Yamaha Motor Company

The Japanese brand was founded by the organ builder Taraguchi (or Torakusu) Yamaha. His company Nippon Gakki, which had been making musical instruments since 1897, started building motorcycles in 1954. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.) is a Japanese manufacturer of motorcycles, quads, mopeds and marine engines, including outboard motors, which is part of the Yamaha conglomerate and is headquartered in Iwata. In 1983 Yamaha took over the bankrupt Motobécane. This French two-wheeler giant was at that time one of the largest bicycle and moped manufacturers in the world. In 1984, Yamaha changed the Motobécane brand name to MBK. Today, Yamaha is one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers, with machines in all classes and categories, including sports. The brand is a leader in four-stroke enduro, off-road and all-road machines. Where, however, in the 1970s and 1980s the brand also had an important market share in the 50cc class in the Netherlands with, for example, the two-stroke FS-I (an important competitor of Honda's legendary SS 50 with four-stroke engine) and the DT-50 , they currently sell almost only scooters in this class under the brand name Yamaha. With the exception of the TZR 50 shift moped. Yamaha has "put the brand name MBK on the shelf" from model year 2018 and the after sales and parts supply for Motobécane and MBK mopeds and scooters will be continued from the Yamaha dealer network. The MBK factory in Saint-Quentin, France, will also produce motorcycles, mopeds and scooters with the Yamaha brand name for the entire European market.