Yamaha Motorcycles

by ganahsokmo Thu Jul 08, 2010 1:53 pm

Yamaha Motorcycle History

The Japanese company was well known for its musical instruments,
but in 1955 it began producing motorcycles. It began with simple and
inexpensive machines but has grown to its position as a powersports
powerhouse, offering some of the best sportbikes, cruisers and off-road
bikes on the market. It ranks second only to Honda as the leader among
Japanese manufacturers.

1851

Torakusu Yamaha is born. He will train as a watchmaker and make his
first reed organ in his mid-thirties.

1890

He incorporates Nippon Gakki Company Limited, for the purpose of
making pianos and organs. The company’s origins as a musical instrument
maker are still reflected in its logo, which depicts three interlocking
tuning forks. It becomes the world’s largest musical instrument maker.
1916

The founder passes away.
1955

In the years after WWII, the company’s president Genichi Kawakami
realizes that if Japan is to rebuild, the country needs affordable
transportation (more than pianos!) The first Yamaha motorized product
is the YA-1 Motorcycle. It’s a 125cc, 2-stroke, single-cylinder
streetbike patterned after the DKW RT125 (as were both the BSA Bantam
and the Harley-Davidson Hummer.) The YA-1, aka “Red Dragonfly,” is so
successful that Yamaha incorporates a subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Corp.
1957

The 250cc twin-cylinder YD-1 is an improved version of another
German bike, the Adler.
1958

The first Yamaha motorcycles are sold in the USA by Cooper Motors,
an independent distributor. The models are the YD-1 (250cc, 2-stroke,
twin-cylinder streetbike) and MF-1 (50cc, 2-stroke, single-cylinder
step-through streetbike).
1959

The YDS-1 mounts a tuned-up version of the YD-1 motor in a
double-cradle frame (the earlier version was built on a pressed-steel
spine). The YDS-1 establishes the pattern for the next 20 years of
sporty Yamaha two-stroke Twins.
1960

Yamaha International Corporation began selling motorcycles in the
USA.
1964

Phil Read gives Yamaha its first-ever World Championship, in the
250cc class.
1966

The YDS-3 is the first Yamaha streetbike to really capture the
American imagination.
1967

The Yamaha TD1C 250cc production racer is released. Though the
factory racers have been effective for years, this is the beginning of a
brilliant run of proddie racers. More than any other manufacturer, it
is Yamaha that forces out four-strokes engines from Grand Prix racing.
1968

The DT-1 Enduro is introduced. It’s perhaps the world's first
dual-purpose motorcycle.
1970

Yamaha’s first 4-stroke motorcycle model, the XS-1 (650cc vertical
Twin) is introduced.
1973

Kenny Roberts wins the AMA Grand National Championship, racing a
Shell Thuett-tuned 650 Twin on the dirt tracks and a 350cc two-stroke
Twin (later TZ700 and 750 Fours) on road courses. He’ll repeat the win
the next year, despite the 650 being outgunned by the Harley-Davidsons
on the dirt tracks.
The fine RD350 middleweight sports bike is released. Its air-cooled
350cc parallel-Twin two-stroke motor is fitted with reed induction and
produces an impressive 35 horsepower at the rear wheel.
1975

Yamaha pioneers the very first single-shock production motocross
bikes.
Giacomo Agostini gives Yamaha its first 500cc World Championship.
In a desperate effort to keep the #1 plate, Yamaha encourages Roberts
to try a TZ750-powered flat tracker. He rides it to an epic win in the
Indy Mile, but says, “They don’t pay me enough to ride that thing!”
1976

The legendary XT500 is born. This thumping trailbike is the last
nail in the coffin of the old British mystique. “The Japanese can even
build a better 500 Single!” In its fourth year of production, an XT500
will win the first running of the Paris-Dakar.
1977

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, was founded in order to better appeal
to the American market and establish a separate identity (from music
& electronics) for Yamaha motorized products.
1978

The four-cylinder shaft-driven XS1100 is introduced.
Kenny Roberts becomes the first American to win the 500cc World
Championship. He’ll win again in ’79 and ’80, proving that the first one
was not a fluke.
The XS650 Special was introduced. This was the first production
cruiser built by a Japanese manufacturer.
1979

YICS (Yamaha Induction Control System), a fuel-saving engine system,
was developed for 4-stroke engines.
1981

Yamaha’s first air-cooled V-Twin cruiser, the Virago 750, is
introduced.
1984

The RZ350 (sold elsewhere as the RD350LC, for “liquid cooled”)
finally reaches the U.S. market. It was popular elsewhere from 1980
until the early ’90s but is only sold in the U.S. for two years. It’s
fitted with an exhaust “power valve” that dramatically improves
mid-range performance.
The hairy-chested RZV500 is introduced. With its water-cooled V-4
two-stroke engine, it’s a Grand Prix replica for the street, but it’s
heavy and no match for Suzuki’s RG500 Gamma.
The first production 5-valve-per-cylinder engine is introduced on the
FZ750.
Eddie Lawson wins the 500cc World Championship. He’ll do it again (on
Yamahas) in ’86 and ’88.
1985

The V-Max 1200 muscle-bike hits the streets. Its 145 claimed
horsepower sets a new motorcycle standard.
1987

Yamaha introduces EXUP, a new exhaust system for 4-stroke engines
that includes a power valve to control back-pressure for optimizing the
width of an engine's powerband.
1989

The FZR750R homologation special briefly challenges the GSX-R750 for
sportbike supremacy.
1990

Wayne Rainey wins the 500cc World Championship. He’ll do it again in
’91 and ’92, and is leading the 1993 championship when he suffers a
paralyzing injury in mid-season.
1991

Thomas Stevens becomes the only person ever to win the AMA Superbike
Championship on a Yamaha.
The FJ1200A sets the sports-touring standard and includes ABS.
1993

The striking GTS1000 features electronic fuel injection and
hub-center steering designed by James Parker. Consumers failed to bite
on the innovation and balked at the relatively high price.
1996

Yamaha introduces its first Star model with the 1300cc V-4 Royal
Star.
1998

The YZ400F four-stroke motocross bike is introduced. This is the
first mass produced 4-stroke motocrosser. Doug Henry won the AMA outdoor
motocross championship with it while it was still a prototype in
development. As soon as the public gets its hands on the production
model, the two-stroke 250s are doomed.
The YZF-R1 sport bike is introduced to wild acclaim.
1999

The YZF-R6 is introduced.
2002

The R1 gets fuel injection, a first for a Yamaha sportbike.
2004

Valentino Rossi wins the MotoGP World Championship. He’ll repeat the
feat the next year.
2006

The R6 gets YCC-T (Yamaha Chip-Controlled Throttle), a partial
fly-by-wire system that is an industry first.
2007

The R1 gets YCC-I (Yamaha Chip-Controlled Intake), a system that
varies the length of the inlet tract depending on throttle position and
engine speed. The bike also gets a slipper clutch. Nori Haga uses the
race version to finish second in the World Superbike Championship, just
two points behind James Toseland. Haga and teammate Troy Corser combine
to win the Manufacturer’s Championship for Yamaha.
2009

After an incredible run of more than 20 years, the Vmax is finally
put out to pasture in favor of a new version powered by a monstrous
1700cc V-4 engine pumping out a claimed 200 horsepower.