Yamaha Motors main office

Yamaha Motors was founded in 1955 as an offshoot of Yamaha Corporation. The company’s first product was a 125CC motorcycle called the YA-1.

By 1963, Yamaha began making a name for themselves in the racing circuit, as well as motorcycle enthusiasts. In 1968, they produced their first 4 stroke motorcycle, the XS-1, which had a 650CC motor.

 The company was an early innovator of the monoshock suspension for offroad motorcycles. In 1974, the Yamaha YA250 came standard with this suspension. The YA250 was one of Yamaha’s best selling offroad bikes until it was discontinued in 2015.

The company has built engines for car manufacturers, including the 1967 Toyota 2000GT and the 1989-1995 For Taurus SHO, but the company continues to insist that they are not interested in manufacturing a Yamaha car or truck.

The company does, however, offer a wide variety of other motors and non-motorcycle vehicles, including outboard motors for boats, snowmobiles, and ATV’s.

 Yamaha also makes scooters, electric bicycles, industrial use unmanned helicopters, electric wheelchairs, Yamaha motorcycle parts and accessories, such as clothing, helmets, and jackets, generators, swimming pools, and water pumps for water slides.

 Company headquarters in the USA is located in Cypress, California. As of 2015, the company listed more than 52,000 employees.