2001 Yamaha Banshee 350cc on 2040-motos

Moto blog

"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.

Yamaha Opening Research & Development Company in India

Yamaha is opening a new research and development company for the Indian market. The newly-formed Yamaha Motor Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd., (YMRI) will be based in Surajpur, on the outskirts of New Delhi, near India Yamaha Motor‘s offices.

Yamaha Files Trademark Application for FJ-09

Yamaha‘s next three-cylinder motorcycle may be a sport-tourer, if a recently-filed trademark application is any indication. The Tuning Fork brand filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name “FJ-09” as it applies to “Motorcycles, scooters, three-wheeled scooters and structural parts for all the aforesaid goods.” Following Yamaha’s usual naming conventions, the signs indicate the trademark will be for a new sport-touring model using the same Triple as the FZ-09. Yamaha has made it clear it plans to introduce more three-cylinder engines following the FZ-09 (or MT-09, as it is known in Europe.) Previously-filed trademark applications for the YZF-R3 and R3 names raised speculation the next triple would be a sportbike, but as per Yamaha’s usual naming convention, the “3″ in R3 is likelier to refer to the engine displacement rather than the number of cylinders.