Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles

Famed for its lengthy history manufacturing musical instruments and motorcycles, Yamaha built its first prototype electric bicycle in 1989 and began shipping production ebikes to retailers in its native Japan in September 1993. By 2016, the company had sold more than 2 million ebikes worldwide. It also produces motors for other ebike brands in addition to its own electrics, and has shipped more than 4 million drive units to date. Poised to bring its ebikes to the US market, Yamaha showed a line of prototype pedal-assist bikes at the September 2017 Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. The first ebikes shipped to US retailers in July 2018. The initial line stateside consisted of the Urban Rush drop-bar pavement model, YDX-TORC hardtail eMTB, CrossCore flat-bar commuter, and the rear-rack-equipped CrossConnect recreational/utility model. The Wabash gravel model followed in March 2019. The current line is priced at $2,399 to $3,499. What’s ahead for the Japanese manufacturing giant? If a teaser video on Instagram from May 2020 is any indication, the company will soon add a full-suspension mountain bike to its lineup. Stay tuned!