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YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD.JANUARY 1, 2004 ENGLISH

No.1BIMONTHLY

Himalayas High!Three Chinese made YamahaYBR125s and an intrepid crewof Yamaha people from Japanand China prove that there isno mountain high enough, noroad rough enough to keep agood bike from getting youwhere you want to go.

2 YAMAHA NEWS JANUARY 1, 2004

UP FRONT

60567 and 41315 wereshipped from the JYM fac-tory to YMC in Japan to beprepared for this challenge.After making a few specchanges necessary toaccommodate the extremehigh elevation and roughtrail riding conditions antic-ipated, the three machineswere air-freighted fromJapan on Sept. 21 to Lhasavia the midwestern Chinesecities of Xian and Chengdu.

Despite having plenty of time to pre-pare the machines, the intention ofthe YMC staff was to keep themachines as close as possible to theoriginal YBR specs, and externallyyou could barely notice the differ-ence. The only changes made were(1) the addition of an automatic high-elevation adjustment mechanism forthe carburetor, (2) fitting them withoff-road tires, (3) adding wide han-dlebars, (4) an additional pressurizedair capsule for the front suspensionand (5) an under-guard plate to pro-tect the engine. “Our aim was to maintain the origi-nality of the YBR125 as much aspossible and prepare the machineswith an absolute minimum of modifi-

Climbing toward the bluest skyon earthThe date was October 15, 2003. At11:00 in the morning at the startingpoint in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa(elevation of 3,600 m), the tempera-ture was 23 degrees C. and the cloud-less sky was clear and deep with analmost mystical beauty that the wordblue hardly did justice to. With thewave of a Yamaha company flag,three YBR125s, colored red, blueand black, pulled away from thestarting point in the square in front ofthe Potala Palace, the crisp purr ofthe 4-stroke engines ringing sharpand clear. In the spring of 2003, three YBR125sbearing the serial numbers 80383,

Since its debut in China in Novem-ber 2002 as the lowest priced125cc Yamaha brand motorcycleproduced by any of the overseasYamaha manufacturing bases, theYBR125 manufactured byChongqing Jianshe-Yamaha MotorCo., Ltd. (JYM) has won a popularfollowing thanks to its outstandingrunning performance, sell ing100,000 units in its first year ofsales. Last October, an adventur-ous group of riders set out to seejust how tough the YBR125 is bymaking a daring ascent up to theclimbers’ base camp (elevation of5,520 m) on the world’s highestmountain. Although much of the route fol-lowed one of Tibet’s main roads,at over 3,000 meters most sectionsare unpaved gravel roads. Attimes the riders would be crossingbroad grasslands and at othersrocky trails carved into the cliffsalong steep ravines. In order toreach the base camp on Mt. Ever-est they would also have to crossthe Juewula Pass at an altitude of5,250 meters. The motorizedascent would give the riders nochance to adjust to the increasing-ly thin air, so altitude sickness wasalmost a certainty. How wouldthey fare in such a tough environ-ment, and what about theYBR125?

The Saga of a 125cc Eve5,000 Meters and Back

The seeing-off event at JYM

YAMAHA NEWS JANUARY 1, 2004 3

rest Ascent to Over

for this raid back in Japan, the teamknew that they were undertaking achallenge into an unknown realm.Soon after the start, Nomoto hadplenty on his mind. He remembersasking himself, “Were there enoughparts? Would one spare engine beenough? Would the desktop calcula-tions they had made concerning thecarburetor adjustments and suchprove correct?” Their trials had just begun. The threebikes climbed into the Himalayas fol-lowed by a support team led by Mr.Kazuyuki Yamashita and a cameracrew, for a total of 15 people ridingin four land cruisers and one largertruck.

Battling the dust of the trailHere at latitude 28 degrees north, thetree line lies at an elevation of 3,500meters. Once you climb above 2,000m the trees begin to decrease in size

and number, and by the time youreach 3,500 m all that remains is athin covering of grasses and a fewshrubs. With little ground cover, thewind easily whips up clouds of sandand dust. The three riders wore dou-ble-thickness masks to keep the dustout of their mouths and noses, butafter a few hours of riding the whitemasks had turned completely brownwith a thick covering of dust. Though the machines continued topurr on comfortably, the riders weresuffering from difficult breathing and

cations so that original performanceremained the same,” recalls Mr. Tat-suo Nomoto, who was in charge ofthe modifications. As the three machines set out fromLhasa, it was Nomoto who rode thelead machine. A veteran of YMC’ssports and racing promotion teamwith a wealth of experience in raceparticipation and Yamaha RidingSchool (YRS) instruction, Nomoto isa true specialist in proper machinehandling. On bike number two rodeMr. Masakazu Shiohara, a 30-yearveteran of Yamaha race activitieswho has worked on the developmentof numerous production racers andfactory race machines like theYZM400F and the YZR500. Fewknow more than Shiohara about theingredients of a solid race machine orwhat things must be avoided. Onmachine number three rode JYM’sService Department Chief, KenjiTakeda, a 19-year service veteranwho came to JYM four years ago andknows the YBR125 inside out. Fromthe makeup of this assault team itwas clear that for Yamaha this was aserious challenge, not just a fair-weather touring trip. Despite having taken all the mea-sures they could think of to prepare

Mt. Everest(Chomolungma)

Goal

Start4000m3000m

2000m

1000m0m

5000m

Elevation

Chomolungma base camp

Lhasa

Raid campXigaze

Lhaze

Juewula Pass

the telltale headaches of altitude sick-ness. It was impossible to keep thedust from getting into their eyes, andit reached the point where they couldalmost hear their eyelids gratingagainst their eyes. Soon the insidesof their helmets were caked with athick layer of dust that made it diffi-cult to raise and lower the visor. Thefilm crew in the land cruisers alsobattled the dust that gathered on theirlenses and clogged their cameras’aperture and lens motors. As they climbed higher, the riders’blood pressure began to rise. Shio-hara, who normally had a bloodpressure of 120 over 60, was soonrecording pressure 40 points higherin both the upper and lower measure-ments. Even the slightest exertioncaused nose-bleeds that wouldn’tstop. At 5,000 m the air pressure is520 hectopascals. Operating thebikes stressed the riders’ musclesand their systems cried for oxygen toclear the lactic acid that accumulatedin their fatigued muscles. The thinness of the high-altitude airis not something you can see, it isfelt in the body. Gradually the ridersbecame aware of the risks involvedin this adventure and they foundthemselves having to concentratemore and more on the simple act ofriding as the days passed.Despite the disabilities of the ridersand cameras, the YBRs ran on beau-tifully, unfazed by the altitude, dustand tough road conditions. At onepoint JYM Service staff memberYikuo Lin checked the three bikes’air cleaners. He changed thesponges, but the paper filters werestill so clean that all he had to do wasshake off a thin layer of dust and slipthem back in. And, throughout the

three days of running,across three passes over5,000 m, neither the spareengine or any of the sparepistons, links, jets, tires orchains would ever beneeded. On the night of the thirdday, under a magnificentMilky Way, Nomoto and

his team retired to their tents early.

An oxygen cylinder becomes alife-saverThe plan for day four, Oct. 18, wasto leave Tingri, ride up to the Everestbase camp and back, covering a totalof about 200 km. The expeditionstarted out before dawn with one

land cruiser running in the lead andthe three YBRs following its tail-lights in the dark. By starting thisearly they hoped to see the world’shighest peak in the warmth of thefirst morning sunlight. Team Manag-er Yamashita had carefully weighedthe risks and given the OK. He want-ed this to be a thrilling moment foreveryone. In the pitch black of early morningthe temperaturehung at 5 degreesbelow zero and therocky trail wasrougher than any-one had imaginedas they crossed theJuewula Pass at5,250 m. This wasno fun ride. In thedark the riders hadto rely on the sub-tle slipping of thetires to read the tiltof the rocky trailunderneath. Using

only 2nd and 3rd gears to get thebest possible grip, they crawled care-fully up the trail. On the downhillsections after the pass they maneu-vered their machines mostly fromthe standing position.The team had one thing in mind: toget to a point where we could see thepeak of Everest as quickly as possi-ble. After two hours of running inthe pale morning light, they stillcouldn’t see the summit. Finally atjust after 8:00 in the morning, thereit stood. Towering above them in aclear blue sky was the 8,848 metersummit of Mt. Everest. On the otherside of the ridge they could lookdown into Nepal. Though their hel-met visors were coated with a film ofdust, the riders could see eachother’s smiles beneath. Soon they reached the Everest basecamp and took some well-neededoxygen from the oxygen bottles.After eating breakfast, everyonegathered in an open area for a com-memorative photo. It was then thatsomeone shouted, “Where’s Nomo-to?” Hurrying back to one of thelarger tents, Team ManagerYamashita found Nomoto crumpledon the floor struggling to breathe.The team doctor rushed to get himan oxygen cylinder, but at firstNomoto showed no signs of recover-ing. A dark cloud seemed to passbefore Yamashita’s eyes for a des-perate moment, and he found himselfpraying. Within 20 or 30 minutes, however

UP FRONT


A team cheers for the camera with the world’s highest peak, Mt. Everest in the background

Nomoto gets an oxygen breather while Raid Manager Yamashitatakes his pulse

Local residents turned out towatch


the smile had returned to Nomoto’sface and he was suddenly himselfagain. That commemorative photo wasfinally taken with Mt. Everest in thebackground. As they started backdown the mountain, Yamashita wasrelieved to see Nomoto ride out inthe lead just as always.

An unexpected rider changeFor the film crew in the land cruisersit all happened before they couldeven react. On the 19th, as the expe-dition was making its way down to

Xigaze, one of the riders who hadjust passed gingerly through a largepuddle standing up on the bike sud-denly drifted off the road on a gentledown-hill left-hand curve, scraped awall and went down. “I don’t know ifit was dizziness due to the lack ofoxygen or if it was the sun in myeyes,” said Takeda afterwards.Though he had taken a hit on hisright arm and shoulder, he was other-wise uninjured and the bike was fine.So Takeda got back on and continuedto ride out the day. That night, how-ever, the pain in his wrist worsenedto the point where he couldn’t gripthe accelerator well. At first,Yamashita thought of retiring the onebike, but finally he decided to have

JYM’s Lin relieve Takeda as rider forthe last 300 kilometers. Despite all his experience as a servicetechnician, Lin had never ridden abike for more than 100 km in a day.“It’s OK, I can do it,” he reassuredYamashita. Takeda’s fall and theresulting injury had made everyoneon the team realize how exhaustingthe trip had been. But the goal wasnow in sight and Lin’s determinationinspired everyone. “I wanted to makesure that all three bikes made it to thefinish,” he said later. And that isexactly what he did, riding the thirdYBR with all the concentration hecould muster all the way to the goalon the 20th at Lhasa’s Potala Palace. As he rode ahead of Lin on this finalleg of the adventure, Shiohara wassaying to himself, “At one extremethere is working with a large budgetto build and race faster and everstronger motorcycles. And this 125ccmachine has got to be the otherextreme, a bike with a perfect balanceof easy-to-handle performance and avery affordable price. This is anotherkind of real enjoyment.”“From the first time I saw the designplans for this model’s engine I had thefeeling that I was looking at one kindof perfection; an engine that could bebuilt inexpensively but had what ittakes to keep running strong, even ifthe actual use conditions are bad. Onthis trip, the riders started to breakdown, but this bike never showed abit of strain.” This is what Shioharadecided to say at the press conferencein Chongqing two days later. On the evening of the 20th the six-day touring raid was drawing to aclose. There had been emergencyoxygen supply, special measures todeal with the cold and the dust, a

Comment from Project Manager Kazuyuki Yamashita (YMC China Business GroupMotorcycle Operations)

“We planned this Everest base-camp expedition in line with therequests of the Japanese NPO“Himalaya Harmony.” There was theoption of using machines built inJapan, but we wanted to see justhow much punishment this inexpen-sive 125cc machine built by Yamahain China could take and what its realpotential was. In this sense it was anew challenge for Yamaha. At thesame time we wanted to use thisevent to build the YBR125 image,take photos and film for later promo-tional use, and also to gather datafor future development. On this raid all the riders adjustedquickly to the needs of the roughroad conditions of the Himalayanplateau and rode well. Thanks tothem, we were able to show justwhat a great, rel iable bike theYBR125 is. We are now more cer-tain than ever that this is a machinewe can recommend with confidencenot only to the people of China butcustomers everywhere around theworld.

Takeda gets a check-up after falling due to oxygen deficiency

crash and rider change and plenty ofhard running in 2nd and 3rd gear.There were bent spokes, scratchedup engine guards and dust-cakedchasses to speak of just how toughtheir daring high-elevation challengehad been. Now the goal was right in front ofthem; the end of a long six days and1,370 kilometers. And through it allthe YBR engines had continued torun without a sputter. Now that 4-stroke sound of their reliableYBR125s would be engrained in theriders’ memories forever.

Starting from Zero Soon after Vietnam opened to foreigninvestment in 1994, YMC established ateam of five people to lay the foundationfor the Yamaha Motor Vietnam of today,a company now employing over 1,300people. But it would take three yearsbefore Yamaha’s application for a jointventure license was finally approved. Bythe time Yamaha started its operations,Honda had already established a firmmarket base thanks to efforts that started

from their used-bike exportright after the war, and the“HONDA” name becamesynonymous with moped-type motorcycles in Viet-nam. Yamaha was startingfrom virtually zero share ina long-isolated market

where the Yamaha brand name wasknown only for pianos. It wasn’t until October of 1999 thatYamaha was finally able to launch its first

line in 1999, the dealers still couldn’t beconvinced to carry the Sirius. But theYMVN team didn’t lose heart. Theyknew they had a good product if theycould just get it to the customers. “If thedealers wouldn’t carry our bike, whydon’t we set up direct outlet shops andsell them ourselves?” someone suggested.Soon Yamaha D.O. (Direct Operation)shops were established in Hanoi and HoChi Minh City and other locations oneafter another. But the Sirius still wasn’tselling.

Riding out the price warThe entry of inexpensive Chinese copybikes from the end of 1999 fueled a toughprice war in the Vietnamese motorcyclemarket. “The market was flooded withcheap motorcycles almost overnight,”recalls YMVN’s Director General, Mr.Takahiko Takeda. “We decided not to getinvolved in the price war but to concen-trate on establishing ourselves as No. 1 inQuality. The great staff at our factorywere part of this effort, and thanks tothem we were able to push Yamaha asthe quality brand instead of just another

cheap product.”Within a year or so thedifference betweenYamaha quality and thatof the cheaper Chinesemakes was becomingevident and Vietnameseusers were seeing the

benefit of paying more for the real thing.At the same time, the bright colorschemes of the Sirius that conservativeusers had shunned at first were nowbecoming popular among young peoplein the urban centers like Ho Chi MinhCity.

Yamaha as a trend-settinglifestyle leaderIn 2001, YMVN came out with its newmodel “Jupiter,” which quickly wonacclaim from fashion-conscious youngpeople for its design and coloring. Thiswas followed in quick succession by thelaunch of the “JupiterR” and Asia’s firstautomatic transmission commuter, the

made-in-Vietnam model, the105cc “Sirius.” But, by theend of 2002, Yamaha hadwon the position of “No. 1in Brand Image” in Viet-nam, and sales of Yamahamotorcycle had climbedfrom just a few hundredunits a month to over

10,000. The story of this achievement isone of a determined team with a never-say-no attitude and an unfailing trust in qualityand consumer-oriented marketing.

Investing in a golden marketWhen economic sanctions were lifted inFebruary of 1994, Vietnam was acountry with a rapidly growingpopulation of over 78 million andan economy that was growing atan annual rate of about 8%. Thefirst Yamaha survey revealed anestimated annual motorcycledemand of about 350,000 units.The market potential was there, but therewere also a lot of obstacles to be cleared.While they were waiting for approval tobegin manufacturing Yamaha motorcy-cles in Vietnam, the staff of the fledglingYamaha Motor Vietnam traveled aroundto bike shops with pamphlets of Yama-ha’s Southeast Asian market model Cryp-ton. At that time, the name of the otherleading Japanese maker had become syn-onymous with motorcycles, as its firstVietnamese market model sold over60,000 units in its first year. “How can apiano maker build motorcycles?” askedmany of the dealers. When the first Yamaha Sirius modelsfinally started coming off the assembly


A Success Story in Brand Building

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS SERIAL 41

Yamaha Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd. (YMVN)

Location: Hanoi, VietnamPresident: Takahiko TakedaEmployees: 1,320

The factory ground-breaking cer-emony in Oct. 1998

An early promotional campaign for the Sirius

The 4th D.O. shop called “Yamaha Town” is opened in Ho Chi MinhCity. Attractive remodeling with the arrival of each new model winsyoung people’s attention

People buy parts to fix motorbikes in HoChi Minh’s Chinatown

Our reporter: Hoang Ha,Assistant Manager of Sales& Marketing Division


“Nouvo” in 2002. The launchesemployed bold strategies focused on theimage of Yamaha as a quality brand thatcan change your lifestyle. For the Jupiterlaunch, YMVN bought out almost all theadvertising space in Vietnam’s majornewspapers twice in November 2001.The success of regional test-ride caravanevents coupled with attractions like songcontests and concerts led to the ideato hold a big event in

front of the Opera House in the center ofHo Chi Minh City. That event created asensation by attracting an amazing100,000 people. For the launch of the Nouvo, the market-ing team decided to make “fashionableriding” the theme. One innovative ideawas making the Nouvo catalog a

“Lifestyle Book” full of infor-mation for fashion-consciousyoung urbanites. “One of ourthemes is ‘Someday a Yama-ha,’ which means makingYamaha the brand that peoplewho are riding other makes

now hope to be able to ride someday,”says YMVN Director General Takeda.“We want Yamaha to be the brand thatpeople in Vietnam look to for the next

exciting thing.” Today, Vietnam’s motorcycle industryfaces new problems, like new laws thatlimit bike registrations. Nonetheless,2003 ended on a very strong note forYMVN. First of all, the company’s ambi-tious marketing took on a new dimensionwhen YMVN became a major sponsor ofthe biggest sporting event ever held inVietnam, the Southeast Asian region’s“22nd Seagames.” By supplying theSeagame organizing committee with 50units of the Nouvo under an exclusivesupplier contract and flying red Yamahaflags at the games’ many venues for the

32 sports contested,Yamaha was able tograb nationwideexposure. This wassupplemented by anationwide campaignin which 100 Yama-ha uniformed collegestudents toured thecountry handing outsponsor leaflets.As the year-endshopping seasonbegan, Yamaha deal-erships were full ofcustomers looking atthe two hottest models in the Vietnamesemarket today, the JupiterV and Nouvo.An estimated 5,000 Nouvos and 15,000Jupiters were sold between Nov. 25 andDec. 13., and YMVN estimates that itwill sell a total of 22,000 bikes in Decem-ber alone. That compares with just 2,345units of the Sirius sold in its whole firstyear! Though there are certain to be hard timesagain in the future, everyone at YMVN,from the president to the people in thefactory to the ambitious dealer networkthat now boasts about 190 shops nation-wide, are determined to meet the chal-lenges ahead. Because they all believestrongly in Yamaha quality and their abil-ity to build and supply products that sur-pass the expectations of the Vietnameseconsumers.

Various types of shows are used with the PR caravans to gather excited crowds

This fashion show was one of the PR events for the JupiterV. Otherevents included music shows attended by famous musicians

One of the oldest dealer shops in Hanoi

Yamaha Motor Vietnam’s Soc Son Factorystarted production in 1999 in a quiet rural areaabout one hour by car from Hanoi building lessthan 1,000 units a month. Having just added anew building, it now turns out 10,000 motorcy-cles a month. For the factory’s manager, Mr.Tatsuo Oba, starting up this facility was a longuphill task, and the work is far from finished.“When you say that Yamaha started from zeroin the Vietnamese market, that was also true ofour factory, too. Our joint venture partners knewalmost nothing about motorcycles at first. It was a process of puttingtogether facilities and teaching everything from the beginning. So, youcan imagine how proud everyone was when we fired up the engine of ourfirst Sirius model off the assembly line in October 1999. After that I kepttelling our partners that with this model Yamaha could soon win 10% ofthe Vietnamese market. But for more than a year the Sirius was only sell-ing at a pace of about 500~600 units a month and we had to scale backour original production rate. We were so desperate to sell bikes that we

would be at work on an order within two hours after it came in. Now Irealize that that kind of speed is vital for a factory in today’s market. When Vietnamese consumers pay a price that is more than their yearlysalary to buy Yamaha quality, that is a trust we can’t betray. We have abig responsibility to bring uncompromising quality to customers likethese. And in that sense, our work has really only just begun.”

The completed new facto-ry buildingOur foundation-building has only just begun

This became the site of the new YMVN factorySoc Son Factory Manager, Mr.Tatsuo Oba

The Nouvo catalog is a “Lifestyle Book”that shows customers how cool theycan look enjoying life with a Nouvo

Vietnam is both tropical and temperate in its cli-mate, which is characterized by strong monsooninfluences, a high rate of rainfall, and high humidi-ty, but also with a considerable amount of sun-shine. The annual average temperature rangesfrom 22 to 27 degrees C. In Hanoi in the north, theaverage temperature is 23 degrees C, while in HoChi Minh City in the south it is 26 degrees C, andin central Hue it is 25 degrees C.Thanks to its varied topography, the country haseverything from tropical coastal lowlands to tem-perate zones above 2,000 meters. In the south, therainy season lasts from May to November, but theshowers are usually limited to brief bursts in thelate afternoons. Along the central coast, the driestseason runs from June to October. Visitors to thenorth are often surprised by the region's distinctseasons; summers are hot and humid while wintersare invigoratingly cool.Vietnam is crossed by thousands of streams andrivers, with a river emptying into the sea aboutevery 20 kilometers along Vietnam's coastline.The waterways are a very convenient means oftransport with major rivers like the Red River inthe north and the Mekong River in the south.Forested hills and mountains cover much of thecountry’s area and just over 17% of the land isarable.

History and PeoplesVietnam is a country with a history as rich as thesoil of its green deltas. Thanks to its geographi-cal location, Vietnam has long been a transportjunction from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific

Ocean. Trade brought new goodsand culture, but also conquerors.Much of Vietnamese history readslike a romantic legend, full ofheroic struggles and valiant victo-ries that enabled this small coun-try to retain its culture, traditionsand its sense of history. InVietnam, traditions carry realmeaning. Ancient heroes are stillcelebrated in colorful temple festi-vals, people honor their ancestors,and village elders teach values ofhard work, hospitality, and familyloyalty. Vietnam has 54 ethnicgroups, most of which live inremote mountain areas and followage-old customs. In this sense, itoffers unique opportunities forcultural exploration.

Economic and SocialPrograms With a population of over 81.6million people, Vietnam is adensely populated country. It isalso one whose economic growthwas stifled through much of the20th century by war and later bythe loss of financial support fromthe old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidi-ties of a centrally planned econo-my. Since 1987, the Vietnamesegovernment has embarked on thecourse of DOIMOI (RenovationPolicy) and recorded importantand significant socio-economic

■ Country name: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

■ Capital city: Hanoi■ Area: 329,560 sq. km■ Population: 81,624,716

(As of July 2003 est.) ■ GDP: $183 billion (2002 est.)■ Currency: VND (Vietnam Dong)

Vietnam

This Is My Country

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam of today is asovereign and reunified country that runs the fulllength of the eastern coast of the Indochinapeninsula of Southeast Asia. Vietnamese peopledescribe their country as a bamboo shoulder poleslung with two baskets of rice—the fertile south-ern Mekong Delta and the northern Red RiverDelta. From these lowland paddy fields stretchvast rubber plantations, rolling hills covered withthick jungle, and jagged mountains standingmore than 3,000 meters high. Many say thatVietnam's greatest resource is its friendly, wel-coming people. Long closed to the outsideworld, Vietnam retains a charming innocence. Inthe decade since the country opened its doors tovisitors, the natural beauty and rich cultural her-itage have made it a popular land to visit.

Geography and ClimateVietnam shares 3,730 km of inland borders withChina to the north and Laos and Cambodia to thewest. To the east, Vietnam faces the Gulf ofTongking and South China Seaalong a total coastline of some3,260 km. The country's totallength, from the northernmost tosouthernmost points, is 1,650 km,while ranging in width from 600km at the widest point in the northand 400 km in the south to just 50km at the narrowest point in QuangBinh province of the central coastregion.


achievements, including annu-al GDP growth of around 9%per year from 1993 to 1997.However, the 1997 Asianfinancial crisis brought outsome of the problems in theVietnamese economy and re-affirmed the belief of somegovernment officials that shift-ing totally to a market-orientedeconomy would hurt the coun-try. GDP growth fell to 6% in1998 and 5% in 1999 beforerecovering to between 6% and7% in 2002, in spite of globalrecession. However, some major difficul-ties in economic performanceremain, with domestic industries, including coal,cement, steel, and paper, reporting large stock-piles of inventory and tough competition fromforeign producers. On the other hand, Vietnamhas a variety of mineral resources yet to bedeveloped. Beneath the forests are valuableminerals such as tin, zinc, silver, gold, antimo-ny, precious stones, and coal. Vietnam also hasabundant subterranean mineral water sources. In recent years the Vietnamese authorities havemoved to implement the structural reformsneeded to modernize the economy and empowerits industrious people to produce more competi-tive, export-driven industries. In addition to joining APEC (The Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation Conference), Vietnamhas recently signed the US-Vietnam BilateralTrade Agreement that went into effect near theend of 2001. These moves are expected to sig-nificantly increase trade.

An Increasingly Popular Tourist DestinationOne of the industries that shows great promiseof the future is tourism. As a country that valuesits past even as it modernizes toward the future,Vietnam is an especially attractive country forvisitors. The friendly Vietnamese people anddelicious ethnic cuisine add to the pleasures oftravel here. Four of the country’s more famousdestinations are now protected under the WorldHeritage program, beginning with scenicHalong Bay in 1993, followed by the royalpalace in Hue and, most recently in 2000, by theold city section of Hoi An and the ruins of theancient city of Me Son. If you have a chance to travel along the coast ofVietnam, you will be able to enjoy the beautifulbeaches of Tra Co, Sam Son, Lang Co, NonNuoc, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, and Ha Tien. Insome places, you will see mountains jutting outof the sea. One such magnificent site is HalongBay. Vietnam’s coast is also dotted with thou-sands of islands, which are among the most pop-ular tourist destinations, like the Truong Sa andHoang Sa Archipelagos. The forests of Vietnamaccount for most of the total land area, andnational parks are preserved by the state under asteady development plan. With its proud cultural traditions, kind andindustrious people and new trade relationshipswith the ASEAN region and the world, Vietnamis a country that is clearly on its way to abrighter future.

The elegant Vietnamese"aozai" dresses are populartoday in both traditional andstylish contemporary designs

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)Export commodities: Crude oil, marine products,rice, coffee, rubber, tea, gar-ments, shoes

Import commodities: Machinery and equipment,petroleum products, fertilizer,steel products, raw cotton, grain,cement, motorcycles

US 15.0%

Japan 14.8%

Australia 7.7%

Germany 6.7%

China 6.1%

Singapore 5.6%

Singapore 12.7%

Japan 12.7%

South Korea 11.5%

Taiwan 11.4%

China 11.4%

Thailand 5.8%

An outdoor market scene withpeople selling foods, sweets andvegetables

Typical dishes of cuisine served at aVietnamese restaurant

The hand-tailored Vietnamese aozai dressesare admired by women all over the world

EXPRESSRA

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As the successor to the GP500 WorldChampionships, the new MotoGP classgot its start in 2002, in a sort of hybridyear with 2- and 4-stroke machines com-peting side by side. The 2003 seriesbecame the true inaugural year for theMotoGP as all the major factories andteams fielded 4-stroke machines. In thisseason Yamaha competed with threeteams entering a total of five YamahaYZR-M1 machines. Riding in 2003 forthe Fortuna Yamaha Team were CarlosCheca and Marco Melandri, for theG a u l o i s e sYamaha Team for2003 were AlexBarros andOlivier Jacque,while ShinyaNakano rode forTeam d’AntinYamaha. Amongthese riders,Checa finishedthe 16-race sea-son with the high-est ranking, at7th, in his secondyear on the M1,followed byBarros and Nakano tied for 9th.Although this can hardly be called agood finish for Yamaha, all five ridersshowed their potential for improvementby finishing near the top in differentrounds of the series. Yamaha’s 2003 season M1 machine fea-tured new cowling and exterior design aswell as a redesigned positioning of thecrank shaft and the other two main axes.The adoption of fuel injection alsobrought a big improvement in top rpm.However, throughout the 2003 seasonthe teams were often unable to turn goodqualifying times into podium finishes. YMC’s MotoGP Project Leader, IchiroYoda says, “We were basically satisfiedwith the progress we made in boostingacceleration and top speed in the 2003season. Especially after introducing F1technology from Yamaha’s Automotive

Operations at mid-season, we saw aclear improvement in the engine’spotential.” This fact was proven by testdata at each of the GP courses thatshowed the M1 to be competitive withthe rival machines in terms of top speed.“The areas of improvement that we needto concentrate on have been narroweddown to just a few, and developmentwork on the 2004 model isnow proceeding at a very fastclip,” adds Mr. Yoda. Shortly after the last round ofthe 2003 season, Yamaha helda test-ride event to give racingjournalists a chance to ride theM1. Former GP racer ShunjiYatsushiro was among thejournalists who wrote abouthis impression of the M1. “Ina word, it is a complex

machine. It is clear that the Yamahaengineers are using a variety of elec-tronic control technologies to get anengine character that takes human sensi-bilities into consideration. Although it isstill a machine in development, the sta-bility and handling are quite good andwe can look forward to more improve-ments that will make this an excitingmachine.”Yamaha fans also have a lot to look for-ward to in 2004 as the present MotoGPchamp Valentino Rossi joins theYamaha side in a team managed byDavide Brivio and with Checa as histeammate. Meanwhile, Melandri willmove to the French-based Tech 3Yamaha team (present GauloisesYamaha) managed by Hervé Poncharal.As in 2003, the team will be supportedby Altadis and enter machines in theMotoGP under the Fortuna andGauloises brand names. The 2004 season will roar into action onApril 18 with the South African GP atWelkom.

Checa in action. In 2004 he will team with MotoGP champ V. Rossi (Photo from ’03 UK GP)

Mr. Shunji Yatsushiro on the M1 at the press test-ride event

Melandri will ride for the Tech 3 Yamaha team in ’04 (Photo from ’03 Portugal GP)

Yamaha Turns Ambitious Eye to 2004 MotoGPYamaha Turns Ambitious Eye to 2004 MotoGP


Yamaha YB50 enters production atreopened factory

N ovember 11, Angola’s Independence Day, waschosen for a grand ceremony to commemorate thestart of production of the Yamaha YB50 motorcy-

cle at the renovated factory of Yamaha’s Angolan distrib-utor, INDUSTRIAS REUNIDAS ULISSES, LDA (Presi-dent: Mr. Valentim Amoes) in Huambo. Representing thegovernment of Angola at the ceremony was the honorableMinister of Administration of the Territory, Mr. FaustinoMuteka, while Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) was rep-resented by Executive Officer, Mr. Akira Araki, SeniorGeneral Manager, Mr. Shibata of Overseas Market Developing Operations(OMDO) and other OMDO staff. In Angola, the YB50 has long been so ubiquitous for use as bike taxis andpersonal use that the name YB50 is synonymous with motorcycle formany Angolans. Most of the YB50s still in use here were assembled at agovernment factory here in Huambo with technical assistance from YMCbetween 1978 and 1981, when civil war forced that operation to be closeddown. Now, the start of production at the reopened Ulisses factory marks amomentous 22nd-year comeback, and expectations are high that it willcontribute to local industry and the lives of Angolans. From Kazunori Sasaki, African Group, OMDO, YMC

Angola

Motocross race thrills 6,000 spectatorsAs a special event to correspond with the restart of YB50 production at itsfactory, the Ulisses company organized a motocross competition for the firsttime as a means to promote the Yamaha brand. Some 6,000 people gath-ered to watch, and the skillful riding and jumping of the local motocross com-petitors on the Yamaha YZ125 elicited great cheers from the crowd withevery dynamic leap. The excitement of the event carried over well into thenight at a concert organized in town that evening to supplement the event.

Guatemala

Learning the techniques of circuit riding

In the Central American country ofGuatemala, one of the reasons an increasingnumber of people are purchasing Yamaha

YZF-R1, R6 and FZS1000 models is to fulfilltheir dream of riding on a real race circuit. Tohelp such users realize their dream in an envi-ronment that is controlled, sound and enjoy-able, Yamaha’s Guatemalan distributorCanella S.A. and YMC’s Motor Sports Pro-motion Div. teamed up recently to organizetwo days of circuit riding classes at theAUTODROMO LOS VOLCANES inGuatemala on October 28 and 29. Over twen-

ty owners turned out for each of the two daysto be taught a curriculum including properriding position, sound braking technique forentering turns at the desired speed, theapproach to running proper lines throughcurves and other techniques necessary forsound and enjoyable circuit riding. Theinstructors were Yoshiaki Kato, a formerWorld GP 125cc class competitor, andMasaru Iwasaki, the YMC Racing instructorwho has trained such GP stars as Norick Abe. From Katsunori Ookawara, Motor SportsPromotion Div., YMC

The Huambo factory where the YB50 goes into production

(From right) factorymanager, Ms. AnaMaria, the Minister ofAdministration of theTerritory, Mr. Mute-ka, Ulisses president,Mr. Amoes, YMC’sExecutive officer, Mr.Araki

Motocross spectatorslook on in excitement

The motocross race dou-bled as the Angolannational championship

The concert kept theexcitement runninglate into the night

Participants line up to start their circuit runs under the watchful eyes ofthe instructors

We always welcome your contributions.

Write to Chief Editor Maki Yamaguchi of the PR Division,

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501 Japan,

<[email protected]>


France

Former World GP rider DominiqueSarron dominated the first edition ofthe Moto Tour Rally, a 2,300 km

rally competition with 20 timed stages onclosed roads and race tracks run betweenParis and Toulon in southern France fromOctober 5 to 11, 2003. Riding a YamahaYZF-R6 for Team Yamaha Motor FranceS.A. (YMF), Sarron finished ahead ofanother Yamaha rider, Serge Nuques, rid-

ing a Yamaha WR 450 F. The victory in the scooter category went to EtienneGodard on a Yamaha T Max. The 7-day rally stopped each evening in a differentcity and around 50,000 spectators were on hand for the arrival in Toulon. In another popular race, David Frétigné of Team Yamaha Motor France Iponewon the 6th edition of the AMVShamrock Rally, which took placefrom November 1 to 9, 2003. Thiswas the second straight Shamrockwin for Frétigné, and he did it on thenew Yamaha WR450F 2 TRAC. Infact, Yamaha riders swept the win-ners podium with Richard Chatelain2nd on a WR450F and YMF’s presi-dent and Paris Dakar legend Jean-Claude Olivier finishing 3rd on theWR450F 2 TRAC. Yamaha also won the ATV division with David Mandaironaboard a Yamaha YFM660R.From Communication and Events Department of YMF, France

YMF teams score major wins atMoto Tour and Shamrock

The Netherlands

ATV riding course for Dutch dealers

Y amaha Motor Nederland B.V. (YMNL) set up a special ridingground near its head offices at Schiphol-Rijk to hold the coun-try’s first “ATV RiderCourse.” The purpose of this course is to

train Yamaha ATV dealers from around the Netherlands in the tech-niques and knowledge necessary for proper and enjoyable ATV riding.Some 27 dealers participated in four 1-day sessions held from Sept. 30to Oct. 3. The instructor was YMNL’s Mr. Gerard ten Hoopen, who hascompleted the Instructor Preparation course offered by the US-basedATV Safety Institute along with representatives from all the EuropeanYamaha distributors. The Dutch dealers who took the course were very

positive about the results, saying that it has made them much moreaware of the importance of correct ATV riding practices. Now it will betheir job to communicate what they have learned to their customers whopurchase Yamaha ATVs. As with all Yamaha product lines, ATV usereducation is an important element contributing to real customer satisfac-tion. From Ferdinand Altenburg, YMNL, the Netherlands

The performances of the Yamaha WR450F 2 TRACsridden by Frétigné and YMF’s president Olivier provedthe reliability of the 2-wheel drive function

Dominique Sarron dominated the Moto TourRally with the YZF-R6

Dutch Yamaha dealersreceive ATV Rider-Course training nearthe YMNL headquartersin Schiphol-Rijk

EritreaFirst local YRS event high-lights Yamaha 3S

T he North African country of Eritrea was recently thesite of a Yamaha Riding School program, held for thefirst time in the country’s capital, Asmara. Organizedby the local Eritrean distributor Anberbeb Share Co. andYMC’s OMDO, the event offered instruction in proper tech-niques to improve riding skills. Forty-nine participants select-ed from 13 organizations using Yamaha motorcycles like thepolice and government agencies took part in the 1-day coursein three groups fromOctober 15 to 17. Besidestraining in riding tech-niques, the participantsalso received instructionin regular machineinspection and mainte-nance. All the partici-pants agreed it was ahighly worthwhile expe-rience. And, coverage of the event on prime-time news pro-grams gave the Yamaha brand some very favorable exposure.TV viewers in Eritrea have now had a look at one of the waysYamaha’s 3S policy and its post-purchase user support works.And many have surely gotten a stronger image of Yamaha asthe brand that really cares about customer satisfaction. From Kazuomi Hanabusa, OMDO, YMC

The satisfied participants in Eritrea’s first Yama-ha Riding School course

Germany

A t a ceremony on Nov. 15 inBonn, Germany, YamahaMotor Deutschland GmbH

(YMG) President, Mr. Toru Iribe,received a prize of the DeutscherMotor Sport Bund (DMSB) for out-standing contributions to nationaland international motor sports. TheDMSB is Germany’s most important

motor sports organization, coordinating all race events for both automobilesand motorcycles, and this was only the third time the organization has pre-sented this prestigious prize. The two previous winners were BMW, for itsinvolvement in F1 racing, and Michael Schumacher, on the occasion of hisF1 world championship. Yamaha Motor Germany was chosen for the prize

because for 25 years Yamaha has been the motorcycle company that hasmade the biggest contribution to motorcycle racing, both at the World GP(MotoGP) level and the grassroots level with its Yamaha Cup racing pro-gram. Over the years, such famous German motorcycle racing stars as Mar-tin Wimmer, former 125cc world champion Dirk Raudies and 2000 worldSupersport class championship rider for the Yamaha Motor Germany team,Joerg Teuchert, all got their start in Yamaha Cup racing. YMG was selected for this award by a committee of DMSB officials includ-ing former 2-time car rally world champ Walter Roehrl and five-time motor-cycle world champ Toni Mang. In addition to recognizing YMG’s contribu-tion to the nurturing of great young riders in Germany, the prize also recog-nized the role of Yamaha as the factory behind such GP legends of the pastas Christian Sarron, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Carlos Lavado. From Karlheinz Vetter, YMG, Germany

YMG president Toru Iribe receives the DMSB prizefrom the organization president, Winnie Urbinger

YMG awarded for contribution to motor sports


Senegal

O n October 2, 2003, Yama-ha distributor for theWest African nation of

Senegal, CFAO Senegal, andYMC’s OMDO invited industryrepresentatives, government digni-taries and Yamaha distributorsfrom the region to attend a cele-

bration of the completion of the country’s first exclu-sive Yamaha Showroom, in the capital city, Dakar.Representing YMC at the opening were OMDO’sSenior General Manager Shibata, African GroupLeader Koike and others. A subsidiary of a French-based corporate group,CFAO Senegal is also the distributor of Renault andToyota automobiles in Senegal, and until now therehas not been a separate showroom for the Yamahabranch of the compa-ny’s business. Thenewly completedYamaha Showroom,which will alsohouse service andparts supply func-tions, is designed tostand as a modelexample of an inte-grated dealershipthat contributes to better customer satisfaction inWest Africa. It also features new VI tools preparedby OMDO specifically for this region that will helpboost brand recognition and unity. In conjunctionwith the opening, a West African distributors’ meet-ing was held, giving OMDO a chance to introducethe new VI tools and standards in use in this modelshowroom. From Motoki Watanabe, Africa Group, OMDO,YMC

Long-awaited YamahaShowroom Completed

Yamaha AG bikes still the trusted standard after 30 years

E ver since the firstYamaha AGmotorcycle, the

AG100, was launched in1973, they haveremained the marketleaders in the uniqueagricultural- and farm-use market in Australia,and are still in production, largelyunchanged, 30 years later. The sheer size of Australian farms and thedistances farm workers, or “jackaroos,” needto travel to get around them to herd cattle, fixfences and manage remote outback cattlestations, is the reason that farmers here havealways used motorcycles in addition to hors-es and 4WD cars. Yamaha recognised earlyon a need to produce a motorcycle specifi-cally designed for the Australian farmers’needs, so a group of YMC engineers weresent to Queensland in the early 1970s to

design the first agricultur-al (AG) bike. That first bike theydesigned was based onthe LT1 2-stroke, butsported high mudguards,fully enclosed chain, aspecial gearbox for easiershifting to neutral, a stur-

dy bash plate, dual side stands and handguards to prevent fingers being crushed bytrees and to keep levers intact if the bike wasdropped. It was the first time anyone hadseen such simple yet effective guards, nowessential fitment on all enduro bikes. Overthe years, the AG100 has been followed bythe 2-stroke AG175 and in 1984, the 4-stroke AG200L. So popular are these modelsthat the Yamaha “AG” designation hasremained the generic term for all farm-usemotorcycles in Australia regardless of brand. From Sean Hawker, YMA, Australia

Industry representatives, government dig-nitaries and staff from CFAO Senegal andYMC’s OMDO attended the opening cele-bration

The newly opened CFAO Sene-gal Yamaha Showroom inDakar

China

O ver a five-day period from Oct. 13 to 17, 2003, a Yamaha Tech-nical Academy Silver level “Train the Trainer” (TTT) coursewas held at YMC’s Guangzhou Training Center in the southern

Chinese city of Guangzhou. As the name implies, this course is part ofthe Yamaha Technical Academy (YTA) program and is designed to trainYamaha distributors and manufacturing base service technicians in the

skills necessary to serve as Silver (intermediate) level instructors who will in turn train service people inthe Yamaha dealer network. Acting as chief instructor for this Chinese-region TTT course was GlobalInstructor Li Heng of Zhuzhou Nanfang Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.(NYM), Yamaha’s motorcycle manufacturing joint venture in southernChina. Attending the course as trainees were service men from NYM,Chongqing Jianshe-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (JYM) and Yamaha MotorTaiwan Co., Ltd. (YMT), which also made this course a positive oppor-tunity for cross-channel communication and exchange of ideas. At the end of the five days, two technicians from NYM, one from JYMand two from YMT were certified as Sliver level service instructors. From Kenji Kira, Service Div., YMC

Trainees certified as YTA SilverInstructors

Five service technicians from China and Tai-wan were certified as YTA Silver instructors

The instructors, trainees and staff at YMC’sGuangzhou Training Center

The Vmax owners club ofTeufelsmoor in northern Ger-many, about 50 km north of Bre-

men, is one of the most active of themany Vmax clubs across Germany. Buteven they weren’t quite ready for theresponse when they sent out invitationsfor their 4th International Vmax Meet-ing on the weekend of August 1 to 3.Some 750 owners from around Ger-many, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Norway

The number of bikes gathering over the weekend eas-ily reached 1,200!

Australia

Yamaha AG bikes have been the workhorses ofAustralian farmers for 30 years

The World, a Dream and a Yamaha

T he people at Industria ColombianaDe Motocicletas Yamaha S.A.(Incolmotos) are proud to be mem-

bers of the worldwide Yamaha family andhappy to serve as hosts to two extraordi-nary Yamaha owners who passed throughColombia this past autumn while chasingtheir separate dreams of around-the-worldtours on their beloved Yamaha motorcy-

cles. The first to arrive in September wasMr. Pierre Brichler, a French schoolteacher who had started his tour at thesouthern end of South America in Argenti-na and already had 20,000 km on his 1981Yamaha XT500. Incolmotos welcomedPierre at their assembly plant in Medellinand spent two days preparing his bike forthe remainder of his trip. Next came Mr.


and even from Eastern Europe said theywere coming, many with friends, for atotal of about 1,000 people. Add to thisunofficial day-trip participants from thelocal area and the bike count easilyreached 1,200. A majority of the Vmaxmachines had been beautifully and cre-atively customized by their loving own-ers, and plenty of parts shops set upstands to introduce new customizingparts. There was clearly an impressionthat the Vmax is the most customizedbike ever sold in Europe and an impor-tant symbol of the Yamaha brand.

Thailand

SWITCH campaign turned onat dealer convention

Southeast Asia is one of thefastest growing and mostcompetitive motorcycle

markets in the world and Yamahais showing that it is moving aggres-sively in the ASEAN market withthe launch of a bold new brandingcampaign using the catch-wordSWITCH with the sub-line thatYamaha “Makes Your Life Differ-ent.” As one of the first big drivesof Yamaha’s new “ASEAN Brand

Communication Strategy,” the SWITCH campaign kicked offrecently at the “Yamaha SWITCH Dealers’ Convention” in Thai-land, held on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel in thefamous Pattaya resort area. The 450 Yamaha dealers and 140 mem-bers of the TV and print press knew immediately that something bigwas happening when they were transported in 30 buses wrapped inSWITCH advertisements and arrived at the convention site to find itdecorated with a SWITCH gate and monument. The image charac-ters for this campaign, the popular Taiwanese pop group “F4” werealso on hand to add to the excitement. The dealers were introducedto the new brand strategy whichstresses Yamaha as an “onlyone” brand with a distinctYamaha character that is differ-ent from other makers. Thecampaign will be played outthroughout the ASEAN regionin TV commercials and printads starting with Thailand.From Ryuji Kuwano, MCOperations, YMC

Germany

Vmax popularity spawns colossalEuropean user meet

Yamaha Motor Deutschland GmbH(YMG) also sent staff to representYamaha, as well as a prize for one ofthe contests, and to show that Yamahacares about customer satisfaction. Dueto this summer’s heat spell, campfiresweren’t allowed, but the hot partyingwent on late into the night with livemusic. And, the Saturday afternoon car-avan of hundreds and hundreds ofVmax machines cruising through thelocal countryside was certainly animpressive sight. From Hiromi Kuroi, YMG, Germany

Colombia

Sjaak Lucassen of the Netherlands whohad left his home town in March 2001 andwas almost three years and 123,000 kminto his world tour. What amazed everyonewas the bike Sjaak had chosen for hisworld tour, a 2001 YZF-R1! Asked why hechose a supersport machine, Sjaak put hishand on his heart and said it was his dreamto circle the globe on the bike he lovedbest, the Yamaha R1. Again, Incolmotosstaff spent two days servicing the machine

and welding some fissures in the chassis that tes-tified to the rugged route this R1 had come. From Andrés M. Gómez, Incolmotos, Colombia

Pierre Brichler and histough vintage XT500(1981)

Sjaak Lucassen is prov-ing that the YZF-R1 cantake a world tour too

2nd Global Information Systems Man-agers Meeting launches GIG efforts

I nformation systems managersfrom 23 Yamaha Motor groupcompanies worldwide gath-

ered at the YMC headquarters inJapan over three days beginningOctober 6 for the 2nd GlobalInformation Systems ManagersMeeting. The conference agendaincluded the following presenta-tions: 1) YMC IT Center’s long-term vision, 2) group compa-

nies’ IT mid-term plans and 3) introduction of the Global IT Governance (GIG)concept and how to implement it. The major focus of this year’s conference wasGIG, with discussions on themes relevant to the group’s mid-term IT strategy as itrelates to reforming corporate governance practices. All of the participants cameaway with an urgent sense of the importance of achieving effective IT governanceglobally for better corporate governance. To achieve this goal, we are focused onstandardization, integration and leveling of our IT field in consideration of the localgroup companies’ environments. Looking to the future, YMC’s IT Center will beredoubling its communication and research efforts to formulate and initiate higherlevels of IT integration throughout the global Yamaha Motor group based on whatis best for the entire group. From Akihiro Kawajiri, IT Center, YMC

Japan

Forty-six information systems managers from 23 Yamaha group compa-nies attended the 2nd Global Information Systems Managers Meeting

A SWITCH monument decorated the con-vention venue

YMC Senior Managing Director, Mr. Kajikawa andManaging Director, Mr. Nakajima were on hand tohelp launch the SWITCH campaign

Taiwanese pop group F4 is fea-tured in the SWITCH campaignads


order to heighten the sense that these newYamaha products with their environment-friendly features offer new value and lifestylesas “personal vehicles” for the 21st century. Many visitors were excited to see the newEuropean market models that had already been

unveiled at the Milan andParis shows weeks earlier,but an equal amount ofattention was focused onthe special exhibitionmodel of the “Tricker.”Inspired by the “extremesports” trend and dynamic

BMX bicycle competitions, the “Tricker” is acompletely new type of sports machine with asleek, muscular look like an animal about toleap into the air. This model and its 50cc littlebrother, the “Chivicker,” drew a lot of attentionfrom bike lovers. The 250cc engine powered “Grand Majesty”also drew a lot of attention as the latest of thepopular Majesty models, but what surprisedmany visitors was the next-generation exhibi-tion model scooter “MABRICE.” It features a“Long & Low” design that accommodates tan-dem riding so well and a unique hybrid drivesystem with an electric front-wheel motor toaugment the 250cc engine and provide func-tions only possible with a hybrid. There is alsothe completely remade fashion scooter “Vino”that is sure to be even more popular with theswitch to a 4-stroke 50cc engine.

At the center of the booth visitors saw theElectric Vehicle (EV) display stage designed toshow that Yamaha is the pioneer in this promis-ing new field. Here they saw the “dolsa wind”concept model that surrounds the rider withsound and increases the joy of easy-paced rid-ing by enabling riders to create sound freely asthey ride. Other concept models incorporatingYamaha’s Passol electric scooter technologyexpand the EV world, like the “Pocke” with itsminimal body and multifunction design, the“DIVIDE,” a fold-up EV that becomes an

The 37th Tokyo Motor Show finished its 13-day run last November 5 with an attendancerecord of 1.42 million people, roughly 10%more than the last show and the largest numbersince Japan’s economic “bubble” burst 12 yearsago. It was also one of the most internationalshows ever. Well overa third of the 12,300members of the presswho attended the twopress days were fromoverseas, and thenumber from Asiawas especially large.In all, some 192 auto-mobiles and motorcy-cles made their worldor domestic debuts atthis show, and at theinnovative Yamahabooth alone therewere 13 world debutsand six Japan debuts. The theme of thisYamaha booth was“The Art ofEngineering” and thecontents gave visitorsa look at the presentand future of YMC.This “Art” theme car-ried over to the dis-plays, where themodels were dis-played like works ofart in a museum in

Yamaha Booth Celebrates Yamaha Booth Celebrates

The YP250 Grand Majesty mounts a new-designDOHC 4-valve fuel injection engine on a new framewith 14-inch front and 13-inch rear tires. The engineadopts Yamaha’s high-performance DiASil cylinderwhile the frame makes use of new CF aluminum die-cast parts. (Planned Japanese market productionmodel)

The “MABRICE” features a young “Long & Low”design that is great for tandem riding and sports aunique hybrid drive system. The main rear-wheeldrive is provided by the gasoline engine while anelectric motor mounted in the front wheel hub givesauxiliary power during acceleration for an evenmore exciting ride. (Special exhibition model)

The XG250 Tricker mounts an air-cooled 250ccSOHC single-cylinder engine on a YZ85 size chassis.It gives the image of extreme sports using skate-boards or BMX bikes. The special exhibition model“Tricker Pro” displayed along with it is designed toshow the possibilities of a true action-riding machine.(Planned Japanese market production model)


emergency power source. What did visitors to the Yamaha booththink? Some of the typical commentsincluded, “It was good to see livelymodels like the XT660X and theTricker. The Tricker is especially excit-ing. It’s sure to be popular because itlooks like you could play with it like askateboard,” or “I was surprised byYamaha’s EV section. Until now, mostEVs have looked like an afterthoughtwith no real appeal of their own. Now Isee how far they have come. But it was-n’t just a technical display. Yamahaused its motorcycle technology to shownew possibilities in terms of compact-ness and efficiency.” “The Mabrice surprisedme too. The idea of putting an electric motor inthe front wheel! That may be the most practicalidea of all.”The press also had a lot of positive comments.“This booth communicated more directly thanever Yamaha’s concept of products that reflecthuman sensibilities.” Or, “The Mabrice conceptof an engine and electric motor hybrid is fasci-nating. It is a model that shows the highly prac-tical side of Yamaha’s efforts instead of fanta-sy.” “When you think about the increasinglyimportant role EVs will play in the motorcycle

industry, Yamaha has shown that it is clearlyone step ahead of the other makers. Two-wheeled EVs may still be a thing of the future,but this Yamaha booth made us realize that wehave to start thinking seriously about them andtake measures to prepare the necessary infra-structure.”

attractive art object when wheeled in andparked in a room, and then the “Passol L,” along-distance model of Yamaha’s ground-breaking electric scooter. And, there was always a crowd of peoplearound Yamaha’s revolutionary fuel cell motor-cycle prototype, the “FC06.” Powered by adirect methanol type fuel cell, the FC06 isdesigned as a business- or commuter-use EVwith a 50cc size body. And, due to its electricitygenerating capability, it can also serve as an

“The Art of Engineering” “The Art of Engineering”

The “dolsa wind” has a riding position that lets youenjoy the flow of wind in easy-paced riding and asound system that creates a surrounding soundspace from a speaker box below the seat andspeakers in the handlebars. The rider “composes”the sound with his/her normal riding actions.(Special exhibition model)

The “DIVIDE” is an electric bike designed with a“metal art” concept. It features an electric-poweredfold-up function and can be easily wheeled aroundin the folded position. Here is an EV that doubles asan art object. (Special exhibition model)

The YZF-R1 continues to be in the spotlight

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and design. “The cockpit area, whichcenters around the digital meter panel, ischaracterized by the close grouping ofshift lever and lid opener, the easilyaccessible lid storage compartment, theconveniently located glove box and asecurity system built into the digitalmeter assembly,” explains the designer.You will also find plenty of attention todetail. “With everything from the cleanintegration of the different components,the automobile style squared frontbumper and the way the stern area wasdesigned to accommodate a variety ofdifferent types of use, right down to thedesign of the engine, we have made thisa full-size 3-seater PWC design that alsoexpresses the fun of marine sports.”The 2004 model “FX High Output”comes in Yamaha’s factory racing bluewith graphics that accentuate the flowlines. Meanwhile, the “FX High OutputCruiser” features a colored deck andcruiser seat that expand the excitement ofthese new models. But, both of these ver-sions boast the same impressive bodyshape, designed to show you at one lookthat Yamaha has launched a whole newcategory of PWC that will be known asthe “Marine Cruiser.”

The Marine Cruiser, A Whole New Type of PWCThe Marine Cruiser, A Whole New Type of PWC

Making a big splash when itwent on sale worldwide in thespring of 2002 as the world’s

first personal watercraft (PWC) to mounta 4-stroke engine, the 3-seater Yamaha“FX140” won instant popularity, espe-cially in the big PWC markets of NorthAmerica and Australia. Designed to be a“touring craft with performance,” theFX140 has already sold some 15,000units in the two years since its release.What customers love about it is theunbeatable combination of agile handlingand acceleration, outstanding fuel econo-my and quiet running performance. For 2004, two new FX models have beenadded, with horsepower boosted to 160.Their North American market names arethe WaveRunner “FX High Output” and“FX High Output Cruiser.” Of these, the“FX High Output” boasts outstanding

acceleration and top speed thanks to itsincreased horsepower and lightened hull,while the “FX High Output Cruiser” isdesigned for performance plus long tour-ing capability with features like an extracomfortable cruiser seat. The design concept behind the FX seriesmodels is “an environment-consciousPWC with an overall ‘mono-form’design that expresses cleanness and high-tech engineering.” In the words of one ofthe designers who worked on these mod-els, “We focused on getting lines thatflowed smoothly from the front, throughthe seat and on to the back end in a waythat had a clean feeling but also a sculpt-ed look that suggests the musculature ofa sleek and fast animal. At the same timethe design achieves the sense of active-ness and fun that is inherent in a PWC.”Another point was the fusion of function

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