Saturday, 2 August 2014 00:00
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Yamaha is a name that has been trusted and respected for countless generations. Both in Sri Lanka, and abroad the mere mention of the name in motorcycle communities embodies power, prestige and reliability – all strong hallmarks of the Yamaha brand. However, Yamaha didn’t achieve this success overnight.
The Yamaha Motorcycle story has been a long time in the making, and started some 60 years ago, with Genichi Kawakami. Formed out of Genichi’s passion to start something new, and heralding from his family’s successful musical instruments business, Yamaha Motors was born. Having experimented with sewing machines, automobile parts, three-wheelers and scooters, it was finally settled that the Yamaha Motors; main focus would be on motorcycles.
Success in the Japanese motorcycle industry was no mean feat. Established in July 1955, competition between manufacturers was intense, with as many as 150 different marques competing for survival. Every week new companies were starting, and old ones were folding.
Following Genichi’s words of “if you are going to make it, make it the very best there is,” Yamaha launched their first motorcycle, the YA-1, nicknamed the “Aka-tombo” which translated means red dragonfly. The YA-1 was met with critical acclaim, which saw their new factory churning out over 200 units per month.
After success in racing (and having won their 125cc class events), Yamaha was ready to launch their second model, the YC1 – a two stroke 175cc. This was soon followed by the production of the YD1, a two stroke 250cc.
Yamaha further continued to demonstrate their superiority when they decided to enter the international market – but not before success was achieved in the toughest proving ground of the all – the international racing arena.
In 1958 Yamaha become the first Japanese motorcycle manufacture to enter an international motorbike event, achieving an impressive sixth place at the Catalina Grand Prix in the USA. The same year saw the first Yamaha motorcycles sold in the United States through dealers, until in 1960, Yamaha International took over. In just five years Yamaha had gone from a fledgling company in Japan to exporting motorcycles to the biggest market around.
Over the years since Yamaha has diversified into outboard motors, jet skis, automotive engine technology development (including the Toyota 2000GT and the famed Yamaha Beams engine) and all-terrain vehicles. The constant spirit of innovation is what makes Yamaha the world’s leading motorcycle manufacture, and is proudly represented in Sri Lanka by Associated Motorways Private limited. AMW currently offer the FZ, FZ-S, FAZER, SZR and SZX as part of a comprehensive line up from Yamaha.
Associated Motorways has been Yamaha’s exclusive importers for over 33 years. Established in 1949, a pioneer in the country’s tyre retreading industry, Associated Motorways Ltd., popularly known as AMW, is a highly respected company in Sri Lanka with 65 years of service experience.
AMW’s core business sectors are tyre retreading, automotive sales and after sales, representing some of the best known brands in Nissan, Suzuki, Yamaha, Piaggio, Castrol, BP, Epic, and Sonax, to name a few.
In July 2008, AMW came under the management expertise of Al-Futtaim Engineering (AFE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Al-Futtaim group, thereby aligning itself with the Group Automotive Division’s development strategy and the global strategy.
A large conglomerate in the UAE and a multinational group, the Al-Futtaim group is an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation with diversified interests in automotive, electronics, insurance, services, real estate, retail and overseas.
