Yamaha YA-1

The Yamaha YA-1 is the first motorcycle produced by the Japanese in 1955 by the Yamaha Motor Company.

Background

Yamaha YA-1

In the early '50s, after having to replace the factories for the production of musical instruments, severely damaged during the war, Yamaha was facing the industrial conversion of factory machines, with mechanical precision, previously used for the production of propellers for aircraft of the Imperial Navy, such as the A6M Zero and the biplane Yokosuka K5Y.

Equally to all European countries, including Japan after World War II, the motorcycle had become a widespread means of transportation, thanks to the constructive simplicity and economy of purchase and use. Japanese motorcycle production having increased from 10,000 units in 1950 to 750,000 in 1954, with over 100 domestic manufacturers.

Due to the strong expansion of the market, Yamaha Motor Co. decided to convert to the production of motorcycles, and found in the beginning the need to grapple with high specifications, for customers with elite, rather narrow needs, especially in view of the reduced number of production potential.

It was the beginning of 1955 when they presented the YA-1, a motorcycle built with particular attention to materials and assembly, enhanced by sophisticated engineering, strongly inspired by the contemporary model DKW RT125, and driven by a two-stroke, single cylinder, 125 cc.

In January 1955 the Hamakita Factory of Nippon Gakki was built and production began on the YA-1. With confidence in the new direction that Genichi Kawakami (Yamaha Motor's first president) was taking, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. was founded on July 1, 1955. Staffed by 274 employees, the new motorcycle manufacturer built about 200 units per month.

That same year, Yamaha entered its new YA-1, known to Japanese enthusiasts as Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly", in the two biggest race events in Japan. They were the 3rd Mt. Fuji Ascent Race and the 1st Asama Highlands Race. In these debut races, Yamaha won the 125cc class. And the following year, the YA-1 won again in both the Light and Ultra-light classes of the Asama Highlands Race. This bike established a reputation as a well-built and reliable machine. The racing successes helped boost its popularity and a second machine, the 175cc YC-1 was soon in production by 1956.

Immediately used in competitions, "YA-1 won the victory in the prestigious race in ascent of Mount Fuji, held in July 1955, demonstrating that the model was free from defects in youth, except for the price it reached the stratospheric figure of 138,000 ¥, amounting to about 40,000 € in 2005.

The competition models were often painted the same orange-red military aircraft and the "YA-1" was dubbed aka-tombo (in english, red dragonfly), like the famous biplane trainer of Yokosuka.