Already with a 30 year heritage in e-bikes, Yamaha has marked the milestone with a pair of launches under the new Booster banner, one delivered as a pure play electric bike and another targeting and increasingly busy speed pedelec space.
Set to come to market this spring and reflective of a significant investment into the two-wheel mobility space, including a production facility for motors in France, the label’s pedal-powered bikes will be sold via Yamaha dealerships and available to demo with a new network of ‘experience centres’. Once satisfied, the order can be completed online with home delivery available.
Yamaha is looking at the segment with a view to being part of a zero emissions transition for personal mobility, itself working towards a commitment for carbon neutrality in its manufacturing by 2035.
Starting with the custom configurable Booster Easy electric bike, there’s no escaping it’s more moped-esque in its styling and in fact visually there’s little to separate it from the speed pedelec, the differences are almost all under the surface. Nonetheless it’s immediately obvious that this is meant to be pedalled and the spec sheet draws on both motorcycle and cycling grade components, which results in what would be considered a lightweight moped but a heavy electric bike.
Driving the e-bike iteration is a 630WH 36 volt Yamaha battery paired to the brand’s lightweight 2.85kg PWSeries S2 75nM mid-motor. This duo will provide an up to 120km assisted range, all controlled by an LCD display at the handlebar. As is the case across Europe, a 25km/h assisted limited applies.
Mechanically the experience is supported by an Enviolo Twist Pure gearing system, plus drivetrain kit from FSA and KMC.
In keeping with the moped styling that layers the honeycomb style aluminium chassis, both models host four inch wide tyres adorn robust 20-inch wheels, while a well-built 80mm travel front fork further takes the edge off bumps in the road. Added to this there’s integration of cabling and Koso LED lighting.
Meanwhile, the speed pedelec Booster is classified for the electric moped AM license category. As a result you’ll have a pedelec capable of 45km/h with maximum assistance with five running modes on offer to help you manage battery versus power. Torque ratios range from 60% on +ECO to 400% on High. All of this is delivered via the S-Pedelec iteration of the PWSeries S2 motor, again paired to a 630WH battery.
The pair of launches builds on a range of electric bikes already on the market, spanning the mountain, gravel and urban segments. As with the Booster bikes, these too have been collaborative efforts with e-bike maker Fantic, which has also recently debuted a new range pitched at the e-MTB segment.
Yamaha first delivered a product for the electric bike space in the 1990s, at the time manufacturing the first Power Assist System, a component that went on to help deliver what is widely claimed to be the world’s first mass production e-bike.