The hybrid-powered Tesseract was unveiled in 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show, but it has taken until now for the company to announce production. It will begin local sales at one million Yen (about $10,500) soon, but there is no word about other markets.
In geometry, a tesseract is a four-dimensional analog of a cube. In motorcycling, it’s a whole new bike category. Is it a scooter, an ATV, a motorcycle?
Yamaha claims it’s a motorcycle because it leans. However, because of two patented systems – “Dual-Scythe Suspension” and a Dual Arm-Lock System, a bit like the gyroscope found in a Segway – it won’t fall over. The mechanism allows a certain amount of lean before it offers resistance and is also speed related, so it supports the bike in an upright position at standstill. That’s what sets it aside from all known motorcycles and ATVs.
It is powered by a combination of a liquid-cooled V-twin gasoline engine and an electric motor.
The Tesseract looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s not CGI, it’s real.
Whether you agree it is a motorcycle or not, it looks like fun to ride with much more cornering grip than a conventional bike. Just don’t try filtering on it!
Yamaha Tessaract