The YZF-R1 Motorcycle

The 2012 model year arrives and the economy is struggling to pick itself up, the major OEMs have stayed rather conservative on releasing new models choosing instead to give their current lineup a refreshing of sorts, even if that only means adding a different paint scheme or new decals. The Bold New Graphics approach, as we industry types call it.

The Yamaha and its cruiser line, The Star Motorcycles, is one of those manufacturers erring on the side of caution with next year’s street lineup. This despite being the second-best selling brand for cruisers 900cc and up last year and with the Raider being the best selling high end metric cruiser above 1300cc for the same time period. On the sport side of things, Josh Herrin’s and Josh Hayes’ success on the YZF-R6 and R1, respectively, have done little to convince Yamaha to come out with something new. But that’s not to say the company doesn’t have some exciting surprises in store