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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

Motocross Pioneer Pierre Karsmakers Elected To AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame

Fri, 20 Jun 2014

Pierre Karsmakers, one of the first European motocross champions to bring his expertise to America, has been elected to the AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame Class of 2014. A three-time motocross champion in his native Holland, Karsmakers came to the United States to gain wider exposure and attract the attention of the Japanese motorcycle makers. “All the Japanese (sponsorship) contracts were going to Belgian riders,” Karsmakers said.

Master Of Torque: Motorcycle Anime By Yamaha Final Installment

Thu, 12 Jun 2014

If you’re into motorcycles, big, puppy dog eyes, dramatic Japanese dialogue with English subtitles, and subliminal Yamaha references then check out Master of Torque, Yamaha’s original anime series. The final installment in the three-part series is set to release tomorrow. Set in Tokyo, Japan in the year 2017, three years before the city’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games, the show focuses on the exploits of three young motorcyclists and highlights Yamaha’s FZ-09 and FZ-07.

2014 Yamaha MT-09 Street Tracker Revealed

Wed, 11 Jun 2014

Yamaha Motor Europe has announced another variant on the MT-09 platform (FZ-09 for us in North America). Following the original model and the Street Rally comes the new Yamaha MT-09 Street Tracker. Unfortunately it looks like the Street Tracker will be a special edition variant only available in Europe, though many of the parts may be available in Yamaha’s part catalog.

45,367 Motorcycle Thefts Reported in US in 2013

Tue, 10 Jun 2014

Americans reported 45,367 stolen motorcycles in 2013, down 1.5% from 2012, reports the National Insurance Crime Bureau‘s latest Motorcycle Theft and Recovery Report. According to the NICB motorcycle thefts have been on the decline every year since 2007 when 65,678 motorcycles were reported stolen, though the overall trend appears to be leveling off. Japanese motorcycles continue to be the most popular target for thieves.

Bolt Headlines Returning 2015 Models From Star & Yamaha

Thu, 05 Jun 2014

With all the excitement focused on the FZ-07′s stateside introduction, let us not forget these equally important models returning to Star’s and Yamaha’s 2015 lineup: the Bolt and Bolt R-Spec, the street-legal WR250R, XT250 and TW200, and the Blu Cru MXers; the 2-stroke YZ85/125/250, and 4-stroke YZ250F/450F. Bolt Like the FZ-09′s success, the Bolt is a smash hit for Star Motorcycles. So good, in fact, Star says the Bolt and Bolt R-Spec have been the best selling metric cruisers in all displacement sizes for the last 12 months ending in April of this year.

Yamaha FZ-07 Available Stateside In July

Thu, 05 Jun 2014

Hot on the heels of the stellar FZ-09 comes its smaller displacement counterpart, the FZ-07. Priced at $6990, the new twin-cylinder FZ is set to hit dealer showroom floors this July as a 2015 model. Already available in foreign markets (our Canadian correspondent, Costa Mouzouris, reviewed the FZ-07 here) we’ve been awaiting word from Yamaha of US-bound FZ-07s with bated breath.

Isle of Man TT 2014: Monster Supersport TT 2 Results

Wed, 04 Jun 2014

Michael Dunlop led from start to finish to win the second Supersport TT race, giving him 10 TT victories in his career, tying him with the likes of Giacomo Agostini. Dunlop also joins sidecar racer Robert Fisher, Ian Lougher and Stanley Woods with 10 wins apiece, all tied for seventh overall on the all-time wins list. Riding his MD Racing Honda CBR600RR, Dunlop got off to a strong start, recording a time of 17:55.817 on the opening lap, giving him a 4.6-second advantage over fellow Honda rider Bruce Anstey.

Yamaha Champions Riding School Sold Out June 9 & 10

Tue, 03 Jun 2014

It took more than a year for the Yamaha Champions Riding School to sell out at its former location of Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Since its return at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the school has sold out in less than a half of season. There are any number of reasons this could be the case.

Isle of Man TT 2014: Monster Supersport TT 1 Results

Mon, 02 Jun 2014

Gary Johnson narrowly beat out Bruce Anstey to take the first of two Supersport races at the 2014 Isle of Man TT. Riding the Daytona 675, Johnson’s win was the first for Triumph since 2003, ironically, with Anstey taking the victory that year in the Junior 600cc class. The race started three hours behind schedule due to fog, but once it began it quickly became a duel between Johnson and Anstey.

Isle of Man TT 2014: Sure Sidecar 1 Results

Mon, 02 Jun 2014

It was a long time coming, but sidecar racer Conrad Harrison can add one accomplishment to his resume: Isle of Man TT winner. Harrison, along with passenger Mike Aylott won the first of two Sure Sidecar TT races. The win was the first for Harrison since he made his Isle of Man TT debut 21 years ago in 1993.