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

You Know the Economy is Hurting Manufacturers When…

Yamaha Motor Co. announced Monday that it is cutting the ringers from its company rugby team. The Yamaha Jubilo rugby club competes in the Top League, the highest level Japanese Rugby Football Union pro league.  The team currently sits fifth out of 14 teams with a 3-2-2 record with a roster of 17 professional players including nine non-Japanese imports.

Best Helmet Designs from the 2009 MotoGP Season

Unlike with most athletes, motorcycle racers’ faces remain hidden during competition. Except for promotional events or pre- and post-race interviews, the faces of our racing heroes are shielded under protective helmets with tinted visors. You don’t see the same human emotion in their faces like you can when soccer players score a goal or baseball players hit a home run.

New Lorenzo lids unveiled

HELMET MANUFACTURER X-LITE will be unveiling one of their top-of-the-range lids in a variety of colour schemes favoured by Fiat Yamaha MotoGP star Jorge Lorenzo.The X-802 is now available in the MotoGP star's black paint scheme, with the recognisable red 'X' on the crown. The back of the helmet features an 'Evolution of Lorenzo', which charts the transition of the Mallorcan from boy to worldwide phenomenon, in a Charles Darwin cartoon stylee.If that doesn't float your boat there will be more options: Lorenzo's Captain America paint scheme, seen at the Indianapolis GP, will be available by the end of the year, along with the NASA-style astronaut helmet used during Lorenzo's stunning victory at Estoril.The helmet is priced at 484 euros (£442) on the European market.I feel a phone call coming on...

World’s Quickest VMax?

The Star Motorcycles VMax is the most powerful production streetbike in mass production. On October 25, 2009, a few VMax enthusiasts will be tearing up the dragstrip at Sacramento Raceway Park. The event is open to all www.starVmax.com and www.rswarrior.com members.

Geeky snippets ahead of the Phillip Island MotoGP

Valentino Rossi has finished on the podium eleven times in his twelve visits to Phillip Island across all three GP classes. The only race at Phillip Island that he did not finish in the top three was on his first visit riding a 125cc machine in 1997 when he finished sixth. In 1998 and 1999 he won the 250cc races and since then has had nine podiums in the premier-class including five victories, the last of which was in 2005.

"That's one small step for man..."

TO CELEBRATE the 40th anniversary of man's first steps on the moon, Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo will wear an astronaut-style paint job on his helmet at this weekend's Portuguese GP. The Spaniard's lid has been sprayed to look a little like a spaceman's helmet and has Neil Armstrong's immortal words: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" written on the rear. Let's just hope Lorenzo doesn't launch himself this weekend.

Now Your Kid Can Ride Like Rossi!

Eight-time world motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi has created a new line of two-wheel funsters – except these bikes have no motors. Rossi teamed up with Italian company Cicli Adriatica to develop a line of children’s bicycles – the VR46 bike collection. With this line of children’s two-wheelers, you can now blame your child’s skinned knee of the famed Fiat Yamaha rider!

Yamaha Sketches out the Features on the New 2010 YZ450F [Video]

You’ll realize how cheesy that headline is after watching the pretty rad video that Yamaha has released. Yamaha’s new motocross bike has taken a radical new approach.  The engine is backwards. Yamaha’s reason for doing this is to shift the heavy end of the motor more to the center of the motorcycle to make it more agile and responsive.  Slanting the cylinder also made for a straighter pathway for the air intake at the front of the bike.

2010 Yamaha YZ450F Rumors [video]

In the world of motocross, this year’s most highly anticipated machine is Yamaha’s all-new YZ450F. All kinds of crazy rumors about the bike have spread across the internet, and there’s some real doozies out there. In this video from Yamaha, multi-time motocross and supercross champ James Stewart debunks some of the crazier rumors, with special guest appearances by Valentino Rossi, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards, James Toseland, Jorge Lorenzo and TV personality Erin Bates.

2010 Yamaha YZ250F Preview [video]

Brought to you by YamaTube, here is a demo video of the redesigned 2010 Yamaha YZ250F.  With a plethora of new features and improvements, the highlight has to be the new bi-lateral aluminum chassis.  The 2010 Yamaha YZ250F is much improved out of the corners and overall handling, Yamaha has also improved power over the entire powerband.  MSRP to be announced Fall 2009. Hit the jump to see the the bike in action and another video that explains all of the new goodies. Get the Flash Player to see this player.