Yamaha News,ENG,No.3,2005,5月,5月,Sunken Treasure!,Truss Reef,Up Front,Restoring the abundance of the sea and fishery resources – Yamaha artificial fish reefs at work,SESCOM S.A,Carlos Hipolito Murillo,Changing to propagation type fish reef,Kobayashi,Features of the Truss Reef structure,Sonokawa,International Focus - Serial 49,At YMMEX Yamaha means quality products and an emotional experience,Yamaha Motor De México, S.A. DE C.V,Shigeto Mori,Mexico,A history of success,Magdalena Flores,A market of enormous potential,Marketing and events,No.1 in ATVs,Racing Express,Rossi and YZR-M1 win MotoGP season opener with sights set on second straight crown for Yamaha,Racing,MotoGP,Valentino Rossi,YZR-M1,Staying on top as a true champion – Everts wins season opener!,WMX,Colin Edwards,YZ450FM,Toni Elias,Ruben Xaus,Stefan Everts,Brian Jorgensen,Cedric Melotte,World Topics,Dealer meeting unveils 11 new snowmobile models for 2006,Snowmobile ,Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd.,Canada,Nationwide generator dealer meeting plots course for sales growth,2nd Designated Generator Dealer Meeting,China,MT-01 VIP launch creates special images for the Yamaha Brand,Motorcycle,Yamaha Motor France S.A.,Gérard Depardieu,MT-01,France,J. C. Olivier,MOTORRAD readers choose “Bike of the Year 2005” winners,Bike of the Year 2005,Manfred Weihe,Germany,Yoshihiko Takeuchi,YMF celebrates 40 years of Yamaha in the French market,Jacky Vimond,Christian Sarron,Serge Bacou,Stéphane Peterhansel,David Fretigné,Omar Isaak and his YZF-R1 crowned Mexican Superbike champions,Yamaha Motor De Mexico, S.A. De C.V.,Omar Isaak,YZF-R1,Mexico,Sights set on motorcycle sales of 1.2 million units in 2005!,CCS National Team Meeting,P.T. Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia,Indonesia,Customer and Community Satisfaction,YMI dealer meeting gathers 100 top dealerships,Yamaha Motor India Private Ltd.,Libero LX,India,Crux S,Perfect win for Yamaha at 30th Le Touquet sand race,Le Touquet Sand Race,Arnaud Demeester,A production model YFM450 Kodiak conquers 1,500 km in six days,ATV,Red Bull,YFM450 Kodiak,Round-the-world eco tour on the electric scooter Passol,Yamaha Motor Australia,Kanichi Fujiwara,Passol,Hiroko Fujiwara,2006 snowmobile lineup introduced with dealer/press test rides,VK Professional,Russia,Yamaha on highest boatable lake in the world,Marine,Nautical Encounter Titicaca,Yamaha Motor del Peru S.A. ,Peru,Puno City,New record for outboard motor sales!,Outboard Motor,We can help make Yamaha No. 1 in the world!,Yamaha Jianshe Motor Shanghai Marketing Co., Ltd.,YBR125 “Tianjian”,China,Chongquing Jianshe-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,ZY125 “Li Ying”,The Yamaha Tales - Vol. 1,“Snowmobile Attack Team” runs the length of Lake Baikal!,Snowmobile Attack Team,Kazuyoshi Okabe,RX-1,Teruko Miyasaka,RX Warrior,Takahiro Miyasaka,VK540,Edward Kim,Zoom In,MAXAM 250 debuts as “Best Tandem Urban Cruiser”,MAXAM 250

YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD.MAY 1, 2005 ENGLISH

No.3BIMONTHLY

Sunken Treasure!Around the world, Yamaha Truss Reefs are being placed on the sea flooras fish-propagation reefs to help restore the abundance of the sea and

replenish depleted fishery resources

2 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

UP FRONT

Birth of the Yamaha Truss Reef Besides our main motorcycle and marinebusinesses, there are divisions of YamahaMotor creating products for many differentfields. One of these is our Aqua Environ-ment Business Division. As the Aquaname implies, this division is involved inbusinesses related to “water,” beginningwith Yamaha water purifying systems andincluding circulation/filtration systems andautomatic fish feeders for fish farming(aquaculture) facilities. Another product the Aqua EnvironmentBusiness Division handles is the TrussReef, a product that falls in the categoryusually referred to as artificial reefs. Artifi-cial reefs are constructed in sea areaswhere fishery resources have becomedepleted with the aim of encouraging thepropagation of fishes by giving them asuitable habitat and feeding grounds. Theecosystem created in this way helps restoredepleted fishery resources. The Truss Reeftakes its name from its unique structurethat combines long, thin “truss” beams fit-ted together in vertical, horizontal anddiagonal configurations. The word reef of

course refers to underwater reefs like coralreefs that fish inhabit.

The idea for the Truss Reef came about ina rather unusual way. Back in 1988, theidea to build a wave-absorbing seawallwas brought to Yamaha. Unlike the break-waters that protect harbors and the like byshutting our waves, or the “tetrapot” con-crete block walls that are built along coaststo prevent erosion, a wave-absorbing sea-wall is designed to cause sea waves tobreak before they reach the shore and thus“absorb” their power. Because these areunderwater structures that do not stop theflow of the sea waters, they don’t interruptthe coastal ecosystem or blemish theseascape view. Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture, where Yama-ha Motor’s headquarters are located, hasabout 120 km of beautiful white sandbeaches known as the Enshunada coast.This is an area where strong winds pushbig waves up against the coast year-round.For this reason, it has never been used as arecreational beach for swimming and sun-bathing. The idea arose, however, that if a

wave-absorbing seawall could be built off-shore to break the waves without destroy-ing the natural beauty of this coast, it couldbe enjoyed as recreational beaches and anarea for a variety of marine sports. This isthe concept that led Yamaha to begin workon a project to build an underwater wave-absorbing seawall. Eventually the projecthad to be shelved in 2000 because of thesheer size of the investment involved forsuch a large project, as well as the techni-cal difficulties of laying a seawall on theoff-shore sea floor and the limitations ofhow much Yamaha Motor could actuallyget involved in this as a public-worksproject.

Still, Yamaha’s engineers began to wonderif there wasn’t some other type of use forthe know-how they had gained and thetechnologies they had developed in theirseawall project. And, in fact, they hadalready been at work since 1992 withadvice from Japan’s Ministry of Construc-tion on a research and development projectfor an underwater artificial fish reef. Thisbecame the Yamaha Truss Reef.

Yamaha builds and markets a widevariety of products for the land, thewater and the skies. But, no matterhow good those products are, they aremeaningless if there isn’t a field wherethey can be put to use to bring peoplebetter, more fulfilling lives. That is whyYamaha works not only to build greatproducts but also to create and main-tain the environments where they willbe used. In this issue of Yamaha Newswe look at a good example of theseefforts: an artificial reef structurecalled the Truss Reef that is designedto help restore the productivity of thesea in places where over-fishing hasdepleted fishery resources. Proven inJapan’s seas, these reefs are now beingsent to waters around the world.

RReessttoorriinngg tthhee aabbuunnddaannccee ooff tthhee rreessoouurrcceess –– YYaammaahhaa aarrttiiffiicciiaall

Like the wave-absorbing seawall structure,the Truss Reef has disc-shaped brimsplaced along structural bars, which gives ita large surface area that also makes it suit-able as a fish reef, because the disc sur-faces then become places where seaweedsand algae that fish feed on can attach. Withfurther development of the Truss Reefstructure, Yamaha’s engineers were alsoable to solve the main problems of con-ventional block-shaped artificial fish reefstructures, which tended to get buried insand with time or topple over whenstacked up as walls. Unlike these block-type units, Yamaha’s Truss Reef is con-structed in a pyramid shape with a largebase area that prevents it from gettingburied in sand. Also, it will not loose itsshape over time because of its sturdy sin-gle-unit structure. This Yamaha Truss Reef was marketed in1994. And, since then, some 808 unitshave been sold and put in place on the seabottom in 150 locations around Japan.These sales have brought Yamaha up tonumber ten in market share among nearly100 makers in the industry.

From fish-gathering reef to propa-gation type fish reef At the same time that Yamaha’s TrussReef business began to take off, the Japan-ese fishing industry was faced with a seri-ous problem. A lack of control and plan-ning in coastal fishery had led to a dramat-ic decrease in fishery resources andreduced catch. And as a maker of outboardmotors and fishing boats as well as its

Truss Reefs, Yamaha realized that it sharedpart of the responsibility for this situation. “We realized that our marine products soldbecause of the abundance of the sea, and ifthat abundance were lost we wouldinevitably see a decrease in our number ofcustomers enjoying the marine environ-ment and making their living as fisher-men,” says Mr. Yasuhiro Sonokawa of theTruss Reef development group at the AquaEnvironment Business Division, whichhas been handling the Truss Reef productsince 1994. “No matter how good ourproducts might be, they are worthless ifthere is no one to buy and use them. Werealized that we had been looking in thewrong direction. We had been thinking offish reefs as devices for gathering fish to becaught, instead of as devices to encouragethe propagation of fish and the ecosystemthat supports them, and thus restore fisheryresources, ” adds Mr. Sonokawa. This sense of regret about their failure totake a more environment-conscious view-point earlier on, despite being a makerdedicated to “offering Kando and a morefulfilling life to people” in the marine field,led Mr. Sonokawa’s group to begin think-ing about making a big change the orienta-tion of their Truss Reef, to make it a devicethat can help restore Japan’s marineresources. In cooperation with nationalagencies involved, they succeeded inchanging the designation of the Truss Reeffrom a “fish-gathering reef” to a “propaga-tion type fish reef” in 2002.

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 3

sseeaa aanndd ffiisshheerryy ffiisshh rreeeeffss aatt wwoorrkk

Changing to propagation type fish reefIn recent years the role that Truss Reefs are expected to play ischanging. In the past they were only expected to have a fish gath-ering function, but today these reefs are expected to function asreefs that encourage the propagation of fishes as well. Besidesserving as a place where fish can hide and rest and fatten as theyfeed, the Yamaha Truss Reef can also be made to function as a placewhere fishes and crustaceans lay eggs and infants can feed as theygrow. This is done by attaching baskets made of steel wire, which is easyfor seaweeds to grow on, and filling the baskets with scallop or oyster shells,stones and the like.

A Truss Reef with wire baskets that turn the conventional fish-gather-ing reef into a reef with fish propagation function. The baskets comein a number of different types that can be attached to the reef unit ina number of different ways

Steel wire basket

UP FRONT

4 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

Yamaha Truss Reef; from Japan tothe world’s seasLooking beyond Japan, we saw thatthere are areas all over the world facedwith the same problem of diminishingfishery resources. The first such over-seas region that our attention was drawnto was Central and South America. Inthe seven Central American countries,total outboard motor demand dropped inhalf, from about 10,000 units in 1998 tojust 5,000 in 2001. While decreasingfishery resources were not the onlycause, it was clear that demand wasdropping in almost all the areas of theregion. El Salvador was a particularlydramatic case, where demand fell from1,000 units to 100 units inthree years, or just 1/10thwhat it had been. The local analysis of the situ-ation was that the El Ninophenomenon and natural dis-asters like earthquakes and aseries of large hurricanes hadcaused a sudden drop in fish-ery resources, and subse-quently the number of fisher-men buying outboards hadalso decreased. But, in factthe cause was something

else. According to specialistsof Japan’s semi-governmentalagency, the Japan Internation-al Cooperation Agency(JICA), the drop in fisheryresources was the result ofover-fishing in the coastalwaters by fishing boatsfinanced by big investors andusing the trawl fishingmethod. In the past, Yamaha had pub-lished a periodical titled Fish-ery Journal aimed at introduc-ing the advanced fishingmethods of Japan’s fishingindustry in areas like Africa,Asia and Central & SouthAmerica where Yamaha’sOverseas Market Develop-ment Operations (OMDO)was active. The philosophywas that Yamaha should notsimply sell outboards but alsoprovide expertise to help local

fishery develop in ways that improvedthe lives of people in the fishing com-munities. And if that in turn led to moreoutboard sales, all the better. And, infact, Fishery Journal became a highlyacclaimed educational resource that wasused to contribute greatly to coastal fish-ery in many countries.Yamaha eventually realized that theseefforts were not enough, however. And,the depletion of fishery resources anddecrease in number of fishermen that hasoccurred in Central and South Americais symbolic of this fact.

One of the first Yamaha people tobecome aware of the drop in fishery-use

outboard motor demand was OMDO’sMr. Osamu Kobayashi, in charge of out-board marketing in the Caribbean andCentral and South American regions.The field research he was involved inrevealed the over-fishing problem. Helearned that fishermen in some areaswere creating their own makeshift fishreefs by tying anchors to tree stumpswith the root systems attached that hadbeen covered with cement and sinkingthem offshore to try to compensate forthe diminishing fishery resources. Also,other fishermen were having to go out ahundred miles from shore and catchsharks in order to continue making a liv-ing as fishermen. This prompted Mr. Kobayashi to beginlobbying to get Truss Reefs installedalong the El Salvador coast. Through theJapanese Embassy he approached theODA (overseas government aid pro-gram) and the Fisheries Department ofthe El Salvador Ministry of Agricultureand the environmental bureau to try toconvince them of the benefits of theTruss Reef and the need to replenish thediminishing fisheries resources. “We have seen results showing that set-ting up just one Truss Reef on the seafloor has an effect on an underwater areaof 12 hectares. It may sound like anexaggeration, but the effect is like youhave made an Everest underwater. If youinstall the Truss Reefs and gather fishand make the area around it a no-fishingzone, you can create a scuba diving spotthat will attract tourism. And the fishthat escape from the reef area will haveenough of a positive effect to contributeto local fishery, too. But, since we can’tactually show any tangible results and

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 5

there are no statistics from large-scalestudies, we were not able to convincepeople,” says Mr. Kobayashi. Still, he continued to search for ways toget his proposal accepted, and finallypermission was granted by the El Sal-vador government of have YamahaTruss Reef units install in a project thatbegan this April with financing fromYMC and the local Yamaha distributor. “Corporations have a central obligationto generate profit because of their natureas enterprises. But even if you havegood fishing methods and high-perfor-mance outboard motors, you can’t gen-erate profit if you don’t have customers.And in order to create customers youhave to have waters rich in fisheryresources. I believe that it is Yamaha’sjob to help replenish those resources. Todo this, we have to stop thinking onlyabout making a profit from the YamahaTruss Reefs and concentrate on the taskof rebuilding the abundance of the sea.Only when that isaccomplished will thenumber of fishermenincrease, and withthem the demand foroutboards. From nowon our mission willbe to gather conclu-sive data about theresults of present reefuse in El Salvadorand use that informa-tion to show people in other regions thebenefits of this concept,” concludes Mr.Kobayashi.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sonokawa talks aboutother examples of overseas programs inthe works. “We know for a fact now that increasedfishing pressure in Thailand andMalaysia is also causing drastic decreas-es in fishery resources. This situationled to a direct offer to us from theMalaysian government to go down andmake a presentation concerning ourTruss Reef. In the case of our TrussReef business, what attracted theMalaysian government to Yamaha wasnot so much the sheer competitivenessof the product itself as Yamaha’s totalreputation as a maker of outboards and

fish-farming systemsand equipment and as acompany that cares forand maintains its mar-kets with after-service.And, of course, since we are a makerthat wants to encourage development ofall aspects of the marine environment,we also included in our presentation notonly the fishery benefits but also theidea of using the Truss Reefs to creatediving spots that have attraction in thetourism sector and the possibility of col-laboration with resort hotels. TheMalaysian government officials werepleased with this concept too. The pro-ject has now advanced to the stagewhere Malaysian officials will be com-ing to observe actual Truss Reef instal-lations in Japan’s waters. I hope the day

Features of the Truss Reef structureDespite its complex appearance, the Truss Reef actuallyhas only three basic types of parts and is very simple andeasy to assemble. The structure consists of the bars, thebrims that are attached to the bars and joint balls that areused to assemble the bars into the pyramid-shaped struc-tures. What’s more, these parts are easy to make by sim-ply pouring concrete into a mold and letting it set. Thismeans the Truss Reef parts can be made anywhere, aslong as you have concrete and the molds. The parts don’teven need to be made in a factory. About the simple structure, Mr. Sonokawa says: “In thefuture we expect to see these Truss Reefs used all overthe world, so we developed them in a way that anyone canmake and assemble them locally in a simple process. Ithink these reefs will be meaningful not because we atYamaha make and export them but because they can bemade by local people themselves, wherever fishermen arefaced with a crisis of diminishing f isheryresources. Also, because these are man-madedevices that are being set out on the sea floor tohelp restore the natural ecosystem, it is best ifthey are made of materials that will eventuallyreturn to nature. So, we have designed them sothat we can guarantee a functional life of 30years, but after that the materials they are madeof decompose and return to nature.”

will come soon when Yamaha TrussReefs are contributing to the creation ofa richer marine environment and ahealthier marine market not only inCentral and South America but in theASEAN region as well,” concludes Mr.Sonokawa. If the Yamaha Truss Reef business con-tinues to grow and produce results, thiswill be the success of something thatgoes far beyond what can be recognizedsimply in terms of corporate revenue. Itis a much bigger story of Yamaha’sideal of building markets and protectingand nurturing them as they grow.

(From left) Mr. Carlos Hipolito Murillo of SESCOM S.A in El Salvador, OMDO's Mr.Kobayashi and Mr. Sonokawa of the Aqua Environment Business Division

Balls

Brims

Bars

6 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

INTERNATIONAL FOCUSLocation: Estado de México, MéxicoPresident: Shigeto MoriEmployees: 104

A history of successAlthough Yamaha motorcycles have beensold in Mexico since 1988, it was not untilthe 3rd of May, 1991 that Yamaha MotorDe México, S.A. DE C.V. (YMMEX) wasestablished officially. At that time the com-pany began operations marketing 18 differ-ent models with a staff of only fiveemployees from a small office of 32 m2.From 1991 to 1994, YMMEX grew con-stantly and consolidated a wide distributionnetwork through which we reached recordsales of 11,000 units annually. But, when abig economic crisis struck Mexico towardthe end of 1994, the motorcycle industryalso suffered and YMMEX sales plungedsuddenly to just 2,000 units. In those diffi-cult times everyone worked together with aspirit of comradeship to continue to assem-ble and ship the motorcycles with the helpof all our affiliated dealers. Over the next two years, the Mexicanmotorcycle market lost 70% of its sales.However, YMMEX showed its strength byputting into practice all possible marketingstrategies to overcome the tough businessconditions.

In 1997, a new era began forYMMEX as we started toachieve constant growth anddevelopment. In September 2002,the most important investment inYMMEX’s history took place,resulting in the replacement ofour small SKD (semi-knock-down) assembly line with a CKD(complete knock-down) assem-bly line with the capacity to pro-

duce 30,000 units per year. The main aimof this move is to reduce production costsand maintain an adequate level of productin stock to supply to the market at far morecompetitive prices.The new facility was built in one of themost promising industrial regions of Mexi-co on land of more than 38,000 m2. Thanksto this investment, our company nowstands on solid footing with a bright future.YMMEX has grown its sales network fromabout 30 sales outlets in the 1990s to morethan 120 dealerships nationwide, which arenow marketing more than 40 differentYamaha motorcycle and ATV models, ofwhich six are proudly assembled in Mexi-co. And we are going to continue toexpand our business!

A market of enormous potentialDue to the needs of commuting and trans-port in our big cities and to the demandfor vehicles that make people’s work eas-ier and offer riding fun as well, Mexico isa market of enormous potential formotorcycles and ATVs.Despite the increasing importation ofmotorcycles by Chinese makers, whichgrew enormously between 2000 and2003, Yamaha continues to be one of thetop brands in Mexico with a market shareof 24%, thanks to proactive measures wehave taken in the areas of promotionalactivities and credit financing for our cus-tomers.

In the many small and picturesque vil-lages of the Mexican provinces, visitorsare sure to be impressed by the largenumbers of motorcycles on the roads. Toreach these provincial markets, YMMEXlaunched its ¡TU MOTO YA! (Yourmotorcycle right now!) program for cred-it financing at the end of 2004. Throughthis program we are surely creating big-ger market participation by making creditfinancing available to more and morepeople.

Marketing and eventsAt Yamaha Motor De México our philoso-phy is that we don’t sell motorcycles, wesell emotions to touch the hearts of people.That is why we give a lot of importance toevents through which our present andfuture clients can share the emotional joys,

SERIAL 49

Yamaha Motor De México, S.A. DE C.V At YMMEXan emotional

Our reporter: Magdalena Flores, YamahaMotor De México, S.A. DE C.V.

The YMMEX Junior Racing Team is a big presence on the race scene

President of YMMEX,Shigeto Mori

The home offices of YMMEX

excitement and satisfaction of owning aYamaha motorcycle. And that is why ourmarketing strategy involves organizing avariety of events, from test rides and exhi-bitions to our already famous X-Touringexcursions, which gave us some importantresults by enabling our ATV owners tohave an opportunity to tour and enjoy themost amazing natural scenes Mexico pro-vides. This shows the users that ATVs aremore than just utility vehicles built to laborin the countryside.In the sphere of sports as well, we havemade Yamaha a pioneer in our country insupporting and nurturing young talents inroad racing and motocross. We also have aprogram granting incentives and promo-tions in the Mexican media. Thanks tothese programs, our Junior Racing Teamwon national championship titles in 2004.

No.1 in ATVsThanks to various factors, including thedevelopment of the ATV market throughthe X-Touring trips, we recorded year-on-year growth of 40% in sales in 2004, andwe forecast a growth of another 40% for2005. Thanks to our integrated plan ofmarketing and other commercial activi-ties, Yamaha is now the undisputedleader with a 52% market share for ATVsin Mexico. Moreover, we give safe ridingmanuals in video and leaflet form to ATVriders as part of our integrated concept ofhelping our customers get the most out oftheir Yamaha in terms of recreation, utili-ty and safety. As we look to the future, YMMEX isdetermined to keep building on our proudrecord of over 45% year-on-year growthsince 2000, achieved despite growingcompetition. To do this we will keepworking not only to provide quality prod-uct at affordable prices but also to com-municate to customers the emotional joysand satisfaction of owning a Yamaha.

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 7

Yamaha means quality products andexperience

Tourist sites: There are many sites ready to be explored by domesticand foreign tourists. The Aztec or Mayan ruins are popular as mysticalsites of great cultures of the past. Mexico also has many picturesquevillages, colonial cities and important international tourist resorts likeCancún, Cozumel, Acapulco and Los Cabos.

Typical foods: The chili hot pepper is a characteristic ingredient ofmany Mexican dishes, while the main staple is corn, which is madeinto tortillas. Enchiladas are one of the most typical Mexican dishesand they can be prepared in a variety of ways. Basically they aremade of tortillas stuffed with chicken bathed in mole (spicy hot sauce)and sliced onion, fresh cheese and cream. And they are simply deli-cious!

Natural beauties: Mexico is a country blessed with great naturalbeauty and having all types of ecosystems and climates, from coniferwoodlands and tropical jungles to beaches, deserts and high moun-tains. One important fact is that 80% of the world’s biodiversity isfound here in Mexico.

People: Unlike European countries, 50% of the Mexican population isunder 17 years of age, which represents a big promise for develop-ment in the future. Mexicans are famous for their hospitality and joy-ous outlook. Mexicans have a strong work ethic and our principalvalue is in the family. The family means everything to Mexicans.

México■ Official name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos

(United Mexican States)■ Capital city: Ciudad de México (Mexico City)■ Area: 1,972,547 Km2

■ Estimated population: 105,146,900■ Language: Spanish■ Currency: peso

An Aztec pyramid

Cancún resort

Enchiladas are a typical Mexican dish

The YMMEX X-Touring program is popular among ATV owners

EXPRESSRA

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A year has passed since Valentino Rossi wonhis first race on the Yamaha YZR-M1 in theopening round of the 2004 MotoGP season.At that time Yamaha was the challenger, butnow it is the champion that the other makersare out to defeat and the fans are watchingwith big expectations. Throughout the final official test sessions atthe Jerez circuit in Spain from March 25 to27, Rossi was eating the dust of the Hondamachines. And even on the last day his besttime still stood in fourth place, 0.55 secondsbehind the leader, Honda’s Nicky Hayden.Was it the pressure, or was he just holdingback? Going into race week of the openinground, no one knew. When the qualifying rounds began on April9, Rossi left the competition behind andclaimed the pole position with a record laptime of 1 min. 39.419 sec.

At the start of the final race the next day, 21riders dashed into the first corner to begin therace for the 2005 season title. At the end ofthe first lap Honda’s Sete Gibernau was in thelead, followed by Hayden and Rossi in third.By lap five Rossi had moved into second andcontinued to chase Gibernau through the mid-dle stages of the race at a gap of 0.1 to 0.4seconds. Finally Rossi took the lead withthree laps remaining. But a thrilling last laplay ahead. Half way through the final lap Rossi made abraking mistake that shook his machine andlet Gibernau reclaim the lead. Rossi re-passedhim on the inside and the two continued totrade the lead until the last corner. Rossi triedto slip through on the inside again and thetwo machines brushed each other, sendingGibernau wide. Rossi took the checkered firstand the Yamaha pit and the stands erupted in

applause for the champ. This race showed that Rossi and the YZR-M1 are fast again this season, but it is stillgoing to be a long hard battle to the title andnothing is certain. The only certainty is thatYamaha will be in there all the way.

All photos are from Round one, Jerez, April 10, 2005

“That was an amazing race! … Gibernau set a fast pace and I just tried to stay with himand attack at the end. We passed each other in the fast rights but I got the better exit andthere was enough space for me to pass him in the final corner,” said Rossi

Colin Edwards started in 15th position and managed to work upto a 9th place finish. “The setting for the bike that we found inthe tests and during the qualifying didn’t seem to work intoday’s conditions. It was a hard race for me but we learned alot as a team. Now we have to move on and put this lesson togood use at Estoril,” he said

2005 Road race World Championships

MotoGP

2005 Road race World Championships

MotoGP

Rossi and YZR-M1 win MotoGP seasonwith sights set on second straight crown forRossi and YZR-M1 win MotoGP seasonwith sights set on second straight crown for

EXPRESSRA

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In his first MotoGP race Toni Elias finished 12th to score his first points

Ruben Xaus took a fall on lap one but still managed to finish 18th

2005 MotocrossWorld Championships

2005 MotocrossWorld Championships

MX1classMX1class

Everts said, “I felt strong in the first heat and I was able to control my race evenafter a bad start… This was probably the reason why I lacked the energy andpower to push in the second race… hopefully I can still improve on my conditionas the season goes on.”

The 2005 series of the Motocross World Championshipsgot off to a roaring start on April 3 in Belgium. This was abig race for Stefan Everts as he launched his campaign towin his fifth straight world title since coming to Yamahaand his ninth overall. And lined up on the starting linewith no other aim than to unseat this great champion werea tough slate of rivals including Honda’s M. Pichon,Suzuki’s J. Smets and KTM’s S. Ramon. In the first heat of the final, Everts fell back slight-ly at the start and took until lap four to move into3rd position. On lap seven he moved past B.Townley into 2nd place. Finally, in the middlestages of the race he overtook Pichon and ran on tothe win unchallenged. In heat two Everts finished3rd to win the round, while recording his 80th vic-tory in the World Championship. In this season opener, Everts once again outran thecompetition and started the season like a truechampion. But his rivals Pichon in 2nd and Smetsin 3rd also won big points. What’s more, therewill be one extra round in this year’s season com-pared to last year, with 17 in all. And that means atougher season for everyone. But, Everts and hisconstantly maturing YZ450FM machine are sureto continue showing us great racing, because theyare true champions.

All photos are from Round one, Belgium, April 3, 2005In the MX2, Cedric Melotte on his YZ250FM was able to applyhis MX1 experience and finish 2nd in both heats and 2nd on theday

Everts’ teammate Brian Jorgensen had machine troubleand was only able to finish 12th in this first round

Staying on top as a true champion – Everts wins season opener!

Staying on top as a true champion – Everts wins season opener!

opener Yamahaopener Yamaha

10 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

Canada

Yamaha amazed an appreciative gathering of over 350 dealer representatives with a dynamic introduction of 11 newYamaha 2006 snowmobile models in beautiful Quebec City from February 6 to 8, 2005.Statements of “Unreal....Unreal….I knew Yamaha could do it”….were repeated as the all-new 4-stroke “Apex series,”“Attak,” “Nytro” and “VK Professional” were introduced to a cheering audience. An all-day outdoor consumer displayaccompanied the dealer introduction event. The big smiles and flashing cameras of enthusiastic consumers showedonce again that Yamaha is the 4-stroke snowmobile innovation leader. Mr. Roy Kojima, Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd.(YMCA) President, acknowledged the dealers for their commitment to a strong 4% market share gain for the 2005model year, and 2006 is expected to bring the same outstanding gains. From Peter Swanton, YMCA, Canada

Dealer meeting unveils 11 newsnowmobile models for 2006

We always welcome your contributions.

Write to Chief Editor Rika Niwa of the Corporate Communication Dept.,Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501 Japan, <yamahanews@yamaha-motor.co.jp>

Germany

MOTORRAD readers choose “Bike of the Year 2005” winners On the evening of March 16, the prize-giving ceremony for the prestigious MOTOR-RAD magazine “Bike of the Year” awards took place at the famous Friedrichsbau the-atre in Stuttgart. In these annual awards since 1999, readers have voted for the bestbikes in seven categories: Scooters, 125cc models, All-rounders, Enduro/Supermoto,Chopper/Cruiser, Tourer/Sport-tourer and Sport. The 42,907 readers chose the newYamaha MT-01 as No.1 in the All-rounder category. They also voted the FJR1300ANo. 1 in the Touring/Sport-touring category for the fifth time!From Karlheinz Vetter, YMG, Germany

Dealers with the new 2006 Apex Mountain

Outside at the customerretail display

China

Nationwide generator dealermeeting plots course for salesgrowthOn February 25 and26, representativesfrom 25 of the largestYamaha generatordealerships fromacross China gath-ered at Fuzhou city inFujian province forthe “2nd DesignatedGenerator DealerMeeting.” The firstday was devoted to apresentation of the 2005 sales policies for generators and multipurposeengines and awards for outstanding service shops. The second dayincluded a tour of the Jiaxin-Soqi generator factory. This meeting corre-sponded with the start of spring in China and will surely mark the startof a strong sales season for Yamaha generators.From Takahumi Toda, Power Products Operations, YMC

Yoshihiko Takeuchi (Engine designer FJR, YamahaMotor Co., Ltd.) receives the prize for theFJR1300A

Mr. Manfred Weihe, Vice President ofYamaha Motor Deutschland GmbH,receives the prize for the MT-01 fromMr. Michael Pfeiffer, chief editor ofMOTORRAD

The participants in the generator dealers meeting

France

MT-01 VIP launch creates special images for the YamahaBrandOn 17th February at thefamous Paris restaurantQuai Ouest, Yamaha MotorFrance S.A. (YMF) held aspecial VIP launch of the hotnew Yamaha MT-01.Among the VIPs attendingwere France’s famousmovie star Gérard Depar-dieu, former F1 driversJacky Ickx and Jacques Laffitte, actors and actress, TV casters, andguests from dealerships and loyal customers (CRM), for a total of 400people. Each of the main celebrities got up on stage to start the engineof the MT-01 with its impressive “Kodo” (soul beat) sound in front of thepress and TV cameras. Thanks to this show, the launch was reportedon TV and in many top magazines, linking the MT-01 image stronglywith the famous VIPs and boosting the Yamaha brand image overall. From Marketing Communications Div., YMF, France

Famous movie star, Gérard Depardieu was delighted tobe presented a MT-01 by YMF President J. C. Olivier

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 11

France

YMF celebrates 40 years of Yamaha in the French market

India

YMI dealer meetinggathers 100 top dealerships

On March 5, YamahaMotor India Private Ltd.(YMI) held a DealerMeeting for representa-tives from 100 of India’stop Yamaha motorcycledealerships nationwidein the southern city ofCochin in Kerala state. After an address by YMI’s Presi-dent Yanagi, presentations were made on this year’sbusiness policies and sales goals, followed by reports onquality improvements and service. Then the new 2005versions of the “Libero LX” and “Crux S” were introducedwith changes like a user-friendly fuel gauge and sharperexterior design to boost model competitiveness. Themeeting stressed the importance of sharing informationand working with YMI toward bigger sales volume andthere was active discussion throughout the agenda.From Noriyuki Iwamoto, CV Business Operations, YMC

Some of the top dealers madepresentations at the meeting

Jacky Vimond, Christian Sarron, Serge Bacou, J. C. Olivier, Stéphane Peterhansel and David Fretigné (from left) appeared one byone on stage where their historic models were displayed

As the Yamaha Motor group celebrates YMC’s 50thanniversary this year, Yamaha Motor France S.A. (YMF) isin double celebration mode, as 2005 represents the 40thanniversary of the start of Yamaha business in the Frenchmarket. Since January, YMF has launched a number ofspecial commemorative events and promotions involvingthe Yamaha dealers, YMF staff and of course the cus-tomers. Things began with a special grand-scale holding ofthe 2005 PTW (Powered Two-wheelers) and ATV DealerMeeting from 22-28th January, which gathered as many as500 people at Val-Thorens in the French Alps. In additionto presentations of the 2005 sales strategies and modellineup introductions, the world-famous YMF race champi-ons of the past and present including Jacky Vimond, Chris-tian Sarron, Serge Bacou, Stéphane Peterhansel, DavidFretigné and YMF President Mr. J. C. Olivier, all madespecial guest appearances before the delighted dealers inan emotional moment that brought to mind the company’sgreat achievements and proud history. February saw the launch of an original YMF Web Site forthe 50th anniversary as well. The site will be updatedweekly with historic documents and photos throughout2005, after which the entries will be put together in the formof a commemorative book for YMF’s customers, dealersand staff. Check out the site at: http://www2.yamaha-motor.fr/actu/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=28 (in French)From Marketing Communications Div., YMF, France

Mexico

Omar Isaak and his YZF-R1 crownedMexican Superbike champions

Riding for Yamaha Motor De Mexico, S.A. De C.V.(YMMEX) Team Factory Yamaha on the new YZF-R1, Omar Isaak out-raced official riders from thethree other Japanese makers to win the OpenSuperbike class of the Mexican national champi-onship. “I am very happy with this important victory in thefastest class in the country. This is my 5th title in thisclass since I started to ride this fantastic YZF-R1 in1998. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Yama-

ha and all our co-sponsors for the support we have received. This year we are going to striveto reach further so as to celebrate the 50th anniversary of YMC in an extraordinary way.”YMMEX and Omar Isaak also celebrated a victory in the new Supermoto FMM Championshipin 2004 on the versatile Yamaha YZ450F. From Team Factory Yamaha, YMMEX, Mexico

Omar Isaak #1 won the Mexican Open Superbiketitle on the new YZF-R1

Indonesia

Sights set on motorcycle sales of 1.2million units in 2005!Over the two days of Feb. 22 and 23, P.T. YamahaMotor Kencana Indonesia (YMKI) organized a“CCS National Team Meeting” at a hotel in the cap-ital city, Jakarta. In 2004, YMKI launched its “PhaseII” marketing strategy that takes CCS (Customerand Community Satisfaction) as its core concept.This year the company’s CCS team will be workingto carry this strategy into specific regional programs for the different parts of the country.Indonesia is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing motorcycle markets and the aim ofYMKI’s marketing programs is to reach sales of 1.2 million units in 2005. From Yoshiyuki Takagi, CV Marketing, YMC

Top dealers received awards and met with CCS stafffrom each base to discuss 2005 policy

Dealers take a close look at the new fea-tures of the 2005 models

12 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

France

Russia

Mexico

Many dealers and journalists were happy to get the chance to test ride the 2006snowmobile lineup

2006 snowmobile lineupintroduced withdealer/press test rides

A production model YFM450Kodiak conquers 1,500 km in six daysFrom November 28 to December 3, 2004,Yamaha Motor De Mexico, S.A. De C.V.(YMMEX) decided to put our powerfulYFM450 Kodiak to the test in one of thetoughest off-road events worldwide: the“Coast to coast” race organized by RedBull. Over six days and 1,500 km of adrena-line-powered riding, more than 30 veteranenduro riders crossed from Puerto de Ver-acruz on the Gulf of Mexico to PuertoEscondido on the Pacific Ocean, traversingthe full, challenging spectrum of the greatMexican outdoors, across deserts, wood-lands, 3,000-meter mountains, dirt tracksand beaches.Through it all the Yamaha Kodiak ran mar-vellously without any problems, requiring only oil and tire changes. From Magdalena Flores, YMMEX, Mexico

In March, OMDO’s(YMC’s Overseas Mar-ket Development Opera-tions) Moscow Repre-sentative Office orga-nized a 2006 Yamahasnowmobile lineup intro-duction and test rideevent for dealers and thepress at the TrinitySports Center in Krocus

city on the outskirts of Moscow. Held over a period of one week,the event gave dealers and the press a chance to try out thenew 2006 model “VK Professional” and the much talked about“RX Warrior” and RS series models. Also introduced was the“Rhino” Side by Side 4 Wheeled Vehicle. The test rides were apopular part of the event as well.From Kanichi Tsunamoto, Russia and Middle East Div., OMDO

Participants in the test rides were also givensafety instruction

The first big event on France’s 2005 race calendar was the worldfamous Le Touquet Sand Race run on 8-9th February. Celebrating

its 30th running this year, the annual Le Tou-quet race draws as many 300,000 specta-

tors. This year, those fans saw Yamahariders dominate the competition, fin-

ishing 1, 2, 3 in the ATV category,and winning the main motorcyclecategory with “sand man” ArnaudDemeester as the official YamahaMotor France S.A. (YMF) rider onthe WR450F. In this race, where asmany as 1,000 riders start together

into the first corner, Demeesterscored a perfect win that was his 5th

success at Le Touquet. These victoriesgot YMF off to a good start in Yamaha’s50th Anniversary season.From Marketing Communication Div.,YMF, France

The YFM450 Kodiak ATV broke recordsfor running distance and time in Mexicanenduro competition

“Sand man” ArnaudDemeester outraced 1,000competitors to win the 30th LeTouquet

The Yamaha News editorial desk just received a message from theJapanese couple Hiroko and Kanichi Fujiwara who are presently on atour around the world with the Yamaha electric scooter Passol.

“Hello from Australia! After crossing the USA, we came and crossedAustralia. When we suddenly showed up covered with dust from theroad at the Yamaha Motor Australia offices in Sydney on March 29,we were still welcomed kindly by the company’s President Kato andMr. Nakayama. All the people we met on our Australian crossingwere amazed that we were going around the world with such a littlebike, and even more surprised when they discovered that it was aquiet-running electric bike. And when they got on the Passol androde it themselves they invariably smiled like children at play.Next we are off to Europe, and we can’t wait to see what kinds ofreactions we get there. Best wishes from Hiroko and Kanichi Fujiwara”

The Fujiwaras took four months to crossthe Australian continent from Perth onthe west coast to Sydney on the east

Carry ingspare batteries on aYamaha Majesty between chargingstops, the Fujiwaras were able to cross the1,200 km of the Nullarbor Plain in 12 days

Round-the-world eco tour onthe electric scooter Passol

Perfect win for Yamaha at30th Le Touquet sand race

China

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 13

To have your topic included in Yamaha News World Topics:1) Send us your text or an outline of the contents, making sure to specify who, what, when,

where, why and how details.

2) Also send 1 or 2 high-resolution photos with explanations.

3) Submissions received in Japan by the 20th of odd-numbered months will be considered for the next issue.

Notice of when your article will appear in YN will be made after the editing process. Send yourarticles to me by the e-mail, (Ms.) Rika Niwa, at the address below. E-mail: yamahanews@yamaha-motor.co.jp

We can help make Yamaha No. 1 inthe world!

On February 28, Yamaha Jianshe Motor Shanghai Marketing Co., Ltd. organized agrand-scale dealer meeting in the central Chinese industrial city of Chongqing,drawing representatives from some 500 dealerships nationwide. The next day, aceremony held at the factory of Chongquing Jianshe-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.(CJYM) celebrated the line-off of the first export units of the YBR125 destined forEurope. Both of these events attracted motorcycle magazine journalists and TVcrews from ten media companies as proof of the amount of attention focused onthe Yamaha brand today in the growing Chinese market.The dealer meeting agenda included reports of 2004 business results, 2005 modelintros and announcement of sales goals, as well as presentations on improvingshop design and service programs to build customer satisfaction and sales promo-tions designed to build on the effect of the first Shanghai GP scheduled this year.At the following test-ride event the models were praised for their improved func-tions, performance and styling as well as environmental friendliness and featureslike anti-theft devices in combinations that only Yamaha can offer. More praise wasdirected at Yamaha’s dealer support programs and the rapid pace of product devel-opment to meet changing market needs. Many representatives agreed that theyare now in a position to boost the Yamaha reputation in China in ways that canhelp make it the world’s No. 1 brand!From Hidenori Miyake, Advertising and CRM Dept., YMC

At the test ride venue dealers rode the 2005 models YBR125 “Tianjian” and ZY125 “Li Ying” and alsosaw displays of imported CBU models

A large crowd of guests and media were on hand at the CJYM factory for the line-off of the first export units ofthe YBR125 destined for Europe

Peru

Yamaha on highest boat-able lake in the worldMarch 25, 2005 saw the 3rd running of the Nautical EncounterTiticaca at Puno City, Peru. At an elevation of 3,827 metersabove sea level, Lake Titicaca is known as the highest naviga-ble lake in the world. This event was organized to promotetourism for Puno and hopefully make Titicaca a popular stop onthe PWC competition circuit. In cooperation with its local dealerDolphin Runner, Yamaha Motor del Peru S.A. (YMDP) entered

a GP1300R WaveRunnerridden by six-time IJSBAworld champion NicolasRius. YMDP will continue withevents like this and othersthat bring the Yamaha brandcloser to our customers. From Javier Callegari,YMDP, Peru

Nicolas Rius, Javier Calle-gari (Commercial Manag-er, YMDP) and EduardoPereyra (Manager of Dol-phin Runner)

Mr. Pereyra of DolphinRunner takes a nativeresident from the famousfloating community ofUros for a ride on theYamaha GP1300R

France

New record for outboardmotor sales!For the fourth time in 20 years, Yamaha Motor France S.A.(YMF) sold more than 10,000 outboard motor units in a one-year period. The 10,000-unit mark was topped during the Paristrade show held from the 3rd to the 13th of December, 2004,and YMF celebrated by preparing special T-shirts for five staffto show off their five-digit sales achievement. By the end of theyear they also topped the company’s previous annual salesrecord of 10,228 units of Yamaha outboards in 1990 by eightunits to set a new all-time record. From Geraldine Billot, YMF, France

YMF staff at the Paris trade show commemorated their annual outboards motorsales record in a big way

stroke models: an “RX-1,” two “RXWarrior” and a “VK540.” The team had come prepared to dealwith the harsh climate, but what theydidn’t expect was the problem of run-ning about a third of the 1,740 kmcourse on bare ice. Without the coolingeffect of snow there was a constant fearof their engines overheating. And anymomentary lapse in machine controlmight result in an overturn causingmachine damage and possible riderinjury that could prove disastrous insuch a harsh and remote environment.But, there would be no such disasters, asthe valiant team completed the five-dayrun without mishap and the names ofthe Snowmobile Attack Team and theirYamaha machines were broadcastthroughout the region via Russian tele-vision and radio.

The key to long-distance runs:machine reliabilityThere are many snowmobile teamsaround the world that specialized inconquering hilly cross-country or moun-tainous terrain. But there are few likethe Snowmobile Attack Team whosegoal is to cover long distances over days

Lake Baikal in the central region of theRussian Federation near the border ofMongolia is famous not only as thedeepest freshwater lake in the world at1,500 meters but also for the pristineclarity of its waters. In some regions ofthis vast lake the water temperaturemay only reach 10 degrees C. in sum-mer, while in winter the outdoor tem-peratures of -20 to -40 degrees C. coverthe lake with a thick layer of ice andmake this one of the coldest environ-ments you would ever wish to find. Butthat didn’t stop Japanese and Russianriders of a “Snowmobile Attack Team”from taking on the challenge of travers-ing the full frozen length of this mag-nificent lake this February on Yamahasnowmobiles. The team included Kazuyoshi Okabeand Teruko Miyasaka who had beenpart of a previous expedition that ranthe length of Russia’s Amur River in1997 and crossing Canada on snowmo-biles in 1999, where they were joinedby Teruko’s son, Takahiro Miyasaka.This time they were joined by a Russ-ian teammate, Edward Kim. Once againthe team chose Yamaha snowmobiles,but for the first time they were the 4-

14 YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005

“Snowmobile Attack Team” runs the length of Lake Vol.1

The Yamaha

Tales

and days of continuous running. What isit that makes them take the great risksinvolved in expeditions like this in suchharsh environments for days on end? The team’s leader, Mr. Okabe, explainsit this way: “The reason is simple. Weall love winter, snow and snowmobiles.And we love doing something that noone has ever done before. But to rundistances like this you have to have arespect for the forces of nature and howfrightening they can be. Because we runwithout a support team, an accident thatstops us out there can be a matter of lifeor death. So the most important thing ishaving snowmobiles we can rely on.That is why we chose Yamahas.” Mr. Okabe goes on to say: “I have rid-den not only Yamahas but all thebrands, and I know their strengths andweaknesses. If you are talking aboutperformance, the Yamahas are top-levelmachines, but what really sets themapart from the rest is their reliability. Ofcourse, if you run long and hard enough,any maker’s machine is going to havesome trouble. But with Yamahas you

The Lake Baikal Expedition

VydrinoUtulik

1st Day(distance run:

273 km)

5th Day(distance run: 285 km)

Total distance: 1,740 km

Kazuyoshi Okabe, Teruko Miyasaka, Takahiro Miyasaka, Edward KimRX-1, RX Warrior, VK540Snowmobile Attack Team

YAMAHA NEWS MAY 1, 2005 15

Over looking frozen Lake Baikal under beautiful skies

Baikal!

frightening and some are surprising andthat is what makes the journey reward-ing. And at the end of the day there isalways a sense of deep satisfaction. Forme this is something I only experienceon a snowmobile. I am 61 now and mysnowmobile is one of the greatest moti-vations in my life.” When we asked the team about theirnext challenge they said “crossing theBering Strait.” That would truly be anexciting crossing, from the Seward

don’t have the kind of serious break-downs that will leave you stranded outthere. For people like us who run longdistances, that is the deciding factor thatmakes us choose Yamaha machines. Infact, there was a local team that saidthey wanted to join us, but they wereriding machines of another maker andafter a while two of their threemachines broke down.”When we asked Teruko about whatsnowmobiling means to her, this iswhat she said: “When you are out thereriding over long distances, nature willshow you her many faces. Some are

Peninsula at the westernmost point onthe North American continent to theChukotskii Peninsula on the eastern-most point of Asia. And it will be a dan-gerous one, too. “When we attempt the Bering crossingwe will be depending on Yamaha snow-mobiles again. Because we will needeven greater reliability than everbefore,” says Takahiro. If they are suc-cessful the Kando will surely be greaterthan ever, too.

Terry

Ust. Barguzin

Severobaykal’sk

2nd Day(distance run: 173 km)

3rd Day (distance run: 316 km)

4th Day (distance run: 368 km)

Teruko, Edward, Takahiro and Okabe (from right to left behindYamaha flag). Besides being skilled riders, all had the technical spe-cialization to overhaul engines

The thickness of the ice on the lake was one meter, with icewalls thrusting up at many points, which became obstacles inthe team’s path

The group rested at a hot spring spa at the turn-around point.“We were lucky for this chance to take a bath just in mid-tripon the third day,” said Okabe

Printed in Japanhttp://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp

YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD. Corporate Communication Dept. 2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka, 438-8501 Japan Tel: 81-538-32-1145, Fax: 81-538-37-4250

Z O O M I NZ O O M I N

The first thing everyone noticesabout the new “MAXAM 250” isits impressive “low & long” body

design with its horizontal lines that speakof dynamic motion. In front, the bonnetportion is extra wide and long, while inback there is an added stretch of over-hang. And, you’ll find that there areYamaha ideals in all the features of themachine’s styling. The 250cc scooter MAXAM released inJapan this spring is designed for fullenjoyment of tandem riding. Its primedesign aim was “creating a comfortablespace that the tandem passenger can feelrelaxed in.” And the current trend towardincreased tandem riding in Japan’s cities

that helps maintain an easy riding positionand a rear foot rest that enables greaterfreedom of riding position to prevent thetandem passenger’s legs from touchingthe rider. The horizontally mounted engine and thebody’s low center of gravity give thismodel outstanding stability and ease ofleg reach to the ground, while also achiev-ing a light handling feeling. For peoplenot used to riding a big scooter, the lowerline of sight will surely be reassuring aswell. “The great look says it all!” That was theoverwhelming reaction of the people at thetest ride events. Riders young and olderwere equally impressed by the “low &long” body design. It was clear that the newMAXAM 250 is going to be the new sensa-tion of the Japanese big scooter market.

led the Yamaha development team tochoose the key words “Best TandemUrban Cruiser” when they started work onthis model. The quest for maximum comfort in tan-dem riding included designing a new seatthat eliminates the “step” between themain and tandem portions of the seat asmuch as possible. This turned out to be adesign touch that passengers really appre-ciate. At the introductory test ride eventsfor dealers, there was unanimously praisethe MAXAM’s design as one that is sureto be great for tandem riding. Among thereasons are the choice of seat cushioningmaterial with comfort on longer rides inmind, the standard-equipment back rest

MAXAM 250 debuts as “Best Tandem Urban Cruiser”MAXAM 250 debuts as “Best Tandem Urban Cruiser”