The three-wheeled Yamaha MWT-9 concept bike was one of last year’s most unusual machines and the firm’s apparent intention to put it into production virtually unchanged makes it all the more intriguing.
Close inspection of last year’s show bike proved it was a far cry from the run-of-the-mill concept. While they usually get less convincing the closer you get, as mocked-up components and one-off machined parts become apparent, the MWT-9 appeared more production-ready the closer you looked. In reality, the bike’s concept-ish look came largely from its unusual colour scheme, with purplish paint, grey-blue anodised suspension parts and Perspex panels bolted to the forks. Strip them away and it looks less outlandish and more like the production bike that it’s destined to become.
Yamaha has already trademarked the ‘MWT’ name for use on the proddy model and now it’s filed patents for the MWT’s styling. While identical to the concept in its shape, these computer-modelled patent images show the bike in monochrome, without the concept paintwork, and as such give a clearer idea of how the production version will look.
Some concept elements are still there; the tyres have the same weird tread pattern and the way the seat extends into the sides of the fuel tank is likely to change for the production model. But the very fact that Yamaha has patented the design adds further confirmation to the MWT’s mass-made future, and the bike we see in showrooms – perhaps as soon as next year – will look an awful lot like this.