Cologne Show: Yamaha release GEN01 concept

There was one surprise from Yamaha today. Having written about the XJR1300 and MT-07 Moto Cage yesterday, we thought that we had seen everything that the Japanese manufacturer had to offer, but they had one final sheet to lift off of a bike.

The GEN01 concept is a new multi-wheel ‘on & off crossover’ concept.

The ‘on & off’ – say Yamaha – comes from the machines ability to handle both on and off-road riding. They also said that this referred to the ‘on and off nature of the rhythm generated by mood shifts when switching between the enjoyment of demanding riding and relaxed riding’, but we ignored that bit of the marketing speech.

There’s no denying its visual impact however.

Two huge wheels at the front, working with combined, telescopic suspension – in the same was as their recently released Tricity 125 – convey an incredibly aggresive attitude.

As with most concept machines there was no talk of production for the vehicle, but it’s using technology currently within Yamaha’s abilities and has become quite a talking point of the show floor.