Yamaha 3 Cylinder, 750cc Concept Unveiled!


R

redprodigy35

New Member
Checked my FB over coffee this morning and what do I see?

Yamaha seems to be making a 3 cylinder, 750cc bike, with a crossplane crankshaft in a slimmed down version (-1 cylinder) of the R1's powerplant.

"This light, slim and compact new 3-cylinder engine is designed to add a new dimension to its category in terms of torque, sound and efficiency. By successfully combining the positive characteristics of 2-cylinder and 4-cylinder engines, Yamaha's 3-cylinder powerplant has the potential to bring race-inspired performance to the street."

I have a thing for Triumphs because of their unique cylinder config, and the type of powerband that motor has (from what I've read and heard there are two sweetspots). I mean all the top spec parts like breaks and suspension are awesome, but the engine has always been the highlight for me -- and now it looks like I will get to see Yama come through with a model of their own.

Interesting... Triumph updated their Street Triple a bit this year, Kawa is back with the 636 in that mid range category, MV Agusta also has their offering in the form of a 3 cyl.... And now Yama. :rockon: The XS line I believe was Yama's last 3 cyl and that was back in like '81.

I love the idea of getting all the good characteristics of a 2 and 4 cyl with that added crossplane crankshaft... This thing should be a nimble beast!

I'd like to hear what you guys think... Especially those of you who have upgraded to the Triumph's, 636's, or are thinking about doing so...

1.) New 3-cylinder engine based on the "crossplane concept" - Yamaha Motor Europe

2.) Intermot: Yamaha's 750cc triple concept - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown
 
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J

JSP

Super Moderator
Hmmmm.... Interesting indeed.
 
M

Marthy

World Most Bad A$$ 6R
Elite Member
Look like the FZ1 GEN3 we all been waiting for! An upright bad a$$ bike loaded with high-tech widget. Ok, I'll start working over time right away!!!
 
G

geekmaster

Member
Interesting development, but I really like the sound of a 4 cylinder motorcycle engine. There's just nothing like it. And it seems that as of today, only Yamaha provides that in an upright posture, sub-litre bike.
 
Y

yellowfz

Well if it has 110hp I might take a look at it.
Not a fan of 3 cylinders, why I bought the FZ6R over Street Triple, well that and the oil leaks, bolts falling off and electrical problems ST3 has.:thumbup:

3 cylinders look as if though they lost a piece while being installed. :thumbup:
 
N

Nastybutler

Cynical Member
Elite Member
yellowfz said:
Well if it has 110hp I might take a look at it.
Not a fan of 3 cylinders, why I bought the FZ6R over Street Triple, well that and the oil leaks, bolts falling off and electrical problems ST3 has.:thumbup:
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

The dealers are to blame for those first two issues, and the only electrical issue for any Triumph was with the R/R on the Daytona 675s and ST3s which has been fixed on new models, and was recalled for the ones that were affected. But if these percieved "faults" keep the bikes more exclusive (ie: keep people, who don't research these things and just assume they're lemons, away from them), so much the better.

As for Yamaha's foray into the 3 cylinder world, I'm interested to see how it will turn out. I wonder if they're going after the GSXR 750 with this engine, or exactly what group it's aimed at.
 
B

BKP

New Member
I like it...
Anxious to see what they're going to wrap around it...
 
G

Geezer

New Member
Old news

I owned a 76 and 78 three cylinder Yamaha 750 (XS-750D and XS-750E) which were great for their time. The 76 was the first of the Yamaha drive-shaft models but a real dog and the 78 was the fastest 750 of the year according to Cycle World. My 78 is at the motorcycle museum in Anamosa, Iowa and will be displayed when they find room for it.
I'm sure the new concept will be much better than the old ones but also old news in thirty plus years. ;)
 
F

FastFreddy

New Member
I think its a great idea.

You'd expect to be able to handle higher revs thru the turns with less inertial torque and vibrations.

The Tiger 800XC triples on the iicon raiden advert sounded good when I watched that last night.

This website has a triple explanation if you are interested :
AutoZine Technical School - Engine

Did you see this presentation ?
R1 cross-plane crank :
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvTXMtTTKQw]2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 engine technology explanation - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Y

yellowfz

FastFreddy said:
I think its a great idea.

You'd expect to be able to handle higher revs thru the turns with less inertial torque and vibrations.

The Tiger 800XC triples on the iicon raiden advert sounded good when I watched that last night.

This website has a triple explanation if you are interested :
AutoZine Technical School - Engine
Click to expand...

Now that I would go for, pretty cool stuff there.
Strange firing order though.
 
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B

bmw675

New Member
B

buzzbomb

Senior Member
Elite Member
I watched the vid. Ya'll crank-heads out there, help me out. I'm understanding that the cam shaft is basically unchanged, what there doing is changing when it rotates, so the plugs fire when the crank is a 90 degrees to the side, rather than at the top.
 
B

bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member
I still dont understand 90* crossplane with a 120* triple.

But I was looking into modern Yamaha triples.For the 1049cc snowmobiles, Yamaha offers a oem turbo and superscharger that bring them up to around 185hp.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUCKHYg01x8]2012 Yamaha Nytro MTX 162 Turbo Push Kit Review - YouTube[/ame]

Yamaha to Offer Trail Supercharger Kit for FX Nytro
 
B

BoneJj

Well-Known Member
This sounds quite cool. I'm hoping more manufacturers start doing this type of thing. I think it might helps out other engines as well. 3 cylinders sounds cool too.
 
B

bleedinblue

Senior Member
Elite Member
I enjoyed this video alot.It explained the benefits of the crossplane crank a bit better.

Yamaha Crossplane Crankshaft Part 1 - YouTube!


Dang I tried embeding that vid 3 times.Im not sure whats up.I did the same thing as post #16.Helps appreciated from anyone that can edit.

I was reading this tonight as well.Its a little old, but I have never seen this mentioned in the exhaust threads before.I think its connected to this conversation too.Yamaha is also a world leader in audio equipment, our motorcycles have that technology applied to them.
Copy & paste time, I doubt a Yamaha site will give us copyright problems.

"The Center for Advanced Sound Technologies of Yamaha Corporation (Headquarters: 10-1, Nakazawa-cho, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, President: Mitsuru Umemura) and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., performed acoustic design work for the engine of the Lexus LFA, which will be displayed at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show that begins on October 23. Yamaha Motor assisted in developing the engine for this sports car. The goal of the acoustic design project was to generate the dramatic and exciting acoustic properties that people expect of mass-produced super sports car like the Lexus LFA.

The Lexus LFA and its engine will be on display at the Lexus booth at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, and the prototype engine will be shown at the Yamaha Motor booth.

The acoustic designing concept

The objective of this acoustic design was to utilize sound as a medium that can achieve a direct link between the driver and the vehicle. To accomplish this goal, Yamaha and Yamaha Motor decided to base the design on the following two goals.

Create an engine sound that reacts instantly to even delicate alterations by the driver in the vehicle’s operation.
Effectively convey all of the high-grade engine sound to the driver.
This approach was based on Yamaha’s expertise in creating relationships between performers and musical instruments to give the perfomers the full enjoyment of playing an instrument.

When playing a musical instrument, performers hear the delicate changes in volume, tone, and nuances that they produce themselves. Hearing these subtle changes allows performers to make instant revisions as they play the instrument. For these performers, access to high-quality audio feedback is vital to achieving the best possible performance. In this case, sensing the direct feedback of the musical instrument is what provides the performers with the enjoyment of playing an instrument."

I highly urge you all to read it in full, it just gets more evident and enjoyable.
Yamaha Creates Acoustic Design for Engine of the Lexus LFA Super Sports Car - 2009 - News Release - Yamaha - Global
 
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B

BKP

New Member
"...so the lure of a handful of extra horses isn't the temptation it was a few years ago. Honda, and now Yamaha, have recognised that by giving their machines a distinct character – without sacrificing performance – they stand a better chance of distinguishing themselves from their rivals."

Read more: Next Yamaha R6 and R1 will be triples - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown

Excellent reason to pay attention to Yamaha... I think this philosophy was embodied in the 6R, when it was released...

I'm looking forward to their triple version of a sport-tourer...
 
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