Range of new Yamaha Motors

Spencer Ivy

Pedelecer
Jul 3, 2013
48
20
I have the first (I believe!) new S Duro Hard Seven sitting in the Cyclelife Electric Wessex shop in Poundbury in the flesh ! lovely looking bike and having spent time with the designers and engineers from Haibike last week on the Raleigh academy course the simple answer to all the questions on here is come and ride the bikes....there is no right or wrong / better or worse...all a question of what you want the bike for and how much you want to spend. All bikes are priced according to their componentry and finish. The bike is a 40cm frame and ready to roll!
 
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JohnCade

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 16, 2014
1,486
736
Interesting comparison on the blog. All the stats seemed to show that the Yamaha is a similar or better motor but the subjective view was that the Bosch shaded it. Mainly on the finish of the display and a preference for the crank fittings and a few other very minor issues.

Seemed to me that the Yamaha is better value for sure, and the slight but noticeable subjective preference for the Bosch is perhaps because it has a greater cachet, and perhaps because it's put in the more expensive bikes with higher margins.

Personally I'd be inclined to buy the Yam rather than the Bosch any day give the same riding experience. The larger chainrings are a big plus too seeing as the small Bosch one eats chains according to some posts here. Pity it isn't supplied more widely.
 

Electrifying Cycles

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 4, 2011
1,005
176
My collegue went on the Raleigh training course tried the Yamaha system. His feedback was that the Bosch assistance was smoother. However the Yamaha seemed to be more powerful and also the assistance kicked in sooner. The new TranzX crank drive will be out next year as well. Apparently the Yamaha system costs manufacturers10% less than the Bosch system.

What I do like about the Yamaha system is that you can have 20 gears rather than a max of 10 (11 if your lucky) on Bosch powered bikes.