Exciting news for both a brand and an industry—Yamaha announced today that a new youth motocross model will be unveiled this February. The fact that the brand feels the youth market needs to be served better is a big one, as racing and bike sales at the amateur level are no longer what they were a generation ago.
But what is this bike going to be? Yamaha won't say officially for another two months.
“With the addition of this exciting new motorcycle, riders of nearly all ages will be able to join the bLU cRU,” Yamaha Motorcycle product line manager Derek Brooks said in a press release. “This all-new bike builds on Yamaha’s renowned history of performance and durability, helping young riders step onto the top of the podium and into the victorYZone”.
Our guess? It's a YZ65, which is a bike that we've heard rumors about before, and would fit perfectly with the quote "riders of nearly all ages will be able to join the bLU cRU." Yamaha's current lineup features a sizable gap between the venerable PW50 and the YZ85 (the brand does offer a wider variety of sizes in the trail-oriented TT-R line). It's worth noting that while KTM has made huge strides in a variety of ways, perhaps its greatest achievement was building bikes for every motocross displacement level, giving young riders the option to stay on orange for life.
If it is a YZ65, you'll surely hear raves because it would represent an investment in two-stroke technology from a Japanese brand.
Yamaha is also launching a new marketing campaign around the model, the victorYZone. This includes a quick teaser video for the bike, which includes a young rider putting numbers on fresh front number plate. The number? 65.
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