Yamaha Motor Company

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

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.
- 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
- surface mounters

## Other websites

- Official website
- Yamaha Racing website
- Yamaha MotoGP team website

## Infobox (company)

- **name**: Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
- **logo**: Yamaha Motor 2025.svg
- **image**: Yamaha Motor HQ new bldg 250922.jpg
- **image caption**: Headquarters in Iwata, Shizuoka
- **native name**: ヤマハ発動機株式会社
- **native name lang**: ja
- **romanized name**: _Yamaha Hatsudōki Kabushiki-gaisha_
- **type**: Public company, Public
- **industry**: Automotive industry, Automotive
- **founder**: Genichi Kawakami
- **hq location city**: Iwata, Shizuoka
- **area served**: Worldwide
- **key people**: Katsuaki Watanabe (chairman)
Motofumi Shitara (President (corporate title), president)
- **products**: Motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, personal watercraft, marine engines, small tractors, gold, golf carts, electrically power assisted bicycles, automobile engines, cycling components
- **num employees**: 52,664 (as of December 31, 2014)
- **location country**: Japan