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

Results From The AMA Races At Daytona

Photo: Brian J. Nelson Danny Eslick capped off his return to the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class in spectacular fashion, winning the 73rd edition of the Daytona 200. The native of Broken Arrow, OK, and a two-time series champ won pole and then outlasted the competition to win the big one.

Who To Watch In AMA Pro SuperSport

America’s road racing champions of tomorrow are racing in AMA Pro SuperSport today, and their season kicks off this weekend at Daytona International Raceway. With events on both Friday and Saturday, there are plenty of chances for glory for the 48 competitors entered. AMA Pro SuperSport is the most unpredictable class and the racing gives a chance for riders in the large fields to step up and prove they have what it takes. A great example is reigning AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Champion and current SuperBike pilot Cameron Beaubier, who cut his teeth in his two-victory, two-pole season in 2010.

AMA Pro Racing Announces Tommy Aquino Spirit Award

The sudden and tragic passing of Tommy Aquino has hit the entire motorcycling community hard. In order to preserve and honor the spirit and positive attitude of the late Tommy Aquino, AMA Pro Racing announced today that a “Tommy Aquino Spirit Award” will be granted to an AMA Pro Road Racing rider who best embodies the spirit of the paddock during the 2014 season. The paddock will vote for the rider who exemplifies qualities mirroring those of Tommy including passion for the sport, fan engagement and team interaction. The award will be presented on behalf of Cortech and Shoei at the conclusion of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season. “Over the past eight years we have had the pleasure of working with Tommy Aquino, but he was much more than just another Shoei athlete,” said Hiro Mizushima, President of Shoei Safety Helmet Corp.

Who To Watch In AMA Pro Superbike This Weekend

Photo: Brian J. Nelson Even though reigning AMA Pro Superbike champ Josh Herrin has left the series to try his hand in the Moto2 series, the Superbike field is still filled deep with talent heading into this weekend’s series opening round at Daytona. Here are just a few names to keep an eye on this weekend.

Yamaha’s “Fast Four” Should Stick To Motorcycles + Video

The Beatles invaded America 50 years ago and took this country by storm. Now, Yamaha is channeling the Fab Four of John, Paul, George, and Ringo with this teaser video of their own “Fast Four” ahead of this weekend’s AMA racing festivities at Daytona International Raceway. With J.D.

AMA Pro Racing To Be Live Streamed In 2014

Photo: Brian J. Nelson Hidden deep within an AMA Pro Racing press release touting the upcoming Daytona 200, it was revealed that FansChoice.tv will be the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. This news comes as the series has been quiet about TV coverage for this season.

2014 AMA Supercross – Daytona Results

Ryan Villopoto was dominant in Daytona, leading all 20 laps to win his third race of the season. The Monster Energy Kawasaki ride strengthened his hold on the 2014 AMA Supercross championship lead, padding his lead over Red Bull KTM riders Ryan Dungey and Ken Roczen. The reigning three-time champion was far and away the fastest racer on the Daytona International Speedway infield, posting lap times more than a second faster than anyone else.

2014 Daytona Bike Week Activities

Shake off the winter doldrums at Daytona Bike Week, one of America’s biggest motorcycling events, running March 7-16. The 73rd running of the Daytona 200 is a big draw, but it’s just one of the events being held through the week. Other highlights include the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona featuring Craig Vetter and the Bike Week premiere of the acclaimed film “Why We Ride.” Top 10 Things to Do During Daytona Bike Week Here are just some of the events planned for the 2014 Daytona Bike Week.

Larry Pegram’s EBR 1190RX AMA Race Livery Looks Sharp!

In January news broke that Larry Pegram would be teaming up with Erik Buell Racing to race the 1190RX in AMA Superbike. At the time no official photos were revealed, but that’s all changed as Pegram posted these pictures of his completed 1190RX in full race livery on his Facebook page. These photos were captured during team testing in Florida, and the colors show off the all-American design motif.

Movistar To Be Yamaha MotoGP Title Sponsor For 5-Years

Finding sponsors for U.S. racing might be next to impossible, but this isn’t the case elsewhere, as Movistar, a telecommunications arm of Spanish company Telefonica, has signed on to be the title sponsor for the Factory Yamaha MotoGP team for the next five years. Short of the 20-year relationship between Honda and Repsol, this comes as one of the more significant sponsorship deals in recent memory.