Back in September, Yamaha revealed a special “Race Blu” livery for a the YZF-R1, YZF-R6 and the YZF-R125 for the European market. Yamaha promoted the new color scheme with Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies sporting the colors on their leathers and M1 race bikes at the Misano and Aragon MotoGP rounds.

North American consumers were left out, however, getting a Team Yamaha Blue and White version instead for the R1 and R6 (the R125 isn’t offered here either). Not that there’s anything wrong with the Team Yamaha versions. They do however lack the Race Blu’s darker blue hue and the matching wheels. Yamaha later added a Race Blu option for the XJ6, XJ6 Diversion, FZ8 and Fazer8 for Europe.

Of those models, only the FZ8 is offered in the U.S., but only in black, meaning the Race Blu color is still not offered for the American market. That isn’t the case north of the border. Continue Reading »

We reported earlier today Yamaha Motor USA unveiled new colors and graphics for its 2013 YZF-R1 and YZF-R6. Mechanically unchanged from last year’s models, Yamaha‘s two sportbikes each get three color options including a “Team Yamaha” blue and white model.

What Yamaha isn’t offering to its U.S. customers is a new “Race-Blu” livery, introduced today at Misano for the upcoming MotoGP round. Yamaha factory racers Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will race this weekend wearing the Race-Blu livery on their leathers and on their YZR-M1 racebikes.

The Aldo Drudi-designed two-tone blue and matte gray color will also be offered on European versions of the R1, the R6 and the entry-level YZF-R125. These three models are just the beginning however. Yamaha says the Race-Blu series will be an integral part of Yamaha’s lineup for future model years as well. Continue Reading »