About Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company Limited is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation.
Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized vehicles on July 1, 1955. The company's intensive research into metal alloys for use in acoustic pianos had given Yamaha wide knowledge of the making of lightweight, yet sturdy and reliable metal constructions. This knowledge was easily applied to the making of metal frames and motor parts for motorcycles. Yamaha Motor produces motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, marine engines including outboards, automobile engines, personal watercraft and snowmobiles.
The Yamaha corporate logo is composed of three tuning forks placed on top of each other in a triangular pattern. These were piano maker instruments.
Yamaha's first motorcycle was the 1 YA-1, which had a 125 cc, single-cylinder two-stroke engine. It was launched in February 1955 and the bike won its first race, the Mount Fuji Ascent Race, in July 1955. Yamaha continued producing two-stroke engines until it launched the XS-1 in 1969, with a 650 cc two-cylinder four-stroke engine, using expertise that it gained doing engine development work for Toyota. In 1998 Yamaha marketed a revolutionary 1000cc four cylinder road bike called the YZF 'R1', this model introduced a new style of gearbox design which shortened the overall length of the motor/gearbox case, thereby allowing a more compact unit. This, in turn allowed the motor to be placed in the frame far enough forward to compliment good handling in a short wheel-based frame, a revolutionary step forward in motorcycle design In 1979, the XT500 won the first Paris-Dakar Rally.
In 1995, Yamaha announced the creation of Star Motorcycles, a new brand name for its cruiser series of motorcycles in the American market. In other markets, Star motorcycles are sold under the Yamaha brand.
Today, Yamaha produces scooters from 50 to 500 cc, and a range of motorcycles from 50 to 1,900 cc, including cruiser, sport touring, sport, dual-sport, and off-road.
In motorcycle racing Yamaha has won 36 world championships, including 3 in MotoGP and 9 in the preceding 500 cc two-stroke class, and 1 in World Superbike. Yamaha riders include Giacomo Agostini, Bob Hannah, Heikki Mikkola, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Jeremy McGrath, Stefan Merriman, Phil Read, Chad Reed, Ben Spies, James Stewart and currently Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.
The Yamaha YZ450F won the AMA Supercross Championship two years in a row, in 2008 with Chad Reed, and 2009 James Stewart. Yamaha was the first to build a production monoshock motocross bike (1975 for 250 and 400, 1976 for 125) and one of the first to have a water-cooled motocross production bike (1977 in works bikes, 1981 in off-the-shelf bikes).
Since 1962, Yamaha made production road racing Grand Prix motorcycles that any licensed road racer could purchase. In 1970, non-factory privateer teams dominated the 250 cc World Championship with Great Britain's Rodney Gould winning the title on a Yamaha TD2.
Yamaha also sponsors several professional ATV riders in several areas of racing, such as cross country racing and motocross. Yamaha has had success in cross country with their YFZ450, ridden by Bill Ballance, winning 9 straight titles since 2000. Yamaha's other major rider, Traci Cecco, has ridden the YFZ450 to 7 titles, with the first in 2000. In ATV motocross, Yamaha has had success with Dustin Nelson and Pat Brown, both who race the YFZ450. Pat Brown's best season was a 3rd place title in 2007, while Nelson has had two 1st place titles in the Yamaha/ITP Quadcross, one in 2006 and the other in 2008.
Yamaha produced Formula One engines from 1989 to 1997, initially for the Zakspeed team, in 1991 for the Brabham BT60Y, in 1992 for the Jordan 192, from 1993 to 1996 for Tyrrell, and in 1997 for the Arrows A18. These never won a race, but drivers including Damon Hill, Ukyo Katayama, Mark Blundell and Andrea de Cesaris scored some acceptable results with them.
Moto blog
Wed, 27 Nov 2024
Recently, the Motorcycle.com staff had the chance to tour the beautiful Ontario countryside to experience the fall colors and to get a taste of what Northern Ontario has to offer. It’s a stunning place, and we thank our friends at Destination Ontario for making it all possible. Watch the feature video about our trip here or you can read about our trip here.
This trip was made possible by our friends at Destination Ontario.
Wed, 28 Aug 2024
Better suspension and Track mode brings us so close to an R9
Photos by Dave Schelske
As the tail rider in a train of approximately seven identical Yamahas, I couldn’t help but watch in awe as each of us weaved our way through the notorious Tail of the Dragon, bending the bike underneath us to our will through the 120-something corners, the unison of the dance mesmerizing as each of us took our turn, one by one, around each apex, at irresponsible speeds, front wheels inches away from the person in front of us. This is the kind of trust you build up after you’ve ridden with the same group of people for years on end. We all know that riding with your friends is fun.
Wed, 28 Aug 2024
2024 Yamaha MT-09 SP Gallery | Motorcycle.com
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2024 Yamaha MT-09 SP Gallery
We're fans of the standard Yamaha MT-09 as it is, but for $1,700 more, the MT-09 SP is worth the extra dough. Read the full story here. Photos by Dave Schelske.
Tue, 14 May 2024
More minor changes in anticipation of the R9
Photos by Joseph Agustine. There really wasn’t a reason to update Yamaha’s MT-09. We love the MT-09, and apparently you do too – it’s been Yamaha’s best-selling MT model for a decade.
Wed, 13 Dec 2023
Small updates keep the T7 fresh, but we're still missing out on the European variants
Photos by Yamaha/Joseph Agustin Photo
Yamaha’s popular Ténéré 700 “T7” adventure bike returns for 2024, and while it would be easy to say it is “largely unchanged” from the 2023 model, there have been some notable changes made in response to feedback from many North American riders. One wish still unrealized: the U.S. dealers won’t be getting the up-spec World Raid and numerous other versions of the T7 the EU enjoys - at least not this year.
Tue, 29 Aug 2023
2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ Gallery | Motorcycle.com
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Harley-Davidson
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Cruiser
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On-Off-Road
Other
Scooter
Sport-Touring
Sportbikes
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Youth
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2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ Gallery
We had the pleasure of riding 950 miles across three states in two days. Here are some photos of the GT+. By Evans Brasfield Pin Slideshow Edit Slideshow
Along Highway 50 in Nevada
The Sierras Seen from 9,000 Feet
The Millimeter Wave Transmitter
10 Position Adjustable Windshield
Great Cornering Capabilities
The Garmin Motorize App Provides Navigation
Yamaha Ride Control (YRC) Street Settings
YRC Custom Mode Allows Full Adjustment
One of Three Speedometer Styles
All LED Lighting
Aggressive in Stature
Rider Seat in Low Position
Adjustable Foot Peg Height
Semi-Active Suspension Adapts to Conditions
Hand Guards are Silly in Hot Weather
Unified Braking is a Game Changer
Sport Mode Delivers Smooth Throttle Response
Saddlebags are Easily Removable
Rear Preload Adjuster
A Willing Travel Partner
Sport Mode Offers Stiffer Suspension
In the Mountains of Idaho
The New Joystick
A Familiar Engine
Steering is Responsive for a Bike This Size
Made for Travel
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Thu, 17 Aug 2023
Riding 950 miles across three states in two days highlights this Tracer’s capabilities
Photography by Joseph Augustin
New motorcycle model introductions follow a well-worn path: travel to the event location, eat nice meals, get briefed on the bike of the moment, ride a route designed to highlight the bike’s strengths, take photos/video, eat more good food, return home, and write up a review. After 27 years in this industry, I still get a cheap thrill about throwing a leg over a new motorcycle before it is available to the general public. However, what really gets me going is when I have a chance to log more than just the couple of hundred miles typically covered in an intro and spend some real time on the road with said bike.
Thu, 18 May 2023
Yamaha’s sports tourer middleweight receives an influx of technology for 2023
Astute readers are probably wondering why Motorcycle.com is publishing a First Ride of a bike that’s not coming to the States this model year. Our reasoning is that, thanks to the sleuthing of Dennis Chung, we suspect the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ will be coming to the U.S. in 2024.
Thu, 06 Apr 2023
Sport-tourer equipped with radar-based adaptive cruise control
Last November, Yamaha Motor Europe revealed a new Tracer 9 GT+ at EICMA, a new version of its Triple-powered sport tourer equipped with a 7-inch TFT display, adaptive cruise control, and a radar-linked unified braking system. Yamaha Motor USA, however, remained quiet about it, and we later learned the Tracer 9 GT+ was not coming to the States for 2023. In fact, even the less techy regular Tracer 9 was left out of Yamaha Motor USA’s returning model announcements.
Thu, 26 Jan 2023
Everythings installed and initial impressions. It’s been about a month since we introduced Motorcycle.com’s 2022 Yamaha MT-10 SP semi-long-term project bike. In case you forgot the premise of this whole thing, Yamaha offered us the opportunity to hang on to an MT-10 SP for an extended period of time, and since I have a soft spot for the bike, I decided to give it some tasteful upgrades to address some key weaknesses while also unleashing some trapped potential.