Remember the shit days of 2009-11? Back in the depths of the financial crisis, the best that we could hope for from the Japanese firms like Yamaha was ‘bold new graphics’. The international financial shitstorm hit R&D hard, and together with a crippling Yen exchange rate, it formed a toxic environment for new tech.

Thankfully, that’s all behind us now, and Yamaha’s had a load of great kit to show off in the past few years - with more to come next week at Cologne we imagine. So this announcement is a mere appetiser, an amuse-bouche, a quick line of powder before the main course. There’s a slew of new colours to liven up models like the Tracer 900, XSR900 and 700 and MT-07, which will all be unchanged for next year.

Yamaha’s also announced the latest ordering scheme for the YZF-R1M for 2017. Orders start on October 11th, with numbers limited. Yamaha also requires you to fill in a detailed application form, so that bikes go to good homes, and won’t end up kept in cages outside, have their tails docked, or end up fighting Staffies in a barn in darkest Lincolnshire. Because a YZF-R1M is for life kids - not just Christmas.

More info: www.yamaha-motor.co.uk