SBOOFFY

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Tricker: a cross breed between a mountain bike and a motorcycle
A cross-breed between a motorcycle and a mountain bike, for Takeshi Higuchi, this thought is well within reach. Tricker, the concept model shown at 35th Tokyo Motor show is his brain child. "Not only over here in Japan, we see that young people show less interest in conventional motorcycles. Many of them however grew up on mountain bikes and still love them" Higuchi explains. "The guys we are aiming at have lesser interest in performance. They are more keen on some possibilities of trick riding, they experienced on their BMX or mountain bikes."


Tricker, the concept model shown at Tokyo Motor show, combines elements of a bicycle with that of a trial motorcycle
Get the kids interested

Takeshi Higuchi's main job is to create big bikes, like FJR 1300 or TDM 900. But he believes, that Yamaha needs also to address the needs of a younger generation. Bikers who are willing to afford big motorcycles today are usually a generation or two away form the teens and twens of today. "If we can't get the kids interested in two wheels today, what will our business look like in 10 or 20 years time? Will individual vehicles just be a nuisance or will we all be sitting in slow moving electric cars? I believe, that people still want some fun when they need to go from A to B. And that individual traffic will always be there."

Tricker is just one example of many other ideas, how to get people to enjoy motorbikes without the element of speed or performance. And in a way, Tricker is a simple concept providing fun and enjoyment at safe speed with high tech solutions.

A BMX bike with an engine


Mitsuo Kitada, manger at Yamaha engineering designed the Tricker concept model
So a bunch of product planners and engineers got together at Yamaha's factory in Iwata and discussed their visions and ideas. Mitsuo Kitada, a manager of Yamaha engineering was one of them. He liked the idea of crossing a trial bike with a mountain bike. "Actually a trial bike is not so far off. However trial bikes have become real specialist machines for competition only. Unlike a decade ago, where you could still see them occasionally on the road, today you can only see them on trailers in the hands of competition riders." Takeshi Higuchi adds: "Our main target was, to create a bike that was not difficult to ride and with only a bit of experience one should be able to perform standing, little jumping or controllable wheelies. All these tricks should be carried out safely and at low speed, so they are easy to control. And on top of that, the bike was supposed to still be used as a mean of transport in particular in urban environment."


Takeshi Higuchi, product planner at Yamaha Factory in Japan created Tricker to increase motorcycle appeal to younger people.
High tech approach

Mitsuo Kitada decided to go for a high tech approach in order to achieve the goal. He designed a lightweight aluminium frame, which is bolded very tightly around the engine. To sustain jumps and other tricks, the suspension would have to be sturdy. The first choice were motocross based parts. Front fork and rear suspension are derived from Yamaha standard YZ 85 motocrosser. The parts did undergo some modification regarding stroke and set-up. YZ 85 wheelbase proofed suitable and wheels too.

223 cc engine

"Of course a high performance motocross engine was totally out of question", Kitada continues. " We needed a four stroke with enough torque to do the job." The well known 223 cc powerplant from Serrow, a lightweight on/off machine was chosen. This little engine is very pleasant to ride and has a fine pick up on throttle even at lower rpm", Kitada explains his choice.


The bike is extremely narrow and has ideal weight balance to do all kinds of tricks
Weight and balance a key factor


"We paid strong attention to the actual weight and balance of this machine. Therefore we used carbon and aluminium parts wherever we could and also wrapped the frame so narrow around the engine, that the bike's body width is actually smaller than the engine width, of course neglecting the handlebar" Higuchi says. The small fuel tank just above the cylinder head fits neatly into the aluminium frame and the rider's seat is placed well in the centre of the machine to achieve best weight balance.


Specification:

dimension [L.W.H] (mm) : 1820/740/1160
dry weight (kg) : 95
seating capacity : 1
piston displacement (cm3) : 223

engine type : Air-Cooled, 4-Stroke, SOHC , 2-Valve Single
transmission : Return 5-speed



© 2005, YAMAHA DESIGN CAFE

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