Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

=== Days Gone By===   Days Spent with Cars – 9. Our Unusual Development Process Continues and We Go Racing    We did run into a lot of tough problems to overcome. Although it had been decided in principle to not use Toyota’s corporate management structure, we still had to source key parts for the car from Toyota-affiliated parts makers like Nippondenso and Aisin Seiki. We ordered them directly from those companies instead of going through Toyota’s procurement department, sometimes ordering parts with just sketches and technical drawings. Although we would explain they were needed for a high-priority rush job, the suppliers sometimes wouldn’t accept the order so Kawano-san from Toyota and I had to visit them in person and get them to prepare the parts for us. On top of that, there were also problems with processing all the work orders.    Similarly, we’d asked Nippon Gakki to make the instrument panel and steering wheel, but in order to narrow everything down to the final specs by repeatedly building prototypes, we had to explain to the department managers and factory heads exactly what we wanted done. If it was warranted, we sometimes even went directly to company directors to make our requests.    Within Yamaha Motor we were afforded priority status—like the Imperial train—and received special cooperation from the various departments. Even so, the design work was fraught with difficulties, especially with the car’s interior parts and other equipment. It took forever for those designs to be finalized, so we ended up having to shove everything in after the surrounding structural layout was complete.    We also had to make a lot of design changes while building the prototype. Of course, although we were making all these changes, the schedule still had to be met no matter what, so there was plenty of arguing and friction both within and outside the company. As the prototype neared completion, any day a problem arose we would—and without exception—pull an all-nighter to fix it.    Photo: Numerous design changes were made while building the prototype.    <continues>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #cars #automotive #manufacturing #engineering #history 

===What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen===   24. Building the Factory  <continued>    During the war, the site was originally owned by Yamashita Ironworks, a company located in Hamamatsu that was a sub-contractor for Nakajima Aircraft Company. They had purchased the land and built a new factory there to expand their operations. It was run by a company called Daito Kiko Incorporated, and I heard they machined pistons for airplane engines.    It was during that period that I saw many bayberry trees planted on the factory grounds; they were common in that neighborhood.    After the war, Daito Kiko started building hot-bulb engines for fishing boats. The pistons and cylinders they made for those engines supposedly had bore diameters of about 40 cm.    In the summer of 1946, the occupation authorities ordered Daito Kiko to cooperate in the destruction of the partially completed propellers and related materials at the Sakura Factory. Working day and night, milling machines, shapers and saws were used to chop them up.    Shortly thereafter, in an effort to downsize its operations, Daito Kiko was broken up into Tokai Fibers, Yamaya Brewery and Enshu Fibers. In the end, they also sold two of their main factory buildings to Nippon Gakki. Nippon Gakki moved the machines from the Sakura Factory and stored them in these recently acquired buildings.    Our job was to transform what were essentially abandoned warehouses surrounded by weeds and bayberry trees into a modern motorcycle manufacturing facility. Naturally, this task was Herculean in magnitude, but it was also very rewarding.    Illustration: The factory buildings at the time (in 1955).The factory site at the time was inside the bold lines. Part of the Hamamatsu factory today (in 1978) shown within the fine lines.    <ends>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycles #racing #manufacturing #engineering #history #design   

#Yamaha Motor Europe (YME) is proud to unveil the Yamaha Marine European Engineering Centre (YMEEC), our cutting-edge facility that sets a new benchmark in the industry. As the only brand offering both an engineering standard testing protocol and personalised testing for boat builders (Original Equipment Manufacturer - OEM) in Europe, Yamaha is at the forefront of innovation. Located near Rotterdam, Netherlands, the YMEEC offers boat builders unparalleled atmospheric and aquatic testing conditions throughout the year. By centralizing all Yamaha’s resources in one location, the centre boosts efficiency and minimises the need for excessive transportation of boats and equipment. This approach not only streamlines operations but also helps boat builders reduce their carbon footprint. Reflecting on this milestone, Fabrice Lacoume, Marine Director of YME, shares: “It is with great sense of commitment and joy that we open this one-of-its-kind engineering centre to support collaboration with boat builders, through boat testing and homologation. We believe this centre will truly make a difference to boat builders, at the same time contributing to our global marine sustainability goals” Read more: https://lnkd.in/dgf8J2ex #YamahaMotorEurope #RevsYourHeart #YMEEC #YamahaMarine #outboardengine #outboards #marineengineeringtestcentre

For our next newsletter, we look at some of the changes afoot with materials used for our marine products. Unlike vehicles used on land, Yamaha sport boats and WaveRunners have very different engineering and design requirements to ensure reliability and durability while in the water, so moving to more sustainable or recycled materials is not a simple matter of swapping them in and calling it a day.    The engineering duo of Tomoki Ito and Kenjiro Fujii are conducting R&D into fiber-reinforced plastic using flax fiber as a raw material, and they have made significant enough progress in their work to exhibit a SuperJet using their results at the Japan International Boat Show 2024.    “We believe we can expand the possibilities for the material across Yamaha’s many different business fields,” says Ito. Read on to learn more.

=== Days Gone By===   Days Spent with Cars – 8. Aiming for the Tokyo Motor Show  <continued>    For the frame, we would use an X-shaped steel backbone frame made of thin-walled, large-cross-section tubing. The body was a semi-monocoque construction, complete with pop-up headlights. The steering wheel was to be handmade with several thin layers of high-quality wood and the shifter knob would also be wooden. The instrument panel was made of the same quality wood for pianos and given a painted finish in the same way. We chose cone-shaped, non-reflective plastic glass for all of the dials and gauges.     For the hood and trunk lid, we used molded FRP pieces while the other body panels were to be made of hand-formed steel sheet. The Keihin area of Tokyo and Yokohama was the Mecca of sheet metalworking at the time, so we hired the very best craftsmen from there for an exorbitant amount of money to do the work for us.    For the exterior design, Nozaki-san drew up a ½-scale dimensional outline sketch based on a stockpile of grand tourer concepts he’d come up with while studying at the Art Center College of Design in the U.S. He then he photographed the sketch and enlarged it to full-scale. From there, the sketch was transformed into a wooden body buck and used to check the styling and contours for the metal body panels as they were being built.    This was the markedly simple design method we had for the project, employing neither lettering nor even a clay model in the process and only using a few memo-like sketches and outline drawings. For the detail engineering work as well, we prepared everything with memos and sketches. The end result was the unprecedented speed with which everything moved forward.    Photo: The Toyota 2000GT’s interior took advantage of wood’s quality look and feel, employing the mahogany and painting techniques used for Yamaha pianos. The steering wheel and gearshift knob were also made of wood.    <ends>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #cars #automotive #manufacturing #engineering #history 

===What the Japanese Bayberry Trees Have Seen===   24. Building the Factory    On October 22nd, 1954, we booked use of a runway at a Hamamatsu airfield to run the Ministry of Transport’s certification tests for the YA-1. The results showed that the new machine had excellent acceleration and braking, and set a top speed of 76 km/h. The bike set some very high performance numbers for the time. In fact, the test went so well that everything was done after only two hours, something also very rare back then. From such events, you can get an idea of what the general level of motorcycle performance was in those days.    Praise of the bike’s performance gradually spread, giving the sales teams and dealers more confidence in the new machine. Naturally, the expectations and pressure only went up for those in manufacturing.    As a result, the Komatsu Factory that had been nothing more than a warehouse for storing machinery had to be quickly transformed into a factory for production, so I ended up spending almost all my time from autumn onwards there.    I’ve been calling it the “Komatsu Factory” because that’s what we called it since it was near Enshu-Komatsu Station, but that isn’t the official name since it was actually located in the Nakajo area of Hamakita Town. Accordingly, once the factory was up and running it would come to be called the “Nippon Gakki Hamana Factory.”    Photo: See and hear the YA-1 fire up and head down the straight at the Fukuroi Test Course >> https://lnkd.in/gGYUxkq2   <continues>    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #motorcycles #racing #manufacturing #engineering #history #design   

Early this month, Yamaha Motor brought a close to its 5-day real-world test of a Green Slow Mobility (GSM)—small mobility services using electric low-speed vehicles—route between Mikuriya Station (the closest train station to our Iwata headquarters) and a temporary stop for passengers set up among the headquarters’ factory buildings.    Calling on its long track record of success and technological expertise with its golf cars, Yamaha Motor has long been involved in the Japanese government’s GSM program, mainly by selling over 100 Yamaha golf cars modified in various capacities for different uses on public roads in some 60 locations around the country. The GSM initiative is aimed at solving various transportation problems in local areas with services using electric vehicles traveling at low speeds (under 20 km/h), and this test deployment in Iwata saw up to five 7-seater Yamaha AR-07 golf cars providing shuttle services for Yamaha Motor employees at peak commuting times.    “It was really comfortable,” said one Yamaha employee who used the service. “Lately, it’s really hot even in the morning, so getting a ride from the station and not sweating so much was really great. The driver also struck up conversations and that was another nice part of the service.” The results of the test will go toward exploring new ways to use GSM services, whether it’s for helping our employees have an easier commute or how to more effectively aid local traffic infrastructure.    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #electric #GSM #community #commuting #sustainable #golfcars #automotive #environment #employees #engineering 

Next in our series of interviews with the Communication Plaza’s restoration team is Yukihiro Hosoya. Born and raised in Iwata, he had his heart set on working for a motorcycle manufacturer in high school and loved road racing, which led him to a 20-year career as a racing mechanic. He is in charge of maintaining the ever-growing number of vintage motorcycles in the Plaza’s collection.    “To tell the truth, before I came here, I used to sometimes wonder why the company was going so far and spending all this time and money on these old bikes. But even though I’m part of that effort now, I don’t think I should forget how I felt back then. We go that far because we’re not just restoring bikes only to put them on display; we do what we do so that these machines delight our customers and employees, make them nod in affirmation or nostalgia, or even surprise them.”    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #classic #motorcycles #restoration #museum #preservation #design #industrialdesign #history #manufacturing #engineering #technology #craftsmanship 

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. will be closed from August 10 to August 18 for summer break. We’ll be back afterwards refreshed and ready to deliver more news and content from Iwata!       #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #vacation #recharge 

The next model feature from the Communication Plaza’s previous Historical Models Demonstration Run is the XZ400, which represented a radical departure from the typical 2-strokes of the era with its 4-stroke 400cc 70° V-twin. It boasted numerous firsts, such as being the first Japanese-market model with forged aluminum handlebars and it was also the first Yamaha 4-stroke 400cc bike to feature a Monocross suspension.    #Yamaha #RevsyourHeart #classic #historical #cars #supercar #motorcycles #racing #history #manufacturing #engineering #design