It seems like I can't escape writing about motorcycle theft being on the rise in the UK and the imaginative ways that folks are coming up with to combat it. But we riders shouldn't have to think outside the box to protect our bikes when the solution could be at our fingertips. Yamaha saw that, and now the company is giving its customers not just what they want, but what they need.
The engineers at the Japanese manufacturer have come up with what they describe as an 'industry-first' anti-theft feature. In the UK, the system will come as standard on the brand's YZ250F, YZ450F, WR250F, and WR450F units. Riders in the UK won't need to buy any add-ons or subscriptions, etc, and all you need is a smartphone and Yamaha's Power Tuner app.
In an interview with MCN, Yamaha's Product Manager, Leon Oosterhof, said, “The base technology that allows ECU lock is our existing CCU (communication control unit) that we have been using for a few years already... It’s a small black box behind the left side cover that controls communication between the ECU and the outside world – in this case, a smartphone via a Wi-Fi signal that it sends out... With the Yamaha Power Tuner app, you can communicate with the bike. All the customer needs to do is install the app.”
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having your new Blu Crew machine stolen, simply connect to the CCU via the app and apply an ECU lock by entering a password you previously selected.
It won't stop your bike from being physically taken, and the thief could swap out the ECU and CCU from an unlocked bike, but the system will deter thieves and stop someone from simply starting up your bike while it's parked in the paddock. Of course, you can link the system to multiple devices, so the bike can be locked and unlocked by multiple users. But this system isn't only for riders in the UK.
I reached out to Yamaha's off-road motorcycle Sr. communications specialist in the US, Mike Ulrich, to see whether riders in the United States would also benefit from this 'industry-first' technology. Ulrich confirmed that all the new Yamaha YZ450Fs in the US will have this theft-deterrent feature. I've reached out to Yamaha regarding the reason it opted not to fit this feature to the YZ250F, WR250F, and WR450F in the US, although I haven't gotten a response at the time of writing.
