Yamaha Motor Company Limited (ヤマハ発動機株式会社Yamaha HatsudōkiKK?, IPA: [jamaha]/ˈjɑːməhɑː/) (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 CEOGenichi 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".

 

Motorcycles

Yamaha's first motorcycle was the 1 YA-1, which had a 125 cc, single-cylinder two-stroke engine. It was launched in February 1955 and the bike won its first race, the Mount Fuji Ascent Race, in July 1955. Yamaha continued producing two-stroke engines until it launched the XS-1 in 1969, with a 650 cc two-cylinder four-stroke engine, using expertise that it gained doing engine development work for Toyota. In 1979, the XT500 won the first Paris-Dakar Rally.

 

In 1994, Yamaha announced the creation of Star Motorcycles, a new brand name for its cruiser series of motorcycles in the American market. In other markets Star motorcycles are sold under the Yamaha brand.

 

Today Yamaha produces scooters from 50 to 500 cc, and a range of motorcycles from 50 to 1,900 cc, including cruiser, sport touring, sport, dual-sport, and off-road.