The Yamaha Wabash is one of the newer models in the motorcycle brand’s expanding electric bike range. So far, we’ve tested urban and hybrid models in the form of the Yamaha Booster Easy and Crosscore RC, but the Wabash is more of a gravel and all-road option.

Designed for those who want an all-rounder, without too hefty price tag, at £3,100 it’s not the cheapest, but nor is it particularly expensive for an e-gravel bike.

The Wabash uses Yamaha’s own electric drive system, the PWseries-ST – the same as on the Crosscore RC. Supplemented with some gravel-inspired kit, how does it stack up against some of the more serious looking gravel bikes on the market?

The ride

The Yamaha Wabash RT is actually the bike that Nick Sanders MBE has just completed a round-the-world trip on. Sponsorship deals aside, the fact that someone has ridden a lap of the globe on this bike suggests it should be somewhat comfortable as well as capable.

The bike is evidently set up with the premise that some off-road riding will occur. The bars are flared, there’s a dropper post (more on that later), and some wide (45mm) tyres. That being said, Yamaha also proposes that it is versatile enough to be, “just right whether you’re commuting into the city, cruising around the suburbs or exploring a backroad or forest track.”

I’d agree that it’s versatile, and the beauty of the all-road/gravel bike is that it doesn’t just fit one genre. It’s got wide enough clearance to fit tyres larger than 45mm, and there are a few mounting points if you wanted to attach bags etc.

The quality of the ride is decent, but I feel like the gravel it’s designed for is not the Yorkshire rock garden style that Komoot keeps telling me is “absolutely fine for a gravel bike” but in fact blurs the line between ‘fine’ and ‘existential crisis’.

It's best suited to compact, dry ‘gravel’ and road riding. Anything a bit chunkier was handled fine, it just wasn’t where I got the most out of the bike.

The motor and battery

As mentioned above, the motor is the same as on the Crosscore RC, Yamaha’s own PWseries-ST. In that review, I concluded, “it lacks a little bit of top end on seriously steep stuff.”

At the time, I was under the impression the motor was for more urban applications, so it mattered less. In this instance, it still lacks some top end power when things get a bit technical, but that matters more if you’re heading off-road and trying to hoist yourself up some steep, rocky climbs.

Overall though, it’s a smooth motor and it’s pretty quiet. It does however have a tendency to lurch ever so slightly when you’ve stopped and apply a little pressure on the pedals. This could be disconcerting if you’re not expecting it.

The 500Wh battery offered a decent range, although I’m reluctant to suggest how much it could offer for others. The trouble with mixing up off-road and road riding is that there are so many variables in play that can impact the battery life. I completed one 15-mile ride using mostly the highest level of assist, and drained three of the battery bars (out of 10). The display suggested I had about 30 miles of range left in ‘high’ assist mode.

Components and spec level

For £3,100 you get a Shimano GRX 11-speed drivetrain. It’s a 1x setup, with a 44t chainring up front and an 11-42t cassette at the rear. I felt this performed adequately, although it did need a little bit of fettling to keep the shifting crisp. The hydraulic disc brakes are also Shimano GRX and they performed well.

Now, an e-bike is never perfect, but there are a few things that if Yamaha addressed them the Wabash could be a very good one. Firstly, I feel like the display unit could be better. It feels a bit plasticy and cheap. I think if you’re gunning to compete with the likes of Bosch and Brose with your drive system, the display is just as important, and it could do with some ‘glamming up’.

The dropper post was my other concern. The cable-actuated system is flawed and doesn’t work as well as it should. I raised my saddle height and had to feed the cable through the frame for it to work again – which is fine, that’s just basic cable mechanics (I think I’ve just coined this and I’m keeping it) – but the system simply didn’t work very well. The lever was quite stiff, and the dropper post itself not completely reliable.

I think this is a shame, given the overall presentation of the bike looks quite capable. If it were me, I’d swap out the dropper system for something a little bit more capable – it only offers 40mm or 60mm of drop anyway, depending on the frame size – or I'd get rid of it entirely and leave the choice of adding a dropper post to the customer.

Conclusion and comparison

The Yamaha Wabash RT has the makings of a good electric gravel bike, and the versatility to be more than that. It could make a decent commuter if you add on a rack and some mudguards and the like. The best part of the bike is the drive system, and Yamaha has done a good job with the PWseries-ST motor. It’s not as powerful as some from Bosch or Brose and the like, but it performed well on all but really steep stuff.

At £3,100, it’s at a price point with a lot of competition - and I’d have to say, against some better equipped bikes. In fact it loses out not just in terms of spec, but in terms of capability off-road, too. For example, the Cairn BRAVe 2.0 Flat Bar (review coming soon), is far more capable on anything technical, but also boasts enough mounting points to make it a very good commuter or bikepacking rig. That costs just £2,359.

Another from Cairn is their E-Adventure. It’s currently on sale for £2,489 and is one of the best e-gravel bikes you can buy for British riding. It uses Fazua’s Ride 50 Drive system, which on paper doesn't offer the top-end torque the Yamaha does, but in practice it doesn't feel that way. It also boasts a SRAM Rival groupset, and a decent range from the battery.

If a more all-road style suits you better, then the Boardman ADV 8.9E adventure e-bike shouldn’t be discounted. That’s £2,799 and uses a Fazua Evation mid-drive system, but does use SRAM’s entry-level Apex groupset.

Overall, the Yamaha Wabash RT has the potential to be a good all-rounder, but with the current niggles it perhaps falls short.

yamaha-motor.eu