Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha may be secretly developing a turbocharged engine. According to the images that surfaced on the internet recently, Yamaha may be working on a turbocharged motorbike, just like Kawasaki and Suzuki.
The silhouette of the bike resembles the MT-09 naked street-fighter. The Yamaha MT-09 uses a 3-cylinder, 847cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC motor which produces 115 PS of power @ 10,000 RPM and 87.5 Nm of torque @ 8,500 RPM coupled to a constant mesh 6-speed gearbox. The MT-09 uses a diamond frame chassis with upside down telescopic forks on the front and a link type monoshock on the rear. The front has 298mm dual hydraulic discs and a 245mm rear disc. The overall dimensions of the bike are 2075mm x 815mm x 1120mm (length x width x height) with a 1440mm wheelbase and a seat height of 820mm.
There are two engine images, the first one shows a conventionally placed turbocharger in front of the engine closely followed by the catalytic converter down the exhaust pipe. Two exhaust pipes from the manifold merging into one and continuing on to the turbocharger. The second image shows the turbo rotated upwards on the exhaust manifold allowing the catalytic converter closer to the engine which will allow improved emission performance.
The engine used could be a twin-cylinder motor with lower engine displacement because only two exhaust ports can be seen in the drawings. Will this turbocharged engine make it to the production line? We are not sure yet, in fact, it’s only a matter of time that which manufacturer becomes the first to come out with a turbocharged motorcycle. The quest goes on…