Meet India's LIBERO And China's YBR125

Yamaha News,ENG,No.2,2003,3月,3月,Meet India's LIBERO And China's YBR125,The International Set,Motorcycle,LIBERO ,YBR125,Up Front,It's a New Wave, Call Its Glocal,Yamaha Motor Do Brasil Ltda.,Takayuki Okada,Tianjian,Dazzling success of the YBR125 doubles share in Brazil,LIBERO, a potent package of both fuel economy and performance,Chongquing Jianshe-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,Kazushige Taira,A new YBR125 to offer great handling at an affordable price,Teruhiko Ichikawa,The ideals and facts of Yamaha's global manufacturing system,Motoaki Hyodo,Kinnosuke Hashimoto,Tomoyasu Atsumi,Toru Nishikawa,Keiichi Okada,Yoshitaka Toizumi,Yoshihiko Takahashi,Youichirou Usuda,International Focus - Serial 36,Staying on Top Down Under,Corporate,Yamaha Motor Australia Pty. Ltd.,Sean Hawker,Australia,Sydney,A land of sunshine and sports,Yamaha Motor Finance,Dealer involvement,Quick and easy finance,Joining the TRIBE,Racing sells,ATV success,Marine scene,Exceeding expectations,This Is My Country,Australia,A Multi-ethnic Continent Nation,A wonderland of rare plants and animals,Delicious gifts of nature,Racing Express,Podium Days for Yamaha in AMA Supercross,Racing,2003 AMA Supercross,Yamaha Factory Motocross Team,Chad Reed,YZ450F,U.S.A.,Explanation of Supercross,David Vuillemin,YZ250M,Tim Ferry,World Topics,Guangzhou Motor Show highlights Yamahaʼs comprehensive brand strength,Guangzhou Motor Show,Zhuzhou Nanfang Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,China,YAMA4 excites 6,000 people at its DYL debut event,Dawood Yamaha Limited,YAMA4 (YD100),Pakistan,All eyes on Yamaha booth at Taipei Motor Show,Taipei Motor Show,Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co., Ltd.,Taiwan,Touching Your Heart,Almeria press tests bring rave reviews for the new R6,YZF-R6,Spain,Almeria Circuit,Parts Managers Plan African Business Expansion,African Parts Managers' Convention,South Africa,University Lectures on YMA Business Successes,Yamaha Motor Marketing Co., Ltd.,Japan,Mapping the Way to Global Service Excellence,Global Service Manager Meeting,Yamaha Motor France S.A.,France,MBK Industrie S.A.,Passol Wins Japan's Most Prestigious Energy Conservation Award,Energy Conservation Center,Passol,Director General Prize of the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy,Incolmotos President Named Ambassador to Japan,Yamaha Technical Academy,Industria Colombiana De Motocicletas Yamaha S.A.,Francisco J. Sierra,Colombia,New Spark set to ignite sales,Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.,New Spark,Thailand,Yamaha Managers Tackle The Roof of Africa,Maintaining top market share is the common goal,Marine,Brazil,Winners Chosen in Children's Painting Contest,Annual Yamaha Childrenʼs Waterside Painting Contest,Japan Marine Sports Promotion Foundation,Kazuo Kudo,YNA Awarded for Promoting International Trade and Relations,Yamaha Nutreco Aquatech Co., Ltd.,Nutreco Holding N.V.,Asian Golf Car distributorsget look at new G-MAX,Golf Car,1st Asia Golf Car Sales Meeting,Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corp. of America,G-MAX 4-STROKE,Malaysia,Johor Bahru,G-Max 48V,What's New,Environment-friendly products color Tokyo Boat Show green,Tokyo International Boat Show,CR-33,The Sea – One-of-a-kind Weekends,MJ-FX140 CRUISER,Z240A,Zoom In,New RX Warrior Expands the World of 4-Stroke Snowmobiling,Snowmobile,RX-1,RX Warrior

YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD.MARCH 1, 2003 ENGLISH

No.2BIMONTHLY

Meet India’sLIBERO

And China’sYBR125

The International Set

2 YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2003

UP FRONT

Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela growingalong with CKD supply to local Yamahaassembly plants in Mexico and Colombia.

LIBERO, a potent package ofboth fuel economy and perfor-manceEver since the first units began rolling offthe assembly lines in October 2002, dealerorders have been pouring in for YamahaMotor India Private Ltd.’s (YMI) new

who run their bikes from 50,000 to100,000 km annually. At the start of production, the necessities ofthe production schedules and cost consider-ations made it advantageous to use globalprocurement to bring in some parts fromJapan and other Asian bases. Then, in orderto reduce the risks of currency exchangerate fluctuations, efforts were made toboost local part supply and make thismodel a regional success with exports to

In this issue we turn the spotlight on two new Yamaha motorcycles that wentinto production in late 2002, the Indian-made LIBERO and the Chinese-made YBR125 “Tianjian.” Both of these models will hit the market this yearand both have something beyond the famed Yamaha qualities ofgreat handling and stylish good looks, and more than justan array of features. Both of these models are the products of newYamaha challenges, in every aspect from the origi-nal product planning to service programs that willsupport the finished products. They are ground-breaking products of the “global production sys-tem” that Yamaha is pursuing. From the interviews with the people involved in theirdevelopment we get a picture of a new Yamahaworld that encompasses global vision and a fullerrealization of local needs than ever before.

It’s a New Wave, Call It

Dazzling success of the YBR125 doubles sharein Brazil The story of Yamaha MotorIndia’s new LIBERO andJianshe-Yamaha Motor’sYBR125 actually begins inBrazil, where in March of2000 Yamaha Motor DoBrasil Ltda. (YMDB)began production of theYBR125. In the space of justtwo years after its debut, thisfirst Yamaha 4-stroke modelin its class doubled Yamaha’sshare in the Brazilian motorcyclemarket and prompted a boost inannual production at YMDB from 30,000units in 1999 to 100,000 units in 2002. The key to this model’s success was thefine attention to detail in its design. Thequiet-running, high-performance enginewas fitted with a balancer to reduce vibra-tion. This, combined with good handlingperformance made possible by an extrameasure of frame rigidity and European-type styling, have made this a model withcontinuing popularity. Its Yamaha durabili-ty has also won the YBR125 a strong repu-tation among business and utility users

The Indian-made LIBERO and Chinese-made YBR125 are Yamaha products that achieve global quality standards while meeting local market needs

YAMAHA NEWS MARCH 1, 2003 3

LIBERO. While taking the YMDBYBR125 as its base, displacement has beenhoned down to 106cc in order to maximizefuel economy, a top priority in the Indianmarket. Still, the primary focus of the prod-uct development team was running perfor-mance and character that would make theLIBERO a joy to ride. The carburetor settings were an importantkey and exhaustive tests were conducted inlocal riding conditions to fine-tune the per-formance. “Indian customers like a

106cc engine, but we found we were ableto maintain enough rigidity to handle a125cc engine and still achieve an excellentbalance by giving the rear arm pivot a rub-ber bushing.” Measures were also taken to deal with thespeed breakers implanted in urban roads tolimit vehicle speed. “At the Yamaha testcourse we got wooden poles of the samediameter used in Indian speed breakers andcreated an identical section of road to runour tests on,” adds Mr. Taira. “This gave usthe data we needed to fine-tune the suspen-sion and raise the ground clearance by10mm compared to the Brazilian specYBR125 so that we got a very good bal-ance of riding comfort and running perfor-mance.” This improvement was eventuallyfed back to the Brazilian and Chinese mod-els as well.Another important point in developing theLIBERO was ensuring good comfort andhandling performance in tandem riding.“We did repeated tests to make sure thatwe had good handling both in the case oftandem riding with two people weighingbetween 75 and 80 kilos and in solo riding.For our tests in Japan where we might havea 65-kilo test rider, we made sure to strap15 kilos of weights on them. And in soloriding we didn’t just load the extra weighton the tandem seat, because that wouldn’tgive the right center of gravity,” says Mr.Ichikawa, who was in charge of tests toensure tandem riding comfort and han-dling.

“Glocal”

smooth-running engine, andwe made a lot of detail refine-

ments to make sure we had thatquality,” says Mr. Okada of

YMC’s engine testing team.“We were constantly online

exchanging test data andopinions with the local

development staffevery 30 minutes or

so, and drawingup and refining

counter measureswith each new bit of input.” There were also fine adjust-ments made to improve fueleconomy. “We took the enginefrom the existing Indian modelCRUX (106cc) and made full-

scale revisions to it on everythingfrom the carburetor, cylinder, head

and the crankcase to the ignition sys-tem. Improving durability and reliabil-

ity was another top priority,” explains Mr.Okada. Measures were also taken to fine-tune theriding comfort. “The base YBR125 is initself a very mature machine, but we were

determined to tailor iteven more to the specificneeds of the customers inIndia,” says Mr. Tairawho worked on the chas-sis development team.“At first there was con-cern that the chassis wastoo rigid for the smaller

YMI’s new Libero, with its sporty looks and performance and environ-ment-friendly engine, won India’s Overdrive magazine’s “Most ExcitingBike of the Year” award. Exports to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepalare planned for the future.

Mr. Takayuki Okada, Engine testing team

Mr. Kazushige Taira,Chassis development team

Mr. Teruhiko Ichikawa, in charge of tandem ridingcomfort and handling tests

Indian customers appreciate the smooth engine performance of the new LIBERO


UP FRONT

A new YBR125 to offergreat handling at an afford-able priceLast November, a month and a halfafter the start of production for theLIBERO, a new YBR125 modelinheriting much of the know-howdeveloped with the Brazilian modelbegan rolling off the assembly lineat the factory of Chongquing Jian-she-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.(JYM) in China. In the Chinesemarket, where many people long toown one of the high-quality modelsof the four Japanese makers’ jointventure companies, in fact it is thecheaper makes that dominate market share.

JYM’s new YBR125 model was devel-oped to answer these market needs, and

although it isn’t as cheap as the imita-tion models put out by locally funded

companies, it is a model that can be adver-tised as having Yamaha quality at an afford-able price.

This is not a model that has just been trans-ferred from Brazil in the same pro-

duction package.The YBR125

has already won asolid reputation in

Brazil for itshandling, its

good low- and mid-speed range torque, its rid-

ing comfort and its low vibration. What wedid was to take this model all around China tosee how far it would go in meeting the localmarket needs,” says Mr. Hashimoto, theYMC engineer in charge of riding tests forthe new YBR125. This was in the summer of2001. We conducted surveys in both the inte-

rior and coastal regions, starting fromShanghai and moving inland to the ruralareas of Zhejiang and starting from

Guangzhou and moving up the coast toZhengzhou. Every day we put owners of imi-tation models on the YBR and asked them tocompare the performance and ride. Ofcourse, we were also making surveys of thelocal road conditions at the same time,” saysMr. Hashimoto. His staff also visited people’shomes to see under what conditions theirmotorcycles were kept, including such detailsas how high a step had to be cleared by peo-ple who kept their bikes inside. “Our surveysof how the bikes are used in daily life gave us

a number of detailed specifications to worktoward, and they also convinced us to workon improving the handling.”“The store of development data and experi-ence gained with the YBR125 in Brazil was abig help when we started work on tailoring itto Chinese market needs. It gave us a clearerpicture of the kind of spec we needed andalso helped reduce design and engineeringlead time. That left us more time to work ondeveloping the kind of handling where cus-tomers can feel the difference and know it’s aYamaha,” recalls Mr. Hashimoto. Meanwhile, the key to getting the affordableprice that the market demanded was partsprocurement. “We began by throwing out theidea of basing the manufacturing and partsprocurement on the original Yamaha designblueprints. Design changes were made to fitthe facilities and capabilities of the parts sup-pliers and some suitable parts were selectedfrom our affiliated suppliers and ethnic-basedmakers in China that were available andcould be improved on to meet Yamaha stan-dards while maintaining a competitive priceand stable supply,” says Mr. Atsumi of theengine development staff. “And, to makesure we had a Yamaha-quality final product,we ran not one but three full-scale benchendurance tests with the completed proto-type.”The same type of efforts were made by the

Mr. Motoaki Hyodo,Project Leader for the tree bikes

Mr. Kinnosuke Hashimoto, in charge of riding tests

The no-compromise quality of the new YBR125 is creating new demand in China

chassis development staff. One of the staffmembers, Mr. Nishikawa says, “In the devel-opment process it is the overall compatibilitythat counts, and there are a lot of things youcan’t know just by looking at the design blue-prints. We had a lot of parts made locally inChina, like frame, fuel tank and brake com-ponents, tires and suspension parts, sent to usin Japan so we could put them together andtest them at our Fukuroi and Hamaoka testcourses for ride performance and reliability.”While retaining some important CD parts, wemade aggressive efforts to find and procurelocally made Chinese parts that met our strictYamaha quality standards.“At first we were looking at the standard localmodels in the Chinese market as our competi-tion and thinking of compromising some onquality in order to lower the price,” says Pro-ject Leader Hyodo, who worked in Brazil onthe development of the original YBR125 andthen headed the development projects for theIndian and Chinese models after returning toJapan. “But from some point in the projectboth the staff here in Japan and at JYMgot into a “no-compromise” mindset.This is part of our Yamaha pride, Iguess.”

The ideals and facts of Yamaha’s“global manufacturing system”While sharing the same basic engine andchassis, all three of these models have beentailored to specific market needs. And partssupply is not limited to one specific factory.Take for example the crankcase of the Brazil-ian YBR125. It was first supplied from ourmanufacturing base in Indonesia, after whichproduction was shifted to India, and Chinaand finally Brazil as conditions required atdifferent stages. The basic design adopts a structure that ismade possible by the fact that the same kindof engine can be manufactured in each coun-try. That engine is based on the air-cooledOHC engine of the Yamaha TTR125 whichis presently so popular in Japan and the USA.Everything from the cam profile to the cylin-der and head meets the same basic spec. At YMC’s Global Production PromotingDivision, Mr. Okada spoke about Yamaha’sglobal production efforts. “The YBR125 wasthe first model to be based on a full-fledged

global production concept from the plan-ning stage, and we have

since employed it forother new-model

launches. Havinga system where

we can shiftproduction

of a certain part to a new regional manufac-turing base when the first base reaches its fullproduction capacity will contribute to invest-ment savings and boost market competitive-ness down the line.” Mr. Toizumi, also of the Global ProductionPromoting Division says, “We have gonebeyond the level of simply realizing localprocurement of parts. We have also madegreat efforts to achieve local supply of thedies and machining equipment used in themanufacturing. In the past we had to ship thiskind of equipment from Japan to the overseasmanufacturing bases. Now we have succeed-ed in local supply that reduces initial invest-ment and speeds up time-to-production.”Marketing is an important part of the mix inany successful product launch and we talkedto Mr. Takahashi, who worked on the mar-keting of the Brazilian YBR125, to find outwhat made it so successful. “We pushed thisas the first model ever developed specificallyfor the Brazilian market and doubled the sizeof our dealer network in preparation for thelaunch. Promotional activities also began afull year before the scheduled release, whichhelped inspire everyone, including the engi-neering staff, so we had everybody frommanufacturing to marketing fired up andworking together like never before. And westuck to a philosophy of building a solid basicproduct with true Yamaha DNA rather than amodel spiced up with flashy features.”“The Chinese model YBR125 is off to a greatstart with orders for 24,000 units in the threemonths since production started in Novem-ber. We are struggling to keep up withdemand. But no sooner had the model hit themarket than we start to hear new requests,like customers asking for genuine parts like aseesaw type pedal that won’t scuff leathershoes,” says Mr. Usuda who works on theService staff. “We are now rushing to getsuch a part in production and to the market.Efforts like this will build customer satisfac-tion in the long run.” This kind of communi-cation with the customers is another impor-tant factor in realizing global quality.

Mr. Tomoyasu Atsumi,Engine development staff

Mr. Toru Nishikawa,Chassis development staff

Mr. Keiichi Okada, Global Production Promoting Div.

Mr. Yoshitaka Toizumi,Global Production Promoting Div.

Mr. Yoshihiko Takahashi, whoworked on the marketing of theBrazilian YBR125

Mr. Youichirou Usuda, whoworks on the Service staff inChina

By mid-2003 when the JYM YBR125 has proved itself in the Chinesemarket, export to regions like Africa are planned. Preparations are nowunder way at YMC’s Cross Trade Promotion Section


A land of sunshineand sportsAustralia is the sixthlargest country in theworld in land area,about the same size asthe continental USA.The country covers vasttracts of red-earth desert and many forestsrich in trails. Australia has more than 7,000beaches, outnumbering any other nation,and the average Australian enjoys 3,000hours of sunshine a year. That’s 70 percentof total possible hours. Of Australia’s totalpopulation of 19 million people, 6.5 millionare registered sports participants. A strong beach and marine based culture isideally suited to the use of personal water-craft and outboard motors. Huge tracts ofnatural terrain and ampledirt riding possibilitiesmean off-road vehiclesare big sellers. And a rela-tively large farm popula-tion provides strongdemand for utility ATVs.Sales figures reflect thisunique Australian envi-ronment. Seven out of the top ten sellingmotorcycles in the country are road-legaldirt bikes. And YMA is proud to say thatthe two top selling bikes in Australia areYamaha’s WR250F and WR426F. Yamahais a clear leader in the outboard motor mar-ket and enjoys a 21 percent share in themotorcycle market. In addition, YMA alsowholesales WaveRunners, Golf Cars andgenerators.YMA’s head office, main warehouse, spareparts and service department and our

posters, brochures, and point ofsale promotional items. YMA has invested heavily intechnology, providing dealerswith cutting-edge business sys-tems such as our Yamaha DealerConnect (YDC). A Dealer Man-agement System (DMS) allowssales people to record dealerissues in real time, which are thenacted on promptly. Every second year, all dealers areinvited to an elaborate conferenceheld in February, where newideas and initiatives are discussedand the latest models areunveiled. This is combined witha top performing dealer incentiveprogram that has provedextremely popular over the years.

Quick and easy financeYMA acknowledges that thecustomer is king and offersplenty to ensure people buyYamaha blue. The plan is notmerely to offer a product but toback it up with a full supportstructure so that the customerbecomes part of the Yamahafamily. This increases the likelihood of acustomer buying another Yamaha productor recommending one to a friend. Forinstance, a customer can buy Yamaha prod-uct quickly and easily using the new 100%YMA owned finance system. YamahaMotor Finance can be arranged for allYamaha products, a service previouslyunavailable anywhere in Australia. If a cus-tomer visiting a dealership wants to make apurchase, they can directly access YMF’scall centre or online facilities on the spot toreceive loan documentation.

Yamaha Motor Finance company (YMF)are all in one Sydney location. Each state

operates semi-autonomously with awarehouse and salesand service office in itscapital city headed byregional sales managersand sales team incharge of the dealer net-work. The New

Zealand market also comes under YMAjurisdiction and is run from a newly builtheadquarters in Auckland.

Dealer involvementNaturally, Yamaha is not the only companyto offer attractive outdoors products. YMAmakes great efforts to ensure that Yamahais the number one brand in each productrange in Australia. These efforts are strongat the dealer level with a constant flow ofmaterials such as model information,

Staying on Top Down UnderAs YMA celebrates its 20th anniversary thisyear, we are proud to be the leader in our coremarine and motorcycle markets in Australia.This has been achieved through a systematicimplementation of effective marketing plans.And, our success has been helped by the qualityYamaha products that outdoors-loving Aus-tralians find so desirable.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS SERIAL 36

Yamaha Motor Australia Pty. Ltd. (YMA)

Location: Sydney, New South WalesPresident: Masayoshi ToyamaEmployees: 250

The YMF Loan ser-vice mark

At the 2003 WR-F launch in New Zealand

Yamaha teams up withSurf Life Saving Australia

Golf Down Under means plenty of coastline to play with

Our reporter, Mr. Sean Hawker, Advertisingand PR Co-ordinator of YMA


Joining the TRIBEAt YMA we make sure the customer willnot be forgotten once the purchase is made.At time of purchase every customer isasked to fill in a dealer survey and invited tojoin TRIBE, the official Yamaha motorcy-cle owners club. Via our successful YMA website, TRIBEoffers members the opportunity to join

other Yamaha owners on CircuitBreakertrack days at major circuits, off-road trailrides, demo rides and at special events suchas the Australian GP, where they have thechance to meet GP stars. The inauguralevent took place at Phillip Island with 150TRIBE members and was a runaway suc-cess. In November 2003 a TRIBE gatheringis planned that will have on- and off-roadmotorcyclists from all over the country con-verging at one location for an event that willfeature all Yamaha products in their naturalenvironments.

Racing sellsYamaha WR and YZ machines are top sell-ers in Australia as a result of intense promo-tion by YMA and our big investment in rac-ing. The successful Craig Dack Racing(CDR) Yamahas are always at the front ofthe pack and motocross success translatesdirectly into enduro sales. The hugely popu-lar Yamaha sponsored Academy of OffRoad Riding, which is run by off-road leg-ends Stephen Gall and Lyndon Heffernan,introduces dirt riding novices to Yamahas.The top selling road bike in Australia is Yama-ha’s R1 and the best selling 600cc machine is

the YZF-R6. This is partly dueto Yamaha’s involvement andinvestment in Formula Xtremeracing. Not only is Yamaha asponsor of this elite road raceseries but Yamaha also domi-nates the front of the grid withthe top riders and team. Thisyear should see Yamaha extendits six Formula Xtreme wins andregain the Supersport title with anew race team. Team Nikon Yamaha will bespearheaded by gun Aussie rider Kev Curtain,with the young former 500cc GP rider Bren-dan Clarke as teammate. Racing is a big part ofYMA’s marketing spend but the results speakfor themselves. Of YMA’s annual bike sales,46% carry the prefix WR, YZ or YZF-R.In addition to press advertising, YMArecently commissioned a series of award-winning television commercials. Thelifestyle storylines, dramatic images andsuperbly executed camerawork producedads that have everyone talking, especiallynon-motorcyclists.

ATV successATVs form an important part of the motor-cycle division and YMA ensures a Yamahablue four-wheeler pres-ence at farm daysaround the nation.Stephen Gall and hiscrew demonstrate soundriding techniques in allthe main rural centres.YMA is committed tothe safe use of ATVsand offers a comprehen-sive 40-minute instructional video free withevery ATV purchased. Current YamahaATV owners can order their copy from ourwebsite.ATVs have traditionally been a utility vehi-cle, but recently YMA has taken up thechallenge of promoting these vehicles as asports/leisure machine. As a result, YMAenjoys a healthy 85% market share in thisgrowing area.

Marine sceneThe marine division represents a strong ele-ment of YMA’s business. In fact, Australiais the second largest wholesaler of outboardmotors next to the US. In addition to target-ing the lucrative fishing market with nation-wide sponsorships of fishing events, YMA

has recently struck a deal with the uniquelyAustralian association, Surf Life SavingAustralia. SLSA is the organising body for284 surf life saving clubs that make 12,000rescues a year. Yamaha is SLSA’s pre-ferred supplier of outboard motors,WaveRunners and Kodiak ATVs. Eachproduct is tailored to surf lifesaving needs.For example, short shafts and surf propellerguards are fitted to the 25XHMS for use inshallow, crowded waters and surf mats andgunwhale straps are fitted to the WaveRun-ners. Kodiaks come with flashing lights,equipment boxes and tow balls. Regular Yamaha News readers will recallthat Yamaha Motor New Zealand Limitedis the exclusive supplier to the America’sCup. An army of international journalistswho descended on the waters around Auck-land ensured that around 200 Yamaha out-board motors enjoyed a highly visible pro-file. This prestigious sailing event providesa huge boost to the image of Yamahamarine products.

Exceeding expectationsAustralia’s outdoor environment givesYMA a unique opportunity to marketYamaha products. This opportunity is firm-ly grasped through every means available,such as promotions, sponsorship, advertis-ing and even cross-promotion. For exam-ple, YMA recently sponsored a hole at theAustralian PGA tournament in full view offree-to-air TV. The prize was not a GolfCar but a YMA Southwind boat. YMA’s market leading position hasbeen achieved by offering products thatexceed expectations. But this positionhas been maintained by offering value tocustomers and dealers that also exceedexpectations. At YMA problems areseen as a challenge to relish and every-one digs in hard. You could say thatYamaha’s Kando philosophy translatesinto a can-do attitude Down Under.

Australian built Southwind SD500 from our Ourimbah factory

Dinner with the GP stars was the first TRIBE member benefit

Kev Curtain wins Yamaha's sixth Formula Xtreme title

YMA's training video isoffered free to all Yama-ha ATV owners

numerous processed foods, aswell as industrial and high-techproducts. Due to the small size ofits domestic market, Australianbusiness has turned its eyes tooverseas markets, thus givingmany of its corporations a globaloutlook. One of the things that makestoday’s Australia distinctive is themulti-ethnic nature of its popula-tion. The native Aboriginal population wasjoined by European settlers in the 19th century,while the 20th century saw a flow of immi-grants from all over the world. In fact, youcould almost call Australia an immigrant nation,because half of its population today was eitherborn overseas themselves or have one parentthat was born overseas (see table). This degreeof diversity makes acceptance of others animportant national trait that shows itself in allaspects of Australian life, from work and sociallife to the home. While the country takesEnglish as its national language, any type of dis-crimination based on nationality, race, religionor gender is prohibited by law.

A wonderland of rare plants and animalsThere are a wealth of plants and animals livingin Australia that are not found in any other partof the world. The thick and relatively flat tec-tonic plate of the Australian continent separated

itself from Antarctica and moved steadilynorth toward the equator between 10 and55 million years ago. During this period aunique flora and fauna was able to devel-op and proliferate in almost complete iso-lation from the rest of the world. Long-term survival on the Australian continentfavored the reptiles with their low meta-bolic rates and also the marsupials, likekangaroos, wallabies and koalas, whoseyoung are raised in the mother’s pouch.Today over 100 different species of mar-supials are being protected in specialwildlife preserves so that they can prolif-erate in their natural habitat. There arealso rare animals like the river-dwellingduck-billed platypus, whose bill, webbedfeet and otter-like fur make it a “livingfossil” among today’s species. Australia is home to some 520 differentspecies of lizards, among which the frilledlizard is especially loved by animal

watchers for its extrav-agant neck fin andcomical running style.In all there are about350 species of birdsthat you will see only inAustralia, including thekookaburra, with itshuman-like laughing

■ Country name: Commonwealth of Australia

■ Capital city: Canberra■ Area: 7.69 mil. sq.km.■ Population: 19.4 mil.■ GDP: Aus. $117,472 million■ Currency: Australian Dollar

Australia

TOP SIX SOURCE COUNTRIES OF BIRTH OF SETTLERS, 1992

Source: Overseas Arrivals and Departures; World Health Organization World HealthStatistics Annual

call, and the cute little fairy penguin.Meanwhile, the continent nation’s flora andecosystems are also highly unique. As of theend of 2000, Australia has fourteen naturalenvironments registered under the WorldHeritage program, including the Great BarrierReef, the native ecosystem of the southernisland of Tasmania, the swamplands ofQueensland and the Kakadu National Park. In order to preserve this wonderful natural her-itage, the government, local communities andindividuals across the country are involved inbroad-reaching and often highly creative con-servation programs and activities.

Delicious gifts of natureIn Australia today, the country’s multi-ethnicmakeup and its inherent wealth of foods arecontributing to a national cuisine that is devel-oping in exciting and unique directions. Withluscious fruits and vegetables from the land, aboundless variety of fish and shellfish from thesea and the now world famous qualityAustralian beef and lamb, chefs have a richpalette of tastes to blend into their dishes,whether they choose to cook in traditionalEuropean styles or work with the spices ofOriental cuisine. Creative mixes of flavors fromaround the world with unique contemporarytwists have also given birth to a distinctive veinof cooking known today as “new Australiancuisine.” Good food calls for good wine, andthe winemakers of Australia have taken advan-tage of the ideal soil and climate conditions incertain parts of the country to produce a fullrange of wines, from very affordable tablewines to prize-winning vintages, that areincreasingly popular around the world today.

This Is My Country

A Multi-ethnic Continent NationAustralia is the only country in the world thatoccupies an entire continent. Positioned southof the equator between the Indian Ocean andthe southern Pacific, Australia occupies a landmass just slightly smaller than the United Statesof America. The country’s name derives fromthe Latin terra australis, meaning the southerncontinent. Overall, the continent’s climateranges from arid to semi-arid. In July, theAustralian winter, the average temperature isabout 12 oC., while in the summer temperaturesrange from 20 to over 30 degrees. Becausethere is little rain in the interior and that whichdoes fall quickly evaporates, most of the popu-lation of Australia is concentrated along thecoasts. Primary industries like coal, cattle and woolmake up a large share of Australia’s nationalproduct. However, in recent years the country isbecoming increasingly known for more diversefood products like fresh-frozen fish, rice and


Traffic laws

Minimum age for driver’s license 16 (in NSW, differs by state)

Minimum age for motorcycle license16 years 9 months

(in NSW, differs by state)

Motorcycle license classes Learner, Provisional and Open

Minimum age for boat license16 (in NSW, differs by state)

Junior licence from age 12 withrestrictions on speed, etc.

Cost of living

Average lunch Aus.$10

Cup of coffee Aus.$2.50

Bus fare(Price for one-ride

ticket in major city)

Gasoline (1 liter) 97 Aus. cents

Common image ofYamaha products in Australia

Technically advanced, stylish

Products that come to mindwith the name YAMAHA

Aus.$3.00

Musical instruments, motorcycles,outboard motors

Country

UK & Ireland

Immigrants toAustralia no.

12,290

Population of sourcecountry ’000,000

61.2

Rate per million of sourcecountry’s population no.

201

Hong Kong 9,820 5.8 1,693

Viet Nam 7,390 69.5 106

New Zealand 7,310 3.5 2,116

India 5,110 879.5 6

Philippines 4,930 65.2 76National hero/heroine

Ian Thorpe – World champion swimmerKylie Minogue – Pop music artist

Local fishermen supply the seafood market. (Photos courtesy of Tourism New South Wales)

The koalas are everyone's favorite

Kings Cross is a centre of nightlifein Sydney (Courtesy of TourismNew South Wales)

Coral reefs off Cairns in the GreatBarrier Reef

Harvest time in the wheat country Cattle ranching is a big industry inAustralia

The Aboriginal art of bark painting

(Above 4 Photos: Courtesy of the Australian Embassy, Tokyo)

Sheep shearing. Australia is a leading wool producer

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The 6th round of the 2003 AMASupercross series in the U.S.A.was a banner day for the Yamahablues as Yamaha FactoryMotocross Team riders ChadReed and David Vuillemin racedto an impressive one-two victoryat the Qualcomm stadium in SanDiego, California, on February 8.These performances thrust Reedand Vuillemin into second andthird places in the ranking as theAMA Supercross series entersmid-season. With this year’s series involvingthe “World Championship” title, Supercrossfans everywhere are watching to see who isgoing to put the pressure on last season’schampion, Carmichael (Honda). The compe-tition has been hot and the fans enthusiastic,as eveidenced by the three sold-out roundsheld so far this season at the EdisonInternational Field in Anaheim, California,home of the current baseball World SeriesChampions, the Anaheim Angels. Carryingthe Yamaha flag in the Supercross competi-

tion this season along with FrenchmanVuillemin (#12) and Australian Reed (#22)is American Tim Ferry (#15). It was Reed who jumped out to a great start,winning round 1 and scor-ing three 2nd place finish-es before his round 6 win.He now stands in 2ndplace in the season rank-ing close behindCarmichael. With a ridingstyle that fits his mildmanner, there is nothing

showy about Reed’s cool-headed riding, andthe consistent speed he maintains means henever has to push to catch up in the closinglaps. That’s why everyone expects this

young Aussie to be inthe running for the titleright down to the wire.Vuillemin missed thewinners podium in thefirst three rounds butmounted it with 3rdplace finishes in roundsfour and five and his

2nd in round 6 that puts him third in theranking. With a style that sharply con-trasts Reed’s, Vuillemin likes to come onstrong in the closing stages of a race. Bothof these riders compete on the YZ250M.Riding the 4-stroke YZ450F is Ferry.After 3rd place podium finishes in thefirst two rounds of the season, Ferry triedout the Yamaha 2-stroke in the final ofround five but returned to the 4-strokefrom round six. Said to be better atmotocross than Supercross, Ferry is look-ing to be the first rider to win a series titleon a 4-stroke. With the exception of twobreaks, including one for Easter, the serieswill run every weekend until May 16.

Podium Days for Yamaha in AMA SupercrossPodium Days for Yamaha in AMA Supercross

Round 6 winner Reed and 2nd place Vuillemin (left)

The entrance to the racevenue

Edison International Field

On the paddock

Explanation of SupercrossSome 12,000 tons of dirt are trucked in to a sta-dium to create a Supercross circuit course with aseries of large and small jumps of different types.At two points in a course there are places wherethree jumps come in rapid succession. The dis-tance between the first and third jumps is about20 meters and the riders try to clear the whole

thing in one jump. Another place wherethe rider’s skills make a big difference isthe washboard type sections made up ofsmall knobs close together, called theWoops. The tickets cost a reasonable $10

which invites people of all ages, families andcouples to come enjoy the weekend action.

Chad Reed races on the YZ250M at Edison International Field

Tim Ferry’s YZ450F

We always welcome your contributions.

Write to Chief Editor Shigeharu Maruhashi of the PR Division,

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501 Japan,

<[email protected]>


In Pakistan, where political reforms are promoting open markets, the motor-cycle market is expected to show continued growth after expanding 138% in2002 vs. 2001 to record total demand of 166,000 units. In this booming mar-

ket, the YAMA4 (YD100), the first Yamaha 4-stroke model produced for the

O ver the five days from Nov. 21 to 25 last year, the top Japanesemotorcycle makers displayed their products alongside those ofthe domestic Chinese and European motorcycle makers and

parts makers at the Guangzhou Motor Show. With more and more citiesrequiring registered license plates on motorcycles, it is becoming diffi-cult to create new motorcycle demand in the Chinese market today.Nonetheless, this year’s show was marked by original designs and dis-plays in the booths of the emerging Chinese makers that accentuatetheir rapidly improving technology and corporate growth. Meanwhile, the Yamaha booth displayed new models like the “Avenue”by Zhuzhou Nanfang Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and the “YBR125” byChongqing Jianshe-Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., as well as the “FZS1000,”which is a model imported from Japan. Also on display was the new

Guangzhou Motor Show high-lights Yamaha’s comprehensive

brand strength

China

Pakistan

YAMA4 excites 6,000 people at itsDYL debut event

The new YBR attracted much visitor attention

Six thousand people in attendance

The YAMA4 getting lots of attention Pakistan’s top vocalist performing

Yamaha “Passol” electric scooterrecently introduced in Japan, allof which made an impressiveappeal for the wide world ofmotorcycling and the technologi-cal excellence of the Yamahabrand. At the Yamaha press con-ference on the opening day,Managing Director Miyao ofYamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC)spoke before a large press corpsabout Yamaha policy for the Chinese market. During the course of theshow, an especially large number of visitors asked questions about thenew “Passol,” reflecting the growing environmental consciousness inChina today.

Visitor traffic at the Yamaha booth was large andactive throughout the five days of the show

Pakistani market, was unveiled on Nov. 4 at an event organized by DawoodYamaha Limited (DYL), Yamaha’s JV company. The event, held in Lahoreand attended by 6,000 people including media representatives, dealers, privateworkshop owners and young bike enthusiasts, was a Yamaha event of a scalenever before seen and included a performance by Pakistan’s top singer.This new YAMA4 has been specifically designed for the Pakistani market. It isbased on the “T105” that has won such popularity in the ASEAN countries andmounts a newly designed fuel-efficient 4-stroke engine while adopting the exte-rior looks of the “YB100,” which has been a status symbol in Pakistan formany years. At the same time it is also a product of Yamaha’s “Glocal” manu-facturing policy for part supply to achieve the right combination of productquality and competitive pricing. Produced at the DYL Uthal factory, this new YAMA4 promises to be a key forthe company to create new demand and increase its market share. “We predict atotal demand of around 200,000 bikes in three years and an increased share ofthat for Yamaha.” commented a company salesperson. “We are working tokeep the percentage of CKD parts from Japan down and make efficient use ofparts from countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Along with this, wewant to develop our sales and service networks and produce the best products tokeep our models competitive over the long term,” he added.From: Satoshi Ito, West Asia Business Div., YMC


Taiwan

South Africa

Parts Managers Plan African BusinessExpansion

Durban, South Africa, was the site of the 2002African Parts Managers’ Convention, held overthe three days of Nov. 18 to 20. This was the fifth

holding of the pan-African parts managers meeting andwas organized with the full cooperation and organization-al skills of the host distributor, South Africa’s YamahaDistributors (YD). The convention’s agenda includedintroductions of new parts and accessories products and seminars aimed at boostingknow-how in parts warehouse management. There were also reports on present marketconditions by the managers from each country and meaningful exchange of informationand opinions on a wide range of subjects. The African parts market continues to hold greatpotential for growth, and to make sure that the most is made of this potential, YMC’s PartsOperations will continue to hold conventions and seminars of this type for parts managersthroughout the African market. From Shigenori Hidaka, C&S America & Africa Department, Overseas Sales Div.,Parts Operations, YMC

L ast year saw a big change in the Taiwan motorcycle market,which already boasts one of the highest per capita motorcycleownership rates in the world. As of July 2002, Taiwan opened its

market to motorcycles with a displacement of over 150cc, which hadpreviously been prohibited in the island nation. The result has naturallybeen a strong spurt in interest in the larger displacement models. That interest was certainly evident at the 2003 Taipei Motor Show, heldat the end of January in the nation’s capital. Nearly 100,000 people vis-ited the show during its four-day run, and many of them had their eyeson the lineups of bigger bikes on display at the booths of the Japaneseand European makers. For Yamaha Motor Taiwan Co., Ltd. (YMT), this show was a bigopportunity to show a fuller range of Yamaha motorcycles than everbefore and make a strong appeal for the Yamaha brand as a technologyleader with more to offer in every class. The Yamaha booth was orga-nized around the theme of “Touching Your Heart,” and besides unveil-ing exciting new models like the “SV MAX125,” a new version ofYMT’s popular Taiwan-market 125cc scooter model sporting an allnew SV engine, special displays were prepared for a customized version

All eyes on Yamaha booth atTaipei Motor Show

of the Majesty 250 that is presentlythe rage among young people inJapan and the state-of-the-art YZR-M1 4-stroke MotoGP factory racer. Other attractions like an autographevent for the popular Japaneseactress “KIMIKO” who is the TVcommercial character for the SVMAX125 launch campaign and thehot Taiwanese talent Mr.Chang

Chen, kept visitors lined up at the Yamaha booth throughout the fourdays of the 2003 Taipei Motor Show.

At the display of Yamaha’s YZR-M1 Moto GP factory machine attracted crowds

A customised Majesty 250 from Japan was alsodisplayed

Managers from distributors acrossAfrica gathered in Durban for the 5thParts Managers’ Convention

Aseries of weekly lectures was given atShizuoka Sangyo University, an industri-al college located in Iwata city, home to

the YMC head office, beginning Sep. 25, 2002. Atotal of twelve sessions were presented by fiveYamaha Motor Group lecturers in the areas ofresearch and development, manufacturing andmarketing.In the field of marketing, Mr. Hiroyuki Yoshino,Senior Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Mar-keting Co., Ltd. (YMMJ) utilized his businessmanagement experience in Australia as the sub-ject for a series of three lectures beginning onNov. 27. He cited the example of IT systems thatwere introduced at Yamaha Motor Australia Pty.,Ltd. (YMA) as the result of research and analysis

Japan

University Lectures on YMA Business Successesof the company’s strengths and weaknesses. Suc-cessful systems were created for the company’sfinance, warranty and parts divisions. This program of lectures began at ShizuokaSangyo University in 2001 and the associatedexpenses such as educational research fees andpersonnel costs are paid by corporations, organi-zations or individuals.Lecturers have beeninvited from local insti-tutions and corpora-tions such as Iwata CityHall, banks and manu-facturing companies.

YMMJ Senior ManagingDirector Yoshino giving a lec-ture to students in the Eco-nomics Department of Shizuo-ka Sangyo University

Spain

A fter the sensational unveiling of the 2003 remake ofthe popular supersport YZF-R6 at the Intermotmotorcycle show in Germany last autumn, the

world’s motorcycle journalists couldn’t wait to get theirhands on the real thing and take it out on the track. They gottheir chance at last at Yamaha’s official press test event heldat the Almeria Circuit in Spain from Dec. 3 to 22, 2002 andmore than 100 journalists and test riders from around theworld showed up ready to ride. Of course they were anxiousto see what the new fuel-injection engine would feel like andhow the new all-cast aluminum frame would handle. Eachgroup of journalists was given a full 3-day introduction to theR6 that included a technical briefing, circuit test rides andfinally a full day of riding on public roads in the surroundingcountryside. The impressions they came back from thoserides with have already been written up in the major motor-cycle magazines and just a quick look will show that the jour-nalists’ praise was unanimous. Almost everyone said the han-dling and the engine response had improved, and that powerhad also been boosted in the mid-speed range. Rave reviewslike the ones these magazines have print-ed after the Almeria event are sure todrive sales when the new R6

reaches the deal-ers early this

year.

Almeria press tests bringrave reviews for the new R6

On the track atAlmeria the fuel-injection R6 provedit’s a whole newmachine


France

Yamaha Motor France S.A. (YMF) and Yamaha’sFrench manufacturing base, MBK Industrie S.A.,were hosts to the 2nd Global Service Manager Meet-

ing over the two days of Nov. 14 and 15, 2002. Following upon the successful first global meeting in 2001, the number ofrepresentatives and countries represented both increased this time to 52 and 35 respectively.What’s more, the meeting was preceded on the 13th by another global meeting of Yamahaeducation base directors from 11 countries. The emphasis of the service managers in this second holding was to prepare the way forglobal standards and cooperation in an even larger range of service activities, and discus-sions were held for the finalization of a medium term plan for service globalization efforts.The representatives also divided up into discussion groups to formulate proposals for an

overall vision of global activities for the future.There was a shared consciousness among the par-ticipants that they were setting in motion activitiesthat will lead to truly exciting service to match theexciting products Yamaha supplies on the worldmarkets.From Kuninori Kaneko, Motorcycle ServiceDiv., YMC

Mapping the Way to Global Service Excellence

Discussion groups debated contents for a vision toguide global activities for the future

Colombia

I ndustria Colombiana De MotocicletasYamaha S.A. (Incolmotos), the Yamaha dis-tributor and manufacturing base in Colom-bia, is proud to announce that the man who hasled their company for the past twenty-fiveyears and made it the leader in Colombia’smotorcycle market, Dr. Francisco J. Sierra, hasbeen honored with the appointed to a 4-yearterm as Colombia’s Ambassador to Japan bythe country’s President, Dr. Alvaro Uribe

Vélez. While Dr. Sierra and his wife, Mrs. Luz Stella Rodriguez, are

fulfilling their new diplomatic duties in Japan, the presidency of Incol-

motos will be assumed by Dr. José Luis Arango, a highly respected

industrialist in Colombia who most recently served as President of the

iron and steel company SIMESA and has been on the Incolmotos Board

of Directors for nearly three years. In more good news from Incolmotos, the star rider of the company’s

motocross team, Juan David Posada, rode his Yamaha machines to his

sixth consecutive national championship titles in the premier 125cc and

250cc classes for the 2002 season. In the coming 2003 season Juan David

will again carry the Yamaha banner to more victories. Meanwhile, the

company is also working to build customer satisfaction by strengthening its

service network with the holding of Yamaha Technical Academy (YTA)

training and contests. Last year ten YTA Bronze training seminars were

held in Medellin and the top service technicians from these seminars gath-

ered to compete in the first YTA Technician Grand Prix ever held in Colom-

bia. The winner was Mr. Edgar Guerrero, Service Manager from Incolmotos

Bucaramanga. Incolmotos will continue to hold these seminars and contests

because they help motivate Yamaha service people around the country while also

showing which service skills need to be strengthened. From Andres Gomez, Communication Department, Incolmotos, Colombia

Incolmotos President NamedAmbassador to Japan

Incolmotos Yamaha President, Dr. FranciscoJ. Sierra will now serve as Colombia’sAmbassador to Japan

Incolmotos motocross teamace Juan David Posada wonhis sixth consecutive NationalChampionship title

“Passol” Wins Japan’sMost Prestigious Energy

Conservation Award

For the first time ever, the Energy ConservationCenter, Japan, has chosen a motorcycle as therecipient of Japan’s most coveted energy conser-

vation prize, the “Director General Prize of the Agency of NaturalResources and Energy.” Naturally, the product this prize was award-ed to is no ordinary motorcycle; it is the revolutionary Yamaha Elec-tric Commuter “Passol.” Released in the Tokyo metropolitan arealate last year in a unique Internet test sales campaign, the “Passol” isan electric-powered commuter vehicle that employs a lithium-ionbattery boasting one of the world’s highest performance levels andsuper-thin design electric power unit, all mounted on a lightweightaluminum frame. The fact that it runs solely on clean electric energymeans that it gives off no exhaust gases whatsoever, while providinga quiet but enjoyably powerful ride. Designed to meet the needs ofshort-distance urban commuting and riding, the “Passol” will runabout 32 kilometers on one charging of the battery. And, thanks to itshighly environment-friendly systems, the “Passol” achieves a rough-ly 60% reduction in CO2 emissions, 90% reduction in NOx andapprox. 80% reduction in SOx compared to a standard 50cc gasoline-powered scooter when evaluated by the ISO Life Cycle Assessment*system.*Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) = An ISO14040 seriesinternational standard forevaluation of the entire envi-ronmental impact of a prod-uct throughout its overall lifecycle from its raw materialsthrough manufacturing anduse to final disposal. It is astandard that aims to encour-age reduction of environmen-tal impact.

Japan

President J-C Olivier of YMF (Center) helped hostthe 2nd Global Service Manager Meeting attend-ed by representatives from 35 countries

Top finishers in the first Yamaha Technical AcademyGrand Prix service technician contest held in Colombia.

Mr. Futohashi, Senior Supervisor,Environmental Affairs Div. (left),and Mr. Nakamichi, GeneralManager, 4th Product Manage-ment Div. (right) at the booth

We apologize for the fact that ALS MARINE CENTER was referred to asa dealership instead of a distributor in the No. 1 2003 issue of YamahaNews (page 12). We are very sorry for this mistake.


South AfricaThailand

“New Spark” set to ignite sales Yamaha Managers Tackle “The Roof of Africa”

In the booming Thai motorcycle market, where total demand grew 44% lastyear to 1.3 million units, Yamaha paved the way for a big boost in sales withthe Dec. 2, 2002 release of the long-awaited 4-stroke, 110cc Yamaha moped

“New Spark” (Thai market name). Featuring the kind of sporty styling youngThai’s prefer and performance that out-runs all the competitors, this new modelalso goes on sale with a line of special customizing parts that are sure to differ-entiate it from the budget-priced models released recently by the other Japanesemakers. At the product launch event, President Ishikawa of Thai Yamaha Motor Co.,Ltd. (TYM) said, “From now on, Yamaha is going to target young people witha high-added-value strategy. The New Spark represents the first embodiment ofthis policy.” The excitement continued at the launch party that evening with theappearance of the hot pop group who will be the New Spark’s ad characters.The success of the launch soon became clear, as first orders from dealers com-pletely sold out the initial TYM stock. Needless to say, the outlook is bright forbig sales increases in 2003. As preparations continue for subsequent launches of the New Spark in Indone-sia, Malaysia and Vietnam, young marketing staff from these countries gath-ered in Bangkok from Dec. 17 to 20 at the end of last year for a “1st New SparkCamp” to work on plans for marketing campaigns for the new model. In theenergy and originality with which the participants worked and shared ideas andopinions, one could sense the big things ahead for Yamaha in Southeast Asia. From Hidehumi Kawai, Southeast Asia Business Div., YMC

O ne of the world’s oldest off-road motor races isstill running as big as ever in Africa, and manyalso consider it one of the world’s toughest races.

So, when four managers from the Republic of SouthAfrica’s Yamaha Distributors decided to test themselvesand their products in the 2002 Lesotho Sun “Roof ofAfrica” race, it was no small undertaking. A three-dayevent, now in its 35th year, that starts with a “Round theHouses” race in the streets of the Maseru, the capital of theKingdom of Lesotho, and a time trial on Thursday, theactual race is competed in two 212 km race stages on thelegendary rugged terrain of the Maluti Mountains rangingup to 3,000 meters. The four Yamaha Distributors man-agers, Peter Corkin, Steve Thompson, Darryl Lovegroveand David Woodley, assisted by Sean Tormey, took on thechallenge of this grueling race to show the quality and per-formance of their Yamaha motorcycles in a tangible, high-profile way. All the bikes they rode, the XT350, TTR125and the WR250F, were stock machines, and the TTR125ridden by Darryl was the smallest bike in the competition.Still, they wanted to show just how reliable, competitive

and fun their Yamahas could beeven in such a tough contest. Andthey did just that, with all fourmembers of their team finishing the558 km with no mishaps. From Hanlie du Preez, Commu-nications Officer, Yamaha Dis-tributors, South Africa

Pop stars added to the excitement of the launch party

Brazil

Maintaining top market share is the common goal

Yamaha marine importers from acrossCentral and South America gatheredfor the first full-scale meeting of Latin

American distributors of Yamaha outboardmotors and WaveRunners in five years. These

meetings, held on Nov. 25 and 26, 2002 inSao Paulo, Brazil, were attended by 29 repre-sentatives from 15 importers from 11 Centraland South American nations. In addition to apresentation of the new medium-term market-ing strategy, the representatives were givendetailed introductions of the new Yamahaoutboard motors and WaveRunner modelsand a chance to test-ride them. The rapidlychanging market conditions throughout Cen-

tral and South America in recent years havemade the importers and dealers all the moredetermined to maintain the Yamaha brand’stop share within the present market condi-tions. This attitude was evident in theexchange of information and opinions seeneverywhere during the beneficial two-daymeeting. From Jin Matsuno, Latin America Div., MECompany*, YMC

The Latin American marine importers meeting drew 29 rep-resentatives from 11 countries

The four proud Yamaha Distributors managersfinished the tough Roof of Africa race

*ME Company is YMC's reorganized Marine Engine in-house company


Winners Chosen in Children’sPainting Contest

Apanel of judges led by the famous Japanese painterKazuo Kudo convened at the Tokyo office of Yama-ha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) on Nov. 26, 2002, to

make the final decisions on the winners of the 14th AnnualYamaha Children’s Waterside Painting Contest. The panelselected winners in the upper elementary, lower elementary,and nursery school categories from among 420 paintings thathad passed the initial judging of the full 7,858 paintings sub-mitted between July and November of last year. Impressedby this year’s submissions, Mr. Kudo said, “We saw somevery original paintings this time with highly individual stylesof expression different from the past, even though manywere coming from the same schools that have submitted inpast years. I believe that getting children to paint like thisis not only a good way to instill a love of nature but also tokeep young minds healthy and active.” Organized again by the Japan Marine Sports PromotionFoundation, the contest’s painting themes were “TheBeautiful Sea” (environmental preservation), “Working onthe Sea” (fishing ports, etc.) and “The Sea is Fun” (marinerecreation). The top four prizes included the Japanese Min-ister of Education and Science Prize, the Minister of Land,Infrastructure and Transport Prize, the Minister of Envi-ronment Prize and the Director-General of the FisheriesAgency Prize. The winning paintings can be seen intro-duced on Yamaha Motor’s website (http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/seascape/2002/index.html).

YNA Awarded for PromotingInternational Trade and Relations

Japan

Y amaha Nutreco AquatechCo., Ltd. (YNA) andYMC’s joint venture part-

ner Nutreco Holding N.V. of theNetherlands were recently presentedthe “Deshima Award” for majorcontributions in the fields of interna-tional trade and relations betweenJapan and the Netherlands. TheDeshima Award, established twoyears ago under the auspices of theDutch chamber of commerce and

industry office in Japan and the Embassy of the Netherlands, is givento companies that make outstanding contributions in export, invest-ment and technology transfers to Japan. The recipient, YNA, is a com-pany founded by YMC and Nutreco in 1998 to supply EP feed pellets(Been’s) and feeding technology to Japanese operators of fish farmingfor yellowtail and sea bream out of its home office in Fukuoka, Japan.By supplying operators with nutritionally balanced feed pellets andYamaha automatic feeders, YNA strives to reduce operating costs andincrease the efficiency of their fish farming operations. As for Nutreco,it is an international company with leading positions in high-qualityanimal and fish feed industries and in fish farming. As companiesinvolved in the important feed and fish farming industries, both Nutre-co and YNA are keenly aware of their responsibility to provide quality,environment-friendly products and services.

Japan

Nutreco’s Managing Director PhilipSmith receives a commemorative giftat the award ceremony on Dec. 5,2002 at the Netherlands Embassy inTokyo

The Japanese Minister of Education and Science Prize wentto this painting by Japanese 6th grader Aya Fujii

The Director-General of the Fisheries Agency Prizewent to 5th grader Ryo Nakadoi, Japan

The Minister of Environment Prize went tofour year-old Stacia Edina Johanna ofIndonesia

The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Prize wasawarded to 6th grader Kazuki Matsushima, Japan

Malaysia

On Dec. 3 and 4, 2002. the 1st Asia GolfCar Sales Meeting was held in JohorBahru, Malaysia. In addition to pre-

sentations of the Yamaha Golf Car marketpolicies and business reports from the various Asian distributors, the gath-ered representatives got the opportunity to test ride the lineup. This was thefirst time that Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) has organized a golf car dis-tributor meeting specifically for the Asian region, which is now one of themain markets for Yamaha brand golf cars manufactured by Yamaha MotorManufacturing Corp. of America (YMMC). One of the highlights of themeeting was the introduction of YMMC’s new models “G-MAX 4-STROKE” and “G-Max 48V,” featuring the biggest power in class and thesmooth-riding Tru-Trak front suspension and mono-link rear suspension tohandle all the ups and downs golfers are sure to encounter on most courses.Besides unmatched performance, the “G-MAX models” are also designedto be virtually maintenance-free. Another important purpose of the meetingwas to build closer communication links and cooperation between YMMC,Yamaha Golf-Car Company, YMC and the Asian distributors. All the par-ticipants agreed that this aim had been served and expectations are high fora positive market reception for the new G-MAX models. From Yoko Yamada, Overseas Sales & Marketing Div., Outdoor PowerEquipment Operations, YMC

Asian Golf Car dis-tributors get look at

new G-MAX

The participants in the 1st Asia GolfCar Sales Meeting

The Tokyo International Boat Show is the bigseason-opening event where maker boothsdisplay what’s new in marine leisure and sporttrends, and again this year the show venuewas packed with marine fans over its four-dayrun beginning on February 8. The theme of the Yamaha booth this time was“The Sea – One-of-a-kind Weekends” and itwas designed as a center for getting out infor-mation about all the products and softwareaspects of Yamaha’s marine activities. Products on display included tenmotorboats, five personal watercraft,eight outboard motors and one sail-boat. In addition, there was a marineaccessories corner and counters forproviding information about variousservices. In the outboard motor sec-tion, four models each of Yamaha’s 2-strokes and 4-strokes that answertoday’s environmental needs wereshown, like the new 240 hp 2-stroke“Z240A” with HPDI. Alreadylaunched in the U.S. last year as the “Z250,”this largest horsepower HPDI model was thetarget of intense visitor attention throughoutthe show’s run. The personal watercraft on display were pri-marily environment-friendly models as well,like the 4-stroke engine powered “MJ-FX140,” a cruising version of the samemodel, the “MJ-FX140 CRUISER,” and thefuel injection 2-stroke “MJ-GP1300R” that

achieves cleaner emissions comparable to a 4-stroke. In the boat section, the lineup of ten modelsfrom various genre, including the domestic-market fishing boat “YF-23” released in theautumn of last year, the “CR-33” cruiserdesigned to offer relaxed boating and the“AG-21” (AeroGear) specially outfitted forwakeboard towing, appealed to a wide rangeof visitors.

At the Yamaha press briefing on the show’sopening day, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Presi-dent Toru Hasegawa spoke about the effortsthat are being made to build a better and morecomplete marine leisure environment withleadership from the national and local gov-ernments around the country. Then he spokeabout areas Yamaha is concentrating itsefforts in. “In order to increase the number of marine

fans in the future and promote the spread ofsound marine leisure, the best thing we cando is to get more and more children to actual-ly experience the greatness of the naturalworld and the fun they can have on the sea orwaterside. Because of this belief, we havetaken several measures in our booth to helpelementary and middle school aged childrenexperience the fun of marine leisure. We havealso included educational contents concerningwaterside activities for teachers who includeoutdoor activities in their curriculums. Yama-ha has also joined other industry companiesin active participation in the “Eco Boat” pro-ject of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructureand Transport for the development of a newtype of boat construction utilizing injectedfoam to make boats that are more easily recy-cled or reused. In ways like this, we will workharder than ever in creating environment-friendly products.”

CR-33 (New model) This cruising boat with its neo-classic designoffers a pleasing marriage of the new and thenostalgic. With features like thrusters frontand rear (rear optional) that enable sidewardmotion and a spacious cabin, this model seeksa new level of piloting ease and on-board liv-ing comfort. Also, a new customizing systemoffers choices of interior and exterior colorschemes and layout to fit the customer’s indi-vidual tastes.

MJ-FX140 CRUISER (New model)Like the MJ-FX140, this model mounts the“MR-1” 4-stroke engine with its exceptional-ly clean emissions and quietness. This is afamily cruising model with hip supports builtinto the seats for greater comfort in longercruising.

Z240A (New model)The “Z” series outboards adoptthe Yamaha-exclusive HighPressure Direct Injection (HPDI)system to achieve dramaticimprovements in fuel economyand emissions while maintainingthe strong points of the 2-strokeengine. Now, the new 240 hpmodel “Z240A” joins the lineup.Displacement: 3,342cc Max.output: 176.5kW (240ps)

Environment-friendly productscolor Tokyo Boat Show greenEnvironment-friendly productscolor Tokyo Boat Show green


New Yamaha products like this environment-friendly fuel-injection WaveRunner GP1300R stood out at the Tokyo BoatShow

The prominent Yamaha booth showed a full range of Yamaha boats, PWCs and outboard motors along with variousmarine information counters

Printed in Hong Kong http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp

YAMAHA MOTOR CO., LTD. Public Relations Division 2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka, 438-8501 Japan Telephone: 81-538-32-1145, Facsimile: 81-538-37-4250

Z O O M I NZ O O M I N

think that a 4-stroke is too heavy to be prac-

tical for a snowmobile. What the newRX Warrior is, I believe, is a productaimed at convincing these doubters andstimulating the spread of 4-stroke sledswhile at the same time reflecting a lotof the ideas that have come to us in ourdevelopment work for standard models.In more specific terms, the 1,000cc 4-stoke engine is a power unit with thepotential to deliver exceptional traction.The RX Warrior is in large part theresult of our attempt to put this greattraction potential to use in a snowmo-bile.”This aim is also reflected in the trackbelt. It may look pretty much the sameas any other, but in fact it has a uniquedesign with varied intervals betweenthe tread fins that proves especiallyeffective in new snow. There are rea-sons like these behind every designdetail in the new RX Warrior.

It has been ayear sinceYamaha created

a sensation in theworld snowmobilemarket by introduc-ing the first practical 4-stroke snowmobile produc-tion model, “RX-1.” Now anew variation of this model isheaded for the market, where totalannual demand is estimated at about200,000 units. The new model that wasjust introduced in North America inFebruary is named the “RX Warrior”and it will be in shops by autumn of thisyear as a 2004 model.This new RX Warrior has been devel-oped around the concept of “perfor-mance solo touring.” It takes as its basethe RX-1, with all its new develop-ments for 2004 and adds state-of-the-arttechnical features throughout its designwith the aims of (1) achieving highlyversatile running performance capableof handling a wide range of riding con-ditions and (2) even greater comfort inlong-distance touring. In other words,Yamaha’s engineers set out to build a4-stoke “all-rounder” for the sportsnowmobile category. The new RX Warrior will feature asstandard equipment the same 136 x1.25 inch track belt as the ’04 modelRX-1, a rear suspension with a high-pressure-gas type shock absorber fea-turing a damping adjuster to accommo-

date all kinds of rid-ing conditions, a slip-resistant step made of extruded alu-minum to help the rider achieve morelinear handling performance, plus aconvenient reverse gear. These func-tions combine with the powerful1,000cc 4-stoke engine to provide out-standing running performance not onlyon flat courses but on bumpy trails andin fresh, unpacked snow. But, despitetaking the RX-1 as its developmentbase, the RX Warrior is more than sim-ply a variation model. Says the Warrior’s development ProjectLeader, Mr. Takuji Nakano, “The RX-1we introduced last year was not somuch a model that evolved in answer toexisting customer needs as a model thatwe at Yamaha created to propose awhole new kind of snowmobiling. But,there are still many in the market who

New RX Warrior Expands the World of 4-Stroke SnowmobilingNew RX Warrior Expands the World of 4-Stroke Snowmobiling

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