This is the 01GEN concept, a design study Yamaha revealed at the biennial Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany.
Similar in form to the four-wheeled Yamaha Tesseract concept unveiled in 2013 (pictured below), the 01GEN concept is a three-wheeled crossover bike with two wheels in the front and a single, larger wheel at the rear. The Japanese company claims the three-wheeler is an all-terrain vehicle that can be used on or off-road — unlike the recently launched Tricity urban scooter.
According to Yamaha, the 01GEN is the first bike concept to showcase its new ‘Refined Dynamism’ design philosophy, which was initiated in 2013. The company says they are focusing on developing products that realize a unique ‘Yamaha style’, reflecting their design-led values.
As such, the 01GEN concept’s design is characterized by a sweeping main bodyline that extends from the protruding dual front fenders in a fluid motion through the seating area and over the rear wheel. The company cites ‘genesis’ and ‘generate’ as design keywords used to inspire its development, the application of which can be seen in the overlapping and floating three dimensional surface treatment.
The separation between the performance and off-road characteristics of the design is expressed by the contrasting blue and silver color scheme: blue is used for the backing of the upper half while the silver surfaces allude to more refined on-road riding.
The bike not only looks wildly different to anything currently on the market, it’s also claimed to ride differently as well. With a high seating position and dual front suspension, the concept’s dual front wheels transmit a heightened level of surface information to the rider, which they then convey to the machine.
The 01GEN concept is an interesting foray into a crossover look for motorbikes that hasn’t yet been seen. And given the auto industry’s hell-bent desire to combine sports car performance with off-road attributes, it was only a matter of time before we saw this showcased on a motorcycle.
