Yamaha Motorcycles
"If you are going to do something, be the best"
Ginichi Kawakami, Yamaha Motor Company First President.
Yamaha Motorcycles, under this motto, employing all its creativity, and with a very strong spirit of challenge, became what it is now: one of the biggest players in the worldwide motorcycling scene.
But Yamaha's history doesn't start with motorcycles...
It is back in 1877 that Torakusu Yamaha started with the Nippon Gakki Company that later would become Yamaha Corporation: an important manufacturer of fine musical instruments.
As the company grew, they explored several fields of opportunity in the textile industry and others.
During the World War II, the company set up a factory to produce airplane propellers. This plant played an important role in Yamaha's entry to the motorcycle industry as you will see.
After the war, Yamaha Corporation had to find new ways to use the tooling and experience that had been accumulated during their times in the airplane industry, and it was then when Yamaha Motor Corporation was founded.
It's important to mention that even though this new company was just another branch of Yamaha Corporation, it was placed under an independent management. In this case, under the guidance of Ginichi Kawakami; which turned out to be a brilliant move.
Before producing their first motorcycle, Ginichi Kawakami traveled a lot establishing what would be very useful relationships. He also sent out his engineers to Europe and had them learn how to build motorcycles, particularly from DKW; whom with they kept an underground and unofficial long lasting relationship.
One proof of this is that nowadays, the only two manufacturers in the world of mass-produced five side-valve engines are Yamaha an Audi (DKW - Auto Union).
One of the most important legacies from this international relationships were all the skills learnt by Yamaha's engineers on two stroke engines know-how. Other manufacturers as Suzuki would not reach the same level of development in this area till seven years later.
Not to wonder why the first bike from Yamaha Motorcycles the 125 YA-1 was fairly a faithful copy of the 1949 DKW RT 12. The only two important differences were the four speed gearbox instead of the original three speed gearbox, and a gear transmission replacing the primary chain drive.
IMPORTANT MODEL FROM YAMAHA MOTORCYCLES
>>> Yamaha YA-1
Even though the Yamaha YA-1 - baptized "Acatombo" (Red dragonfly) by its fans - had "nothing in special" and was more expensive than its competitors, it almost immediately became a great success.
It was reliable: before putting it into the market, the prototypes were tested along 10,000 miles of rough rides . Even the big boss himself, Ginichi Kawakami, rode the bike without any incident from Hamamatsu to Tokyo.
It was beautiful: with this model Yamaha was the first manufacturer to put special attention to the decoration of the motorcycle. This task was given to GK Design in Tokyo. It's worth mentioning that this firm has designed the "look" of most Yamaha motorcycles to date.
It was fast: the YA-1 obtained excellent overall results in the most important local races of that time: Mount Fuji (third place) and Mount Asama (first place).
In fact it was this aggressive attitude in the sporting world that helped Yamaha Motorcycles gain fast acceptance even though they made a late start in the motorcycle scene (in comparison to Honda and Suzuki).
In other words: Yamaha Motorcycles showed the world they had arrived to be considered good and fierce competitors from the beginning. Particularly to Honda and Suzuki.
Other important models from that time were:
>>> The Yamaha YD-1 (the competition for the Suzuki TP of that time)
Some technical specifications:
Yamaha YD-1
15 hp 70 mph. 185,000 yen
in comparison to:
Suzuki TP
18 hp 80 mph. 195,000 yen
>>> The Yamaha YDS-1
The dream bike of all young Japanese between 1959-1960.
Some technical specifications:
20 hp 333 lbs. 85 mph.
Direct rival of the Honda CB72
Since then, the history of models and victories goes on and on...
Today, Yamaha Motorcycles is one of the major players in the worldwide motorcycling scene.
Just to give you an idea of how important Yamaha Motorcycles have become:
- The 2004 Moto GP was won by excellent rider Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha motorcycle.
I could go an and on writing about Yamaha Motorcycles, victories, challenges and models but I would need a whole book?
So to learn more about Yamaha Motorcycles, I invite you to visit this page: http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products/mcy/epic/epic_home.html You will find a pictorial history of Yamaha Motorcycles from 1955 to 2001.
Enjoy the ride!
Daniel Levy
Daniel Levy is the owner and contributing writer of http://www.Japanese-Motorcycles-Only.com . He loves motorcycles and Web development. For more great info visit http://www.japanese-motorcycles-only.com
Latest News
Commercial Use of Motorcycles Peace fm Online, Ghana - Madam Obenewaa Frimpong said although the motorcycles have been there for sometime, it was not very popular until the traffic situation in the area recently ... |
Motorcycles Ride Again in Deputy’s Wheeling News Register, WV - By CASEY HICKS Staff Writer Registration for the benefit begins at 11:30 am at Valley Harley-Davidson in Bethlehem. There is an entry fee for riders and for ... |
Demand puts new motorcyclists in holding pattern Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - By Kate Spinner The spontaneity of buying a first motorcycle and riding off toward a distant horizon is gone, now that state law requires new riders to take ... Increased Enrollment at Junior Colleges—Economy Driven? |
Motorcycles, Quads and Karts this Weekend at Skagit WhoWon.com, NE - This Saturday night at Skagit Speedway is the 4th Annual Skagit PowerSports Flat Track Motorcycle, Kart and Outlaw Quad Challenge. ... |
Big Dog announces layoffs Bizjournals.com, NC - Big Dog Motorcycles announced Friday it has laid off 22 employees and will lay off 27 more in the next 60 days. The layoffs are a consequence of economic ... |
'Bob' Babbitt, 59, loved motorcycles Hillsboro Argus - OregonLive.com, OR - He loved motorcycles, animals, books, tools and Sonya. His family recalls that the order of those loves was debatable. He had three motorcycles, dogs, ... |
Kiss and Ride lots see uptick in motorcycles WTOP, DC - WASHINGTON -- There's a whole lot of grumbling going on at Metro parking lots these days as more motorcycles as more people take advantage of free parking ... |
Indonesia`s motorcycles sales continue to scale up Antara, Indonesia - Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indonesia's motorcycle sales have continues rising unlike car sales which declined after prices hikes in August. ... |
Special Lane for Motorcycles in Jakarta Tempo Interaktif, Indonesia - TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Jakarta government will make special lanes for motorcycles along Busway IX lane next year, in order to help the traffic and ... |
Suncoast bike builder will try to break world record WWSB ABC 7, FL - Jerry Slavaugh has been riding motorcycles for more than 50 years, but what he's planning to do with one next week just might be a first for him. ... |
Resources
-
How To Turn Used Cars Into Ca$h With Your Computer
learn how to make money with used cars, used Motorcycles, used boats, used motor homes, scooters and more. Start your own used car business, profit from used cars. This is the perfrect homebased business.