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Yamaha Reviews

2019 Yamaha Niken GT | First Ride Review

Following our first ride on the 2019 Niken at the press introduction in Europe, Yamaha pre-sold every one of the relatively few examples it...

Retrospective: 1969-1971 Yamaha DS6-C 250cc Street Scrambler

For more than 10 years 250 two-stroke twins were the mainstay of the Yamaha range here in the United States, from the DS1 of...

The Best Bikes for Smaller Riders (and Budgets): 2019 Edition!

Bigger doesn’t always mean better, and fortunately for those of us looking for a fun, affordable motorcycle there are more choices than ever. Nearly...

2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 | First Ride Review

Glittery, feature-laden flagship products may be sexy, but in today’s world the bread-and-butter models are the ones that return the most bang for the...

Video: Yamaha Star Eluder Project Bike | Part 3

This is the final video in our three-part series about our Yamaha Star Eluder project bike, a collaboration between Rider magazine and Jeff Palhegyi, owner...

Yamaha Star Eluder Project Bike

For 2018, Yamaha launched two all-new V-twin touring cruisers built on the same platform--the Star Venture luxury tourer and the Star Eluder bagger. Both...

Video: Yamaha Star Eluder Project Bike | Part 2

We teamed up with Jeff Palhegyi, owner of Palhegyi Design, on a Yamaha Star Eluder project bike. Known for his customized cruisers, vintage race...

Video: Yamaha Star Eluder Project Bike | Part 1

New for 2018, the Yamaha Star Eluder is a bagger built on the same platform as the Star Venture. Both have bold, modern bodywork wrapped...

2019 Yamaha Niken GT | First Look Review

When Yamaha released the Niken as a part of its Touring lineup earlier this year, we hoped a road trip-ready GT version would be...

2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700 | First Look Review

Yes, the long-awaited Ténéré 700, or T7 for short, will be coming to America...but be prepared to wait just a while longer. As of now,...

Rider’s Guide to New/Updated Street Motorcycles for 2019

This handy guide includes all new or significantly updated street-legal motorcycles for the 2019 model year. Organized in alphabetical order by manufacturer, it includes...

Retrospective: 1992-1993 Yamaha TDM850

Despite their long-legged suspension, big side cases and rugged looks, most of today's adventure bikes are ridden more often on the road than off....

2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 | First Look Review

We've got a soft spot in our hard little hearts for Yamaha's smallest supersport, the YZF-R3, even going so far as to strap on...

Yamaha Unveils New Color for 2019 Hyper Nakeds

Yamaha has announced colors and pricing for its lineup of "hyper naked" bikes for 2019. A new color, Ice Fluo, will be exclusive to...

Video Review | 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT

Yamaha's all-new 2019 Tracer 900 GT is a premium, touring-ready replacement for the FJ-09 sport tourer. Weighing a little over 500 pounds and equipped...

Retrospective: 1976-1981 Yamaha XT500 Enduro

With this model the Yamaha boys at Hamamatsu took a good long look at the trail-riding concept, which had become a profitable piece of...

2018 Yamaha MT-07 | Road Test Review

We’ve been smitten with the Yamaha FZ-07 since it was introduced in 2014 as a 2015 model: it’s fun, inexpensive and has a lot...

2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT | Road Test Review

When Yamaha introduced its 847cc triple with a Crossplane Concept Crankshaft on the FZ-09 naked bike for 2014, it was revelatory--a powerful, audacious engine...

Yamaha Announces Pricing, Availability for 3-Wheeled Niken

One of the most eye-catching and thought-provoking motorcycles unveiled at last fall's EICMA show in Milan was Yamaha's Niken Leaning Multi-Wheel (LMW), a two-wheels-in-front...

2019 Yamaha Niken | First Ride Review

We don’t often think about the total size of the two tire contact patches that are ultimately responsible for keeping our motorcycles on the...

2018 Yamaha XSR700 | Long-Term Ride Review

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed Yamaha’s middleweight FZ-/MT-07 since it came out back in 2015, so it was no surprise when EIC Tuttle became somewhat smitten...

2018 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra vs. Indian Roadmaster vs. Yamaha Star Venture TC | Comparison Review

In our last luxury touring comparison (Rider, August 2015 and on ridermagazine.com), we put the 40th anniversary Honda Gold Wing up against the Harley-Davidson Ultra...

Quick Read: 2018 Yamaha Star Venture TC

Editor's Note: This Quick Read is part of our Luxury Touring Bike Comparison, which you can read here. Our last comparison test with a Star...

2018 Yamaha MT-07 | First Ride Review

New model press launches are usually carefully curated affairs—perfectly curvy roads, impressive scenery, cool coffee stops and, of course, plenty of gastronomic delights. There’s...

Video Review | 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder

Based on the Star Venture platform, Yamaha's Star Eluder is a bagger that foregoes the trunk and passenger backrest as well as several other...

2018 Yamaha Star Eluder | First Ride Review

One of the biggest announcements last year in the world of motorcycle touring was the return of Yamaha’s Star Venture, a fully-loaded luxury tourer...

Small Bikes Rule! Honda CRF250L Rally, Suzuki GSX250R and Yamaha TW200 Reviews

One day we happened to look in a darker corner of the Rider shop and realized that a number of smaller new motorcycles were...

Retrospective: 1979-1992 Yamaha QT50 Yamahopper

Looking in Cycle magazine’s “1980 Buyers Guide,” the Motorized Bicycles section has more than 20 bikes listed. Most of them are a hair under...

2018 Yamaha XSR700 | First Ride Review

When Yamaha’s 2014 FZ-09 triple was announced, anticipation of its arrival was so high that eager buyers lined up to put deposits down on...

2019 Yamaha Niken Leaning Trike | First Look Review

First there was the Piaggio MP3, a three-wheeled leaning scooter with two wheels in front, a marvel of engineering that provided hellacious front-end grip....

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