Yamaha Motorcycle History

The only way to keep up with the latest about the history of Yamaha motorcycles is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Yamaha motorcycles and their  history, it won't take long for you to become an influential authority.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything. Did you know that the creation of Yamaha motorcycles came about quite by accident.

It all started during the late 1940's and early 1950's when Yamaha who were already producing a variety of musical instruments, were looking for ways to use the remains of their wartime production machinery (at that time lying idle), which had been used to make aircraft propellers.

The ideas put forward were for the manufacture of sewing machines, car parts, scooters, all terrain vehicles, and motorcycles. Due to the companies expertise in mechanical technology a decision was made to focus on the manufacture of motorcycles, and also because the market demand at that time was for cheap transport.

Yamaha's first motorcycle was introduced in August of 1954, and named the Yamaha YA-1. This first yamaha motorcycle was a two stroke single cylinder design modelled on the German DKW 125 which many say BSA had also copied to produce the famous BSA Bantam. By the July of 1955 Yamaha was producing around 200 motorcycles each month, and 1957 saw the launch of the Yamaha YD-1 motorcycle which was a twin cylinder design, which could also be used as a racing bike. The Yamaha YD-1 quickly became a very popular machine and was raced in the United States Catalina Grand Prix in 1958. With the success of the YA-1 and the YD-1 the Yamaha Motor Company was formed.

All this racing success gave Yamaha the chance to start selling its motorcycles in the United States with a private dealer in California, and in 1959 Yamaha first introduced the idea of offering a conversion kit to customers. This allowed Yamaha motorcycles to be used for both street riding and motocross racing.

By 1960 Yamaha's motorcycle output had increased by a massive 600% to over 135,000 per year, but a period of recession at home, was forcing all Japanese companies to look abroad to sell their products, so in 1961 Yamaha entered a team in the European Grand Prix. On the other side, America’s economy was on the rise and Yamaha managed to sell 12,000 motorcycles in the States and by1963 that figure had rissen to 36,000 rising to 87,000 in 1964.

1965 saw another leap forward by Yamha with the introduction of the posi-lube system on all their motorcycles, which had the advantage of no longer having to mix oil with fuel due to an automatic oiling system.1966 saw Yamaha’s first factory outside Japan being opened in Siam (present day Thailand) in order to supply motorcycles to Southeast Asia. By 1967, with over 400,000 bikes being built, Yamaha's motorcycle production had overtaken that of main rivals Suzuki. Racing was also very important to Yamaha, so much so that in 1969 they constructed their own full size race track near to their Iwata factory.

1972 was a giant step forward for Yamaha when they introduced the now legendary RD range of two stroke motorcycles and by the end of 1973 Yamaha were selling more than 1 million motorcycles each year worldwide.
It was also during the 1970’s that Yamaha began the development of four stroke motorcycles to meet the new American emission regulations and also compete with the other Japanese motorcycle manufacturers. The results for Yamaha were a series of innovative motorcycles that were as good but far more economical than the two stroke models.

However, Yamaha cleverly realized that there was still plenty of potential to continue selling two stroke off road motorcycles to the market. So as the other manufacturers focused only on four strokes, Yamaha was more than able to meet the needs of the off market.

1974 saw the introduction of the YZ250. This two stroke off road motorcycle quickly became the largest selling motocross bike, and was the choice of successive motocross world champions. Yamaha's YZ was the first to feature the now taken for granted mono-shock, a single horizontal rear suspension system. This was later incorporated into the road machines, like the RD250 and 350 LC range.

Many of these classic used Yamaha Motorcycles are are all now very collectable.

TOP: The first Yamaha RD 250 from 1972

MIDDLE: The last of the air cooled Yamaha RD 250's from 1980

Bottom: Yamaha RD 250 LC

The next big leap for Yamaha was 1985 when they introduced the V-Max , launched as a muscle bike the V-Max at the time was one of the fastest motorcycles in the world, with awesome arm wrenching power the Yamaha V-Max was for the experienced rider only. Even today Yamaha continue to produce some of the fastest motorcycles on the market both for everyday riding and for racing.

As a company Yamaha Motorcycles have never been satisfied to rest on their laurels, they have always had a vision of achieving more and a drive to further customer satisfaction. The drive and vision of Yamaha have always been very effective in all aspects of motorcycle production.
Even though some of their motorcycles haven’t sold well, many of them have, and Yamaha has always been able to focus on the future of their motorcycles and in doing so produce motorcycles that customers are wanting.

Today, Yamaha is the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world behind Honda. They have also manufactured more motorcycles that have won more races than any other brand on the market.  With diversity and dedication Yamaha Motorcycles will continue to make fast, reliable motorcycles that riders around the world are proud to own.

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