Yamaha Motorcycles

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

Third Annual ‘The MEET’ at ACM

More than 2,000 attendees visited America’s Car Museum for its 3rd annual Vintage Motorcycle Festival ‘The MEET’ last weekend in Tacoma, Washington, where over 300 motorcycles and scooters were showcased on the Haub Family Field at LeMay. The event drew pre-1981 motorcycles and scooters from the U.S. and Canada, including an antique motorcycle display, swap meet, cruise-in and a 78-mile roundtrip tour from ACM’s Anderson Plaza to Mt. Rainier.

NHTSA Launches Recall Look-up by VIN Tool

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have launched a new free online tool that should make it easier for consumers to inspect their vehicles’ safety recall histories. The new search tool, available at http://www.safercar.gov/vinlookup, allows people to look for recall campaigns by entering Vehicle Identification Numbers.

Yamaha Patents Tricity Variant Design

Yamaha has patented the design for a new variant to its Tricity leaning three-wheeled scooter featuring a broader fairing resembling the TMax. Yamaha has previously announced it would introduce more leaning multi-wheeled vehicles, and this newly patented design may be the next one to go into production. The new design is heavily-based on the original Tricity.

Yamaha U.S.A. Partners With Rockstar Energy UPROAR Festival

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. is proud to announce Yamaha as the official motorcycle of the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival. With the high energy vibe that comes from bands such as the headliners Godsmack, the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival is the perfect partner to highlight the all-new Yamaha FZ-09.

Yamaha Trademarks Design for Three-Cylinder Sport-Tourer

Yamaha has registered a trademark for the design of a sport-touring model based on the FZ-09. Filed with European Union’s Office for Harminization in the Internal Market, the trademarked design reveals a brand new model sharing the same frame and engine as the FZ-09 (known in Europe as the MT-09.) Discuss this at our Yamaha FZ-09 Forum. The new model will likely be compete against motorcycles such as the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and a rumored S1000RR-based model from BMW.

Lorenzo Signs Two-Year Extension with Yamaha

Two-time MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo has signed a contract extension with Yamaha to see him race on the company’s factory team through the 2016 season. The signing comes as no real surprise, following similar two-year contract extensions for teammate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. Ducati also confirmed it would field Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone next season, so unless Lorenzo wanted to spend a season or two developing Suzuki‘s or Aprilia‘s new prototypes, Lorenzo’s only option for a factory ride was to re-sign with Yamaha.

Stefan Bradl Signs with NGM Forward for 2015 MotoGP Season

NGM Forward Racing has signed Stefan Bradl to race in the 2015 MotoGP season. Bradl will ride the Forward Yamaha Open class machine next season after spending his entire premier-class career with the LCR Honda team riding the RC213V. “It’s with great pleasure that we welcome Stefan Bradl in our team,” says Giovanni Cuzari, Forward Racing team owner.

Yamaha Champions Riding School August Update

Our friends at the Yamaha Champions Riding School have been busy lately. Since moving to New Jersey Motorsports park in April, traffic has steadily risen, with June being sold out and July not far behind. August is very promising with some new ideas (one-day clinics to bring a more economical program to a larger group of riders) being inserted into the mix as well as a normal two-day school at the end of the month, which is already 80% full thanks to the yearly visit from the engineering department of Harley Davidson. Following August YCRS will have two schools the week directly after the AMA Pro races at NJMP.

Join MotoGP Stars In Saying Farewell To Colin Edwards In His Final USGP Appearance

This weekend’s Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix will be Colin Edwards’ final MotoGP race on American soil, and to commemorate the occasion, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., invites you to join a special “Farewell To The Texas Tornado” live event Saturday evening on the center stage at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The celebration begins at approximately 5:30 PM EST Saturday. “This is going to be a special evening that’s sure to bring lots of laughs, along with possibly a few tears of emotion, as we look back at the racing career of one of Yamaha’s most popular and colorful legends,” commented Bob Starr, General Manager of National Communications for Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

Colin Edwards’ Gear Being Auctioned For Feed The Children

While Colin Edwards may no longer be a factory Yamaha racer these days, he still enjoys a close bond with the tuning fork brand. So much so that Yamaha has announced a unique opportunity to bid on a historic set of road racing leathers, boots, gloves, and helmet as worn by Edwards during this, his final season in MotoGP. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Feed the Children, which is Yamaha Motor Corporation’s official corporate charity.