The Yamaha YZF-R7 moniker looks like it's set to make a return very soon. A document filed with California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) has surfaced online, confirming the same.
The Yamaha YZF-R7 name was previously used on the Japanese manufacturer’s WSBK winning contender, and now it will be seen on a bike available to the general public as well. It was confirmed that the Yamaha YZF-R6 – the manufacturer’s long-running middleweight supersport – will no longer be in production in 2022, and so, it makes sense that the R7 will replace it.
The CARB filings reveal two registrations for the YZF-R7 – ‘YZFR7NCB’ and ‘YZFR7NCL’ – which the source suggests could be the colour schemes; the ‘B’ in the designation probably refers to Raven Black, while the letter ‘L’ means Team Yamaha Blue. The filings don’t reveal much technical information, but it’s believed that the bike will be powered by the same 689cc parallel-twin engine from the 2021 MT-07. In fact, the emissions performance data is identical to that of the bike, which suggests power and torque levels may also remain unchanged, at 72.4hp at 8,750rpm and 67Nm at 6,500rpm.
There is evidence that the chassis may be carried over as well, as the weight listed on the CARB documents is, again, identical to that of the MT-07. The bike has been listed as a 2022 model, but we could see it launch earlier than that.