Could Yamaha Be Launching The YZF-R7 Sooner Than We Think?

Yamaha is set to bring back the R7 moniker and some convincing renders of the motorcycle have come out already.

The existence of such a model in Yamaha’s pipeline was uncovered recently when the Japanese bike manufacturer filed a registration of the title Yamaha YZF-R7 in the USA.

Expected to make its debut either in the fag end of this year or in early 2022, it would be the successor to the homologation special that was put on sale 2 decades ago.

However, unlike the first R7, the new model will be based on the MT-07 street bike and will not be limited to just 500 units like the old one was.

Coming to these 2022 Yamaha R7 renders, which were done by basically slapping a fairing on the MT-07 and interchanging parts from other Yamaha “R” bikes, it is clear that the bike will be a looker.

Some might even see this bike as a grown up R6 of sorts, which would only be a compliment, and it should sit right in the middle of Yamaha’s supersports category. If you'd remember, the Yamaha R6 was discontinued late last year for the European market as Yamaha look towards refreshing their sportsbike market.

However, we can expect Yamaha to come up with a cleaner styling for the motorcycle than these renders suggest.

The MT-07’s 689cc parallel-twin motor would power the 2022 YZF-R7, but, Yamaha will likely increase the motor’s power output. The 2021 MT-07 has a maximum of 73.4 PS and 67 Nm of torque.

Considering the old R7 had 106 BHP in stock form which could then be raised to 160 BHP in race trim, it would be a shame if the new R7 did not make a power figure close to, if not more than, its predecessor in stock form.

That should put it right in the league of the Aprilia RS 660 that makes 100 BHP. This also leads us to speculate that Yamaha might actually use the MT-09’s 890cc 3-cylinder engine for the bike.

Also, unlike the Italian machine, Yamaha is expected to price the 2022 R7 around £8500, which should please many bikers the world over as it will be one of the most bang for your buck sportsbike you can get in the Class 2 category!