YAMAHA

H2O XT - A very different concept ... and powered by water!

What will the most technological bikes look like in 5 years? This was the question addressed by Maxime Lefebvre, an intern designer at Yamaha, who ‘transformed’ the original concept of a 1976 XT 500 into a different format for 2025… with a hydrogen engine.
Meetings with Yamaha highlighted that the XT had to maintain the original characteristics of being original, light and easy to maintain. Then the designer started with the engine, the central part of the bike that, according to his idea, will follow a silent and ecological logic, not on the electric path, but via a water engine.



Consisting of a central pump and two water tanks to imitate a V-Twin, the system would feed the rear wheel motor by passing the liquid through the swing arm.
The frame was then designed around the engine, offering a very airy bike and even opting for a parallelogram front suspension. The coating was added later, using transparent blue materials to remember the central element of the project ... water.
Four years later, this Yamaha XT H2O Revival study has yet to see the light of day, but perhaps the futuristic look of the project and the engine power concept itself remain current.



By Ricardo J Ferreira, from Portugal