Yamaha Motor Company

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
	Headquarters in Iwata, Shizuoka
Native name	ヤマハ発動機株式会社
Romanized name	Yamaha Hatsudōki Kabushiki-gaisha
Company type	Public
Traded as	TYO: 7272
Industry	Automotive
Founded	July 1, 1955
Founder	Genichi Kawakami
Headquarters	Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Katsuaki Watanabe (chairman); Motofumi Shitara (president)
Products	Motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, personal watercraft, marine engines, small tractors, golf carts, electrically power assisted bicycles, automobile engines, cycling components
Revenue	2,414,759,000,000 yen (2023)
Owner	The Master Trust Bank of Japan (18.03%); Custody Bank of Japan (5.84%); Yamaha Corporation (4.73%); Toyota Motor Corporation (3.78%); SMBC Nikko Securities (3.37%); (as of December 31, 2023);
Number of employees	52,664 (as of December 31, 2014)
Website	global.yamaha-motor.com

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (ヤマハ発動機株式会社, Yamaha Hatsudōki Kabushiki gaisha) is a multinational mobility manufacturer from Japan. It is well known for making motorcycles, motorboats, Yachts and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It has been the world’s second-largest motorcycle manufacturer and is the global leader in watercraft sales.

History

Yamaha Motor Company was created when the motorcycle division of Yamaha was separated and made into a new company in 1955. Genichi Kawakami became its first leader. Their first motorcycle was the YA-1, a 125 cc two-stroke bike based on the German DKW RT 125. The YA-1 won several races in Japan in its first year.Racing soon became very important for Yamaha. The company often competed with other Japanese brands like Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. In 1956, Yamaha raced outside Japan for the first time and finished sixth in the Catalina Grand Prix.

In 1957, Yamaha made new bikes: the YA-2 (another 125 cc bike) and the YD-1, a stronger 250 cc twin-cylinder motorcycle. A faster version called the YDS-1 had the first five-speed transmission on a Japanese motorcycle.Around this time, Yamaha also made its first outboard motor.

Motorsport

Three-time Grand Championship winner Kenny Roberts at the 1981 German Grand Prix

In motorcycle racing, Yamaha has won 39 world championships in several racing series. Many famous riders have raced for Yamaha, including Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Jorge Lorenzo, and Valentino Rossi.

Yamaha also made important motocross technology, such as the first monoshock production bike and early water-cooled motocross bikes. The YZ400F won the 1998 U.S. National Championship.

Yamaha has had strong results in ATV racing as well, with riders winning many championships. In recent years, Yamaha has continued to win races in many series, including MotoGP and World Superbike.

Products

Yamaha Motor is a very diverse company that makes products for many different industries and types of customers.

Motorcycles: Sport bikes, Cruiser bikes, trail bikes, road racers and motocross racers
All terrain vehicles
Snowmobiles
Commuter vehicles, including scooters
Boats: Powerboats, sailboats (e.g. Yamaha 26, a sailboat produced in the 1970s), utility boats and custom boats
Marine engines: Outboard motors, electric marine motors, marine diesel engines and stern drives.^[2]
Personal watercraft
Electric bicycles
Automobile engines
Industrial-use unmanned helicopters
Golf cars
Power products
Swimming pools
Intelligent machinery, including compact industrial robots
Electric wheelchairs and wheelchair electric drive units
Yamaha parts and accessories, apparel, cycle helmets and motor oil^[3]
surface mounters^[4]