Last February, there was a lot of talk about Yamaha’s plan to possibly make a sportbike from the existing MT-07 platform. Some surmised this would lead to the creation of an R7 to serve as a replacement for the discontinued R6.
Now, new trademarks filed by Yamaha suggest they are still planning on continuing the R6, along with 23 other motorcycles models that could bear the “R” badge.
In a report by Motorcycle.com, the Iwata-based manufacturer has recently filed trademarks – all 24 of them – to secure the names for its entire YZF-R lineup.
Of course, the application for its flagship bike, the R1, was filed, together with regular Asian models: R15, R25, and the R3.
Other YZF-R models
Based on the trademarks filed by Yamaha, it also suggests that new YZF-R models may be in the pipeline, from a 900 cc down to a small, 200 cc.
Like the MT-07 which will become the basis of R7, Yamaha currently has the MT-09 and it makes perfect sense for the company to just use the existing platform to create a new R9.
These recent trademark filings also suggests an array of small displacement models (popular in emerging markets like the Philippines). There's a interesting filing for a YZF-R20, which could be powered by a 200 cc single-cylinder engine, but there's also a YZF-R2.
Finally, there are applications for the R4 and R5 names, which suggest 400cc and 500cc YZF-R models. These bikes may well see production as other Japanese manufacturers already have 400 and 500 cc models in their lineup, like Kawasaki’s Ninja 400 and Honda’s CBR500R.
Realistically speaking, they might not all get the greenlight. After all, developing one model for every 100cc is expensive. The development of some of these new motorcycles could be canceled along the way for various reasons.
Yamaha may or may not use all these names, but you can't simply file for trademark on these names to prevent other brands from using them. Each application is costly and labor intensive so there must be some intention behind filing for 24 model names.
