Although they are a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, powersports equipment, and electronics, their motorcycles are what make them great. Their motorcycle didn’t appear until the mid 50’s. CEO Genichi Kawakami took them into the field of motorized vehicles on July 1, 1955, and remains part of the overall company. It has grown to be the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world, which is no mean feat for what was a fledgling company that arrived late in the motorcycle market.
Their first offering was the YA1, a 125cc, single cylinder two-stroke, was a copy of a German motorbike. The Japanese have often been accused of copying European models, but let’s not forget that BSA also used this very same design to produce their Bantam. This machine, fondly known as the Red Dragonfly, laid the foundation of their reputation for reliability, and success on the race track contributed to the bike’s popularity.
The company’s intensive research into metal alloys for use in acoustic pianos had given them wide knowledge of the making of lightweight, yet sturdy and reliable metal constructions. This knowledge was easily applied to the making of metal frames and motor parts for motorcycles. This is why the their corporate logo is composed of three tuning forks placed on top of each other in a triangular pattern.
The twin cylinder YD, the first machine designed, was introduced in 1957. The company flourished during the following years, and in 1959 was the first Japanese company to offer a sports model, the twin cylinder YDS1. Their first factory outside Japan was opened in Thailand in 1966. By 1967, with 406,000 bikes built, production had overtaken that of Suzuki.
By the 1970’s, they were producing over a million bikes annually, leaving Suzuki far behind. Honda was turned out around 1.8 million machines annually. During the 80’s, the four cylinder XJ’s were developed with displacements ranging from 550cc to 1100cc.
One of their most successful projects was the Virago, which introduced as a 750cc, but 500cc and 920cc models were soon available. This bike was the first cruiser to come out of Japan to compete with Harley Davidson. The US passed a tariff on imported motorcycles over 750cc, so they had to replace their 750cc Virago with the 699cc version. The larger Virago’s were replaced by the V-Star and Road Star models and the Virago name was discontinued after the 2007, 250cc version.
Through years of fine tuning and high quality manufacturing they have become one of the largest and best motorcycle companies in the world. They produce the highest quality bikes without the high costs of their competitors.