Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

IWATA, July 30, 2024—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announces that it will begin using low-carbon, recycled steel sheets produced in electric furnaces as a raw material for the packaging frames used to ship motorcycles, and will be gradually expanding the scope of use of the material going forward. This is the first time in Japan that steel sheets from electric furnaces have been used for packaging frames for motorcycles (according to Yamaha Motor research as of July 2024). These steel sheets are recycled materials produced by melting scrap iron in an electric furnace and then rolling them into sheets. Compared to conventional materials made from iron ore and coke that are smelted in a blast furnace, these materials produce significantly less CO2 during their production. Starting in October 2024, Yamaha Motor will begin to use these recycled steel sheets from Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Steel) for its packaging frames for motorcycle shipments, with plans to gradually expand the scope of their use in stages going forward, thereby increasing the ratio of recycled materials used in its packaging frames. The steel is made primarily from scrap iron acquired from demolished buildings, discarded home appliances, scraped automobiles, and the like, and its material characteristics, quality, and suitability for use in packaging frames has been trialed and proven through a collaborative effort between Tokyo Steel and Yamaha Motor. Yamaha Motor, in line with its Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050, is working toward being carbon neutral* throughout all of its supply chains, including the company’s business activities by 2050. As the Company works toward achieving this goal and eventually switching to 100% sustainable materials, Yamaha Motor is pushing to adopt and further expand its use of green and recycled materials. *Emissions as a direct result of business activities (Scope 1 and 2) and emissions outside of these (Scope 3)

=== Days Gone By===   Days Spent with Cars – 8. Aiming for the Tokyo Motor Show    Once the management of both companies reached agreement, work quickly got underway. Five days later, Executive Officer Inagawa and Nakajima-san, the head of Toyota’s engine design department, came to Yamaha and we began discussions for the project to bore out the 1,500cc 2R and 1,900cc 3R engines and convert them to DOHC. The pace with which things moved forward was rapid; we were having meetings with Toyota every week. The engines we’d tuned were used in domestic racing to verify their performance and get results to show for our efforts.    As if setting up for our “second lap” with Toyota, by the end of the year we had been approached about building a 2-liter sports car. Talk about moving quickly from one thing to the next!    Toyota was already in the middle of laying out the 2000GT—a true sports car—in the product planning room under the direction of Project Leader Jiro Kawano. Because the entire layout of the car was expected to be finished around springtime, Yamaha was asked to do everything from the subsequent detail engineering work to building the prototype.    Toyota wanted to display the car at the Tokyo Motor Show set for the autumn of 1965, so we only had about eight months to complete the project if we were to meet the goal—this wasn’t going to be easy by any means.    Photo: One of the sketches done by the car’s designer, Nozaki-san, in April 1965 for presentations. It was based on the car’s outline drawings, which had been created earlier in the car’s development.    <continues>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #cars #automotive #manufacturing #engineering #history 

===What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen===   22. Backs to the Wall!  <continued>    Also on that day, a special order was given regarding personnel assignments and their duties. General Manager Takai was placed in overall charge of the project; Nemoto-san was in charge of design; Takahata-san and Ono-san would oversee sales; Murakami-san headed inspections; Ito-san and I were in charge of production; and the design team consisted of Yasukawa-san, Naito-san, Toyama-san, Kaneko-san, Takeuchi-san and Anma-san. Apart from that, Ishikawa-san (currently a Director at Yamaha Shatai) was in charge of general affairs; and Watase-san (currently Managing Executive Officer of Yamaha Gamagori Works) was also put in charge of sales.    With everyone’s roles now clearly delineated, we couldn’t escape even if we wanted to, like trying to skirt duties or voicing opinions like a critic on the sidelines. None of us had any experience with starting a completely new company nor did we have anything resembling confidence. What we did have in spades was unease and uncertainty.    Among the stark reality imparted by that day’s order, we took solace in our salaryman mettle—the proverb of “look for a big tree when you seek shelter” fits this well—and that our fates were now inextricably tied to Yamaha motorcycles. We had to throw away whatever emotional attachments we had with the work we’d done until now. We had no alternative but to succeed, both for the company’s sake and for our own. This whole endeavor was really starting with and from nothing.    But all of us that had been selected were truly united in our determination by the president’s order to make it work, even if our backs were well and truly to the wall.  This all may sound like hyperbole to some, but that’s what it felt like to me at least. All around us motorcycle makers were going bust one after another due to the economic recession and there was no guarantee that we wouldn’t also.    Photo: The author together with a YA-1 still being ridden (in 1977)    <ends>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycles #racing #manufacturing #engineering #history #design   

A while back, we shared the work Yamaha Motor has done to create the ergonomic switches employed on the latest XSR900 and MT-09. It’s no exaggeration to say that the more sophisticated motorcycles have become, the more complicated their handlebar switches have become as well. If using a bike’s switches becomes second nature and only adds to the experience, then the ride itself is sure to become more enjoyable.     In this issue, we spoke with the engineering team that created the switchbox and got a clearer picture of their motivations and what it took to arrive at the finished piece. #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #JinKiKanno #development #engineering #innovation #motorcycles #testing #trialanderror #HMI #interfaces #FPCB 

Introducing the new #Yamaha Automated Manual Transmission (Y-AMT) on the MT-09: the seamless fusion of technology and performance. This new dimension of the Dark Side of Japan allows the rider to choose between a sporty and slick finger-operated shift (Manual Transmission, MT) or a fully Automatic Transmission (AT). The MT setting makes each shift fast and precise thanks to the touch of a see-saw lever on the left handlebar, enhancing the excitement and adrenaline in the sportiest of riding conditions. The AT setting further simplifies the shifting experience, with two options to suit different riding scenarios: D+ for a more spirited and sporty ride, D for a more confidence-inspiring gear shift experience. Discover how Y-AMT enhances the MT-09 riding experience: https://brnw.ch/MT09_YAMT

Next in our Yamaha Motor Design Spotlight series is what started it all—the YA-1. Back in the 1950s, “industrial design” was not even a commonly understood concept in Japan and motorcycles were widely expected to be all-black. On top of that, when the news got out that renowned musical instrument manufacturer Nippon Gakki (today's Yamaha Corporation) was going to build a motorcycle, people mocked the idea: “A musical instrument maker is building a motorcycle? Does the exhaust sing do, re, mi, fa?”    But the design of the YA-1, which kickstarted our longstanding relationship with the GK Design Group, was unlike anything ever seen on the streets of Japan.  #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycle #productdesign #design #industrialdesign #history #manufacturing #engineering #technology #craftsmanship 

=== Days Gone By===   Days Spent with Cars – 7. A Request from Toyota Motor  <continues>    The outline of their request was to tune their existing engines for higher performance, assist in developing sports cars and related technologies, and carry out small-scale production as it entailed. More specifically:    The performance tuning was primarily converting existing Toyota engines to a DOHC layout, because they wanted to offer both OHC and DOHC versions for each of their engines. Their goal for DOHC engines was to use them in GT cars, and the first engine they wanted us to get to work on tuning was the 1,500cc 2R. We were even given permission to bore out the engine to 1,600cc if need be.    For the sports car job, Toyota was in the middle of planning a 2-liter sports car and they wanted us to manage the building of the prototype. The image for that sports car was similar to the cars Yamaha had built before, but we knew it was a task that would require some time.    When it finally came time to draw up the contract and other paperwork, both parties wanted to carefully go over everything while composing the agreement because this was the first time for Toyota to ever sub-contract this kind of work. Overseeing the relationship for Toyota was Executive Officer Inagawa, while Managing Executive Officer Naka oversaw things on the Yamaha side.    And this was how the foundations were laid for joint projects between Toyota and Yamaha Motor. It was back in November 1964. I could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief. Toyota probably couldn’t devote enough manpower at the time to handle early-stage development entirely in-house and they just happened to be planning to develop a sports car—we were in luck!    <ends>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #cars #automotive #manufacturing #engineering #history 

===What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen===   22. Backs to the Wall!    The testing to lap around Lake Hamana began in mid-September. After the No. 1 prototype had completed 1,200 km or so, our own in-house cylinders were ready, so we swapped them in and continued the test.    On September 26th, the president returned from a Tokyo business trip and surprised us by saying, “I want to make the announcement as soon as possible, so I want the preparations at the Komatsu Factory done by November 15th.” This was only part of what he had to say, too! The pressure on us to get the factory ready to start production rose daily and every passing day sent clear reminders to me of how precious time itself can be.    On October 4th, the official notification was made to the government office. On the application was “Product Name: Yamaha 125; Engine Type: YA-1; Engine Registration No. 540000” and other information. The “Y” in YA-1 was for “Yamaha” and the “A” signified “125.”    The next day, President Kawakami went to the factory and assembled prototype engine No. 7 himself. I think through this you can easily understand how deeply devoted the president was to this project and how hard he had worked to make sure he himself knew and understood firsthand how an engine was constructed.    Photo: Casting cylinders for the prototype YA-1    <continues>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycles #racing #manufacturing #engineering #history #design   

Over the last few years, Yamaha produced a short but playful series of videos showcasing its Yamalube genuine engine oil.    Through the riveting workings of a Rube Goldberg machine, the first video in the series expresses Yamaha’s approach to developing Yamalube for its motorcycles, snowmobiles and more, and the various environments Yamalube oils are specifically created for to bring optimum performance.     Yamalube is the result of over 60 years of dedicated R&D into how we can make our engines run at their very best. From use in the first Autolube automatic oil injection pump to today’s R-Series of supersport motorcycles, Yamalube oils are precision-blended to be the best match for a Yamaha engine, be it on the road, dirt, water or snow.    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycles #snowmobiles #SxS #ROV #genuine #oil #manufacturing #engineering #history 

IWATA, July 16, 2024 - Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announces it has signed a service agreement with YL Forest Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, "YLF"), a company headquartered in Fukuoka City that is implementing its proprietary mangrove planting method in the Republic of Indonesia. Going forward, funding provided to YLF by the Company will go toward launching a new mangrove planting project in the country's province of South Sulawesi. The agreement entrusts YLF with silvo-fishery-based mangrove planting work over a three-year period, aimed at contributing to biodiversity, carbon neutrality, and preventing marine pollution. Through YLF's work, Yamaha Motor will plant 215 hectares (approximately 370,000 trees) of mangroves as well as maintain operations in the project area. YLF conducts afforestation work using its own version of silvo-fishery for mangrove planting. Silvo-fishery (a portmanteau of "silviculture" and "fishery") is a method that yields the benefits of both mangrove reforestation and aquaculture regeneration. This combination not only contributes to sustainable forest management but also to improving the livelihoods of local residents through sustainable aquaculture paired with the natural environment. Furthermore, mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon underground, making them an important channel for blue carbon.* One of the four items in the Company's Marine Long-Term Vision is "Towards a future with a greater ocean than the current one of today." As a marine industry leader, Yamaha Motor will continue working to preserve the world's beautiful waters in order to achieve this goal. *Carbon absorbed into coastal and marine ecosystems that accumulates in the biomass and soil below it. #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #collaboration #environment #preservation #silvofishery #Indonesia #forests #aquaculture #carbon #carbonneutral #bluecarbon