Yamaha Motor Company Limited (ヤマハ発動機株式会社, Yamaha Hatsudōki KK, IPA: [jamaha]) (TYO: 7272), is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized vehicles on July 1, 1955. The company's intensive research into metal alloys for use in acoustic pianos had given Yamaha wide knowledge of the making of lightweight, yet sturdy and reliable metal constructions. This knowledge was easily applied to the making of metal frames and motor parts for motorcycles. Yamaha Motor produces motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, marine engines including outboards, automobile engines, personal watercraft and snowmobiles.
The Yamaha corporate logo is composed of three tuning forks placed on top of each other in a triangular pattern.
In 2000, Toyota and Yamaha Corporation made a capital alliance in which Toyota paid Yamaha Corporation ¥10.5 billion for a 5 per cent share in Yamaha Motor Company while Yamaha and Yamaha Motor each bought 500,000 shares of Toyota stock in return.
Yamaha Motor Company was founded by Torakusu Yamaha (in Japanese 山葉 寅楠 Yamaha Torakusu); 山葉 Yamaha means "mountain leaf".
First bikes
- YA-1 built August 1954, produced January 1955. The first bike manufactured by Yamaha; it had an air-cooled, two-stroke, single cylinder 125 cc engine
- YC-1 (1956) was the second bike manufactured by Yamaha; it was a 175 cc single cylinder two-stroke.
- YD-1 (1957) Yamaha began production of its first 250 cc, two-stroke twin, the YD1.
- MF-1 (1958) 50 cc, two-stroke, single cylinder, step through street bike
- DT-1 (1968) Yamaha's first true off-road motorcycle.
- XS-1 (1970) Yamaha's first four-stroke engine motorcycle (650 cc twin).
- Yamaha YZ Monocross (1975) First production motocross bike with a single rear shock.
- Yamaha YZ400F (1998) First mass produced four-stroke motocross motorcycle.
