Yamaha shows ‘crossplane’ twin

YAMAHA has revealed a new parallel twin engine that carries on the ‘crossplane’ thinking of its R1 engine and the new MT-09’s triple.

The firm is building a whole line of motors around the crossplane concept, and this is the latest, revealed in an event in Japan.

Details are virtually non-existent. We don’t even know the capacity of the motor yet, although it looks like it’s between 500cc and 1000cc, given its external proportions in comparison to the MT-09’s 850cc triple, photographed alongside it.

Of course, the whole ‘crossplane’ this is slightly diluted by both the triple and the twin. While the R1’s engine is quite innovative, replicating the power delivery of a V4, the MT-09, with its 120-degree crankshaft, is quite conventional for a triple. True, the crankshaft isn’t flat-plane, but it’s not as unusual as the R1’s design.

On a twin, the same idea surely relates to a 270-degree crankshaft, imitating the power delivery of a 90-degree V-twin. That’s the arrangement Yamaha already uses on the TDM900 and the Super Tenere parallel twins, so this new design isn’t likely to be as ground-breaking.

However, it bodes well for a new Yamaha, or even a range of them, potentially rivalling Honda’s new CB500 line-up.