Yamaha Files Trademark Application for FJ-09

Yamaha‘s next three-cylinder motorcycle may be a sport-tourer, if a recently-filed trademark application is any indication.

The Tuning Fork brand filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name “FJ-09” as it applies to “Motorcycles, scooters, three-wheeled scooters and structural parts for all the aforesaid goods.” Following Yamaha’s usual naming conventions, the signs indicate the trademark will be for a new sport-touring model using the same Triple as the FZ-09.

Yamaha has made it clear it plans to introduce more three-cylinder engines following the FZ-09 (or MT-09, as it is known in Europe.) Previously-filed trademark applications for the YZF-R3 and R3 names raised speculation the next triple would be a sportbike, but as per Yamaha’s usual naming convention, the “3″ in R3 is likelier to refer to the engine displacement rather than the number of cylinders.

A three-cylinder FJ-09 sport-tourer makes more sense. Yamaha last used the FJ name from 1984 to 1996 with the FJ1100 and its follow-up, the FJ1200, the predecessors for the still currently-available FJR1300. Yamaha also had a 600cc partially-faired model called the FJ600 (or XJ600, for other markets), the predecessor for the Seca II.

A new FJ-09 would slot in nicely under the FJR1300A and FJR1300ES in Yamaha’s sport-touring lineup, possibly replacing the FZ1.

[Source: USPTO]

By Dennis Chung