning contemporaries like the Ducati 996 or Honda VTR1000SP . As such , Yamaha is taking a risk by reusing the name on a new model which , unlike its exotic , race-focussed predecessor , will be based on the relatively workmanlike MT-07 . We know this because while Yamaha has made no official announcement , the R7 ' s name and details have emerged in emissions test certifications for the firm ' s 2022 model range . Documents from the California Air Resources Board ( CARB ) list two versions of the bike as 2022 models - the YZF-R7 NCB and YZF-R7 NCL . They
are technically identical , with the last three letters merely representing paint options and the model year , the ' NCB ' is a 2022 bike in Raven Black , the ' NCL ' is the same machine in Team Yamaha Blue . The new R7 ' s emissions are identical to those of the MT-07 , confirming that the engine is unchanged - with 72.4 hp and 49.4 lb / ft - even using the same exhaust system . In turn , that suggests the bike ' s chassis , suspension and weight ( around 184 kg ) will also be MT-07 based .
As such , the new YZF-R7 is expected to be quite simply an MT-07 with dropped bars , rearset footpegs and a full fairing , creating an instant rival to parallel twin sports models like Kawasaki ' s Ninja 650 and , to a lesser extent , the more exotic Aprilia RS660 . Since it ' s the first ' 2022 ' Yamaha to have been certified by CARB , there ' s a strong chance that the new YZF-R7 is scheduled for an early launch , potentially reaching dealers before the end of this year .
THE BRADLEY REPORT

NEWS

BRIEFS

Yamaha Motor Corp . will return as an Official OEM Partner for the upcoming 2021 AFT season . Yamaha says it is " well positioned to enjoy a powerful AFT campaign with potential ' bLU cRU ' race winners and title contenders in all three classes ." The company is increasing its contingency with a combined $ 472,000 available across all three classes , will serve as the entitlement sponsor for its home race , the Yamaha Atlanta Super TT at Atlanta Motorsport Speedway , on May 1 , 2021 .
In global terms , EU nations are leading the ' drive ' to make hydrogen power an easier and more economic alternate to electric ( under certain circumstances ), with plans to install 40GW of electrolysers this decade - equipment to produce emissions-free hydrogen using water and renewable power . The EU currently has less than 0.1GW of electrolysers . It is betting on a rapid scale-up to decarbonise steel production , heavy transport and chemicals , the latter of which already uses hydrogen produced from fossil fuels . At present , production of 1 ton of steel results in 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide ( and other waste products and toxics ).
In what has been described as a " shock finding ", a French riskassessment study has said that a five-year lane-splitting trial caused a 12 % increase in motorcycle crashes , so the French authorities have not legalised filtering . The study found that while riders were less likely to be rear ended , there was an increase in motorbikes running into the backs of other vehicles .
Sources : AMD , IDN , FT , Reuters , PSB , MPN , BDN , MCN , AP , Bloomberg , MSNW , Electrek , electricmotorcycles . news , RideApart . com , Motor1 . com , Cycle World , motorbikewriter . com