In 1953 Genichi Kawakami, the President of Nippon Gakki (present day Yamaha Corporation), was looking for another industry for the company to become involved in. He considered sewing machines, auto parts, scooters, three wheelers and the motorcycle. He made several trips to the United States to do research, and determined the most profitable industry would be the motorcycle.
Genichi knew he was entering the motorcycle market late, but his researchers assured him there was plenty of room left for competition. With that in mind, he set out to build a motorcycle under the motto:
“If you're going to make it, make it the very best there is”. And with that, the Yamaha Motorcycle Company Ltd was born.
An interesting fact, is that, the first known Yamaha motorcycle in the United States was The YD1. It was purchased by Sergeant First Class, Charles Butler of the US Army and brought into the United States after a tour of duty in 1957.
The first Yamaha motorcycle the YA-1 a 125cc 2 stroke single cylinder street bike was produced and sold in Japan in 1955. Its features included a cantilever seat, a plunger rear suspension system and a glove compartment in the fuel tank area.
Two short years later in 1957 Yamaha competed in the International Race Arena, winning an impressive 6th place at the Catalina Grand Prix Race while making their imprint on the racing world and most importantly getting the notice of Americans.
In 1958, the first Yamaha motorcycles the YD1 and MF 1 were sold by an independent distributor Cooper Motors, of the United States. The YD1 was a 250 cc, 2 stroke, twin cylinder motorbike and the MF-1 was a 50cc, 2 stroke single cylinder step through motorbike.
In 1960, no longer relying on independent distributors, the Yamaha International Corporation began selling motorcycles in the United States.
In 1964 the Santa Barbara was introduced with its autolube oil injection system which eliminated premixing two cycle oil and gasoline.
Research and development continued to result in technological innovations. Several models of motorcycles were rolled out throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's, and Yamaha gained a stronghold in the market.
In 1970,Yamaha introduced the first 4 stroke motorcycle model, the XS-1, a 650cc vertical twin, which became popular for its reliability and high level of rider enjoyment.
Yamaha made history in 1968 with the DT-1 Enduro, the world's first dual purpose on and off road motorcycle, creating an enormous impact on motorcycling in the United States.
In 1975, Yamaha introduced the first single shock production motocross bike, the beginning of the YZ Monocross machines that changed motocross forever.
In 1978, Yamaha introduced the XS650 Special, the first production cruiser built by the manufacturer, and in 1981, the popular Virago 750 was introduced into the motorcycle market as the first air cooled, V-twin cruiser. In 1985 The V-Max 1200 muscle bike made its entrance, and in 1996, Yamaha introduced the V4 Royal Star with 1300cc.
Yamaha is a diversified company that branched out from musical instrument sales to motorcycles, boats, race kart engines, snowmobiles, and more.
Yamaha produce and sell products in 33 countries and strive to provide and improve lifestyle through exceptional quality & high performance products. With its business model and customer focus, Yamaha will remain an integral force in motorcycle sales and history.
Yamaha Racing History
Yamaha first began racing its own motorcycles in 1957 and competed in the International Race arena on March 3rd 1957 winning an impressive 6th place at the Catalina Grand Prix Race.
Yamaha has won a total of 36 World Championships, including 3 in MotoGP and 9 in the preceding 500 cc two-stroke class, and 1 in World Superbike.
Since 1962, Yamaha produced production road racing grand prix motorcycles that any licensed road racer could purchase.
In 1963 Yamaha won the 250cc Grand Prix Championship with rider Jody Nicholas, Yamaha then went on to win again in 1964 with rider Gary Nixon, 1965 with rider Dick Mann, 1966 & 1967 with rider Gary Nixon, 1968 with rider Art Baumann, 1969 with rider Yvon Duhamel and had many other memorable wins in many of the succeeding years.
In 1970, non-factory "privateer" teams dominated the 250cc World Championship with Great Britain’s Rodney Gould winning the title on a Yamaha TD2.
Well Known Models from Yamaha's History
Yamaha RZ350 Brief History
The Yamaha RZ350 is powered by a liquid cooled two stroke 347cc engine with a bore and stroke of 64x54mm it produced 30.4 ft lbf (41.2 Nm) of torque at 7500 rpm. The bike was first produced in 1983 and was evolved from the Yamaha RD350LC.
The RZ350 made use of ‘YPVS’ Yamaha Power Valve System that was controlled by a basic computer. The YPVS exhaust valves work by adjusting the height of the exhaust port and effectively changing the exhaust port timing. The result of the changes to the exhaust port timing is more low RPM torque while retaining the two strokes characteristic high RPM power band.
The Yamaha RZ350 is now sought after by collectors of motorcycle’s worldwide. Yamaha's RZ350 is associated with world famous ‘3 time GP champion’ Kenny Roberts, as it was sold exclusively in the USA as a signature model.
The RZ350 is also raced extensively in Vintage racing leagues, as well as its own racing leagues, often dubbed "RZ cups" in Europe. Owning a RZ350 is perfect for those with nostalgic ties and a thirst for the good old days of racing.
Yamaha TZR250 Brief History
Yamaha first began producing the TZR250 in 1986 and production continued until 1996 when emission controls and Government regulation effectively finished two stroke road and race bikes. The Yamaha TZR250 is a two stroke motorcycle loosely based around Yamaha’s TZ250 race bike.
Yamaha produced the TZR250 in Parallel-twin, reverse cylinder and finally V-twin variants in the hay day of this bike.
All three varieties of the Yamaha TZR250 utilised the Yamaha Power Valve System (YPVS) which raises and lowers the exhaust port depending on the rpm of the engine. Yamaha claimed a standard TZR250 would produce 50bhp at 10,000rpm, although mid 40's is more realistic. In standard trim the TZR250 will not rev much above 9,500rpm owing to the restrictive standard exhausts and ignition control boxes.
Yamaha FZR Series Brief History
The Yamaha FZR600 was produced between 1989 and 1999 succeeding the earlier Yamaha FZ600 before itself was replaced by the YZF600R and YZF-R6 models. The FZR600 featured a steel Deltabox frame and swingarm, that was similar in appearance to the earlier alloy Deltabox frames used by Yamaha in the production of the FZR1000, FZR400 and FZR250 that's were produced during the late 80s and early 90s.
The later FZR range of motorbikes utilized the Genesis frame. The Genesis concept lowered the motorbikes overall center of gravity by slanting the engines cylinder block forward in the frame, while also allowing the fuel tank to sit behind the cylinders, low slung between the frame rails.
Unlike the larger FZR models which featured three intake valves and two exhaust valves per cylinder, the FZR600 had a four-valve per cylinder layout, necessitated by the different gas flow characteristics of the 600 cc engine over the 750 and 1,000 cc units in the FZR range.
Many FZR models also came with the EXUP valve system. This system was located in the lower exhaust manifold and helped maintain high back pressure at low engine speeds giving the motor better low and mid-range power, at higher engine RPM the EXUP valve would fully open to allow the engine to breathe and produce its full horsepower.
The EXUP system was mainly found in US and some European models to compensate for the loss of power caused by emissions related modifications in the exhausts and carbouration for those markets.
Standard world market models produced 91 bhp (68 kW), compared to about 76 bhp (57 kW) for EXUP equipped versions.
Yamaha YZF-R6 Brief History
In 1999 Yamaha introduced the R6 as its all new super sport version of Yamaha's YZF-R1 Superbike. The all new Yamaha YZF-R6 featured a completely new engine that’s was capable of producing over 108 hp (81 kW) while stationary.
The all new Yamaha YZF-R6 was introduced in 1999 as the super sport version of the Yamaha YZF-R1 super bike. The YZF R6 is a much more sporty version of the street / touring oriented Yamaha YZF600R which initially continued to be sold alongside the R6.
The YZF R6 featured a completely new engine designed by Yamaha capable of producing over 108 hp (81 kW) while stationary.
The R6 was the world's first 600cc production four-stroke motorcycle producing over 100 hp (75 kW) in stock form.
The YZF-R6 has been revised several times since its introduction. Starting with the 2002 model, the R6 became fuel-injected. The 2006 model year was a significant upgrade with a new engine management system featuring the YCC-T fly-by-wire throttle and a multi-plate slipper clutch. The 2008 model incorporated the YCC-I variable-length intake system to optimize power at high engine rpm and an improved Deltabox frame design.
Yamaha YZF-R1
Brief History
Yamaha launched the YZF-R1 after redesigning the Genesis engine. Yamaha offset the crankshaft, gearbox input, and output shafts. and this resulted in compacting the engine making the total engine length much shorter. The compactness of the new engine also allowed the wheelbase to be shortened significantly resulting in much quicker handling and an optimized center of gravity.
The bike had a compression ratio of 11.8:1 with a six-speed transmission and multi-plate clutch.
Early models were subject to a worldwide recall due to a clutch problem. Yamaha today describes the launch of the R1 as the true value of "Kando".
The 1999 R1 saw only minor changes, apart from paint and graphics. Notable improvements were a redesigned gear change linkage and the gear change shaft length being increased. Fuel tank reserve capacity was reduced from 5.5 to 4.0 liters (1.2 to 0.9 imp gal or 1.5 to 1.1 US gal), while the total fuel tank capacity was unchanged at 18 l (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 US gal). A second worldwide recall was issued for 1998 and early 1999 models and a change was made to a coolant hose clamp under the fuel tank which could come loose under hard use.
