Yamaha plotting electric TY-E trials bike

Yamaha has applied for a trademark on the name ‘TY-E’ suggesting it’s developing an electric trials bike.

According to the application at the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the name TY-E could be used on: “Motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, three-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motor scooters, three-wheeled mopeds, electric motorcycles, electric three-wheeled motorcycles, electric scooters, electric three-wheeled scooters and parts and fittings for all the aforesaid goods.”

That’s a pretty broad remit, but we can narrow the focus down to an electric trials machine simply by digging into Yamaha’s naming traditions. Just as ‘YZF’ is exclusively used on four-stroke sports bike and ‘XT’ means adventure-style machines, the ‘TY’ designation has always applied to Yamaha’s trials bikes in the past.

Normally it’s followed by a number, defining the bike’s capacity, but in this case there’s an ‘E’ instead – and we’re pretty sure it doesn’t stand for anything other than ‘electric’.

Yamaha has been relatively open about the fact it’s got electric bikes on the way. The PED and PES concepts have been shown in two generations (PED1 and PED2 were off-roaders, PES1 and PES2 were sports bikes) and Yamaha’s mid-term plan, published a couple of years ago, indicated that their production offspring should be on sale just about now. 

And an electric trials bike makes plenty of sense as well. Not only is there already a world championship for electric trials – the FIM TrialE Cup – but the needs of trials bikes (minimal range requirements, occasional indoor use and acres of low-down torque) mean it’s a recipe that electric propulsion fulfils perfectly.

Of course, trials bikes aren’t much use to most of us, but who hasn’t occasionally harboured an interest in having a go on one? With silent electric power rather than a petrol engine, suddenly it’s something that’s much more viable to play with in your back garden if your toy budget stretches that far.