We live in Perilous Times. Riots! Disease! Earthquakes! Crumbling Infrastructure! It’s never been more dangerous to be alive!
Or so the talking heads on cable news tell us, anyway. Regardless of whether or not you think The End Is Near, you might want to check out this cool concept scooter from Yamaha, based on its leaning Tricity three-wheeler series.
The very name of the Tricity implies an urban-oriented design, but this version of the scoot comes with knobby tires, utilitarian luggage racks and tough-looking protective bits. That’s because it’s apparently intended to handle light trail duty, as well as busted-up roadways in the wake of a disaster. If you need to battle back when Mother Nature goes wild, this is the machine you want? That’s what the marketing images seem to imply anyway.
Yamaha’s Japanese-language website has several other pieces of kit that are related to this survival theme, including watercraft and generators. At this point, it’s unclear as to whether this is a serious plan, or just some fun in-house exercise for the show circuit.
However, navigating through the site (see it here, and you’ll need Google Translate!), it does seem Yamaha is taking inquiries on the products. It’s possible we’ll know more at EICMA, when the OEMs have to fill their massive displays, and drag out their wackiest ideas to do so.
For now, we certainly wouldn’t expect to see this in Canada … uh, ever. The Tricity series still isn’t here, so don’t expect a weirdo survivalist sub-variant.
Knobby tires on a Niken GT – who would have thought ?
After the experiences of March 11, 2011, whereby emergency services were essentially crippled in getting into areas to assist after the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami events, interest has been high in developing better ways of getting through tight spots and damaged roads. TEPCO’s renewable energy section began trials of using motorcycles in various areas, which has proven to be quite successful. That said, I think the appeal of the Tricity as kitted here is that it’s far easier to ride and is less prone to sliding out/highsiding/lowsiding on gnarly terrain. I see the benefit of the concept as being easier to ride, the emphasis is placed back on the skills of the personnel to administer emergency services rather than immediately upon their skill as a motorcyclist in poor conditions.
Interesting, I think.