Finally, Yamaha is entering the electric motorcycle market. The Japanese motorcycle manufacturer will be producing two models of battery-powered motorcycles in the near future. Yamaha representatives have not given any fixed dates regarding the prototype's launch but there was an official company announcement regarding the planned production of the new vehicles. A number of blogs and news sites are reporting that the planned commercial production will be in 2016.

The two models Yamaha plans to produce are called the PES1 and PED1. Prototypes of these electric motorcycles were already revealed at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, alongside Yamaha's new Cafe racers based on the Star Bolt and Evino electric scooters.

The PES1 is a 100-kilogram vehicle powered by a lithium ion battery pack. It has a brushless DC motor contained in a monocoque frame and the transmission comes with both manual and automatic modes. The PED1, on the other hand, weighs even less than its PES1 counterpart. At around 85 kilograms, this lighter electric motorcycle is like the more physically optimized version of the PES1 since it carries the same internals that the former has. Aside from the difference in the kind of suspensions and sprockets used, the two models are mostly similar in their technical specifications.

The official Yamaha announcement regarding the production of these electric motorcycles mentioned that, "the motorcycles will offer the operability expected by existing motorcycle fans, together with a new riding experience." Of course, these claims are yet to be tested but, given the gaunt appearance of the units as well as Yamaha's extensive motorcycle manufacturing experience, it can be expected that they will be light and fast.

PES is an acronym for Passion Electric Sport while PED stands for Passion Electric Dirt. As the names imply, PES1 is built to offer the sportbike experience in an electric motorcycle model while PED is the dirtbike form.