Seventy years ago , Yamaha Motor was conceived . In its own words , that is seventy years of creating ‘ Kando ’. Kando apparently means the excitement and satisfaction you get when you encounter something of exceptional quality , value and performance , in case you were wondering . Established in July of 1955 by Genichi Kawakami , Yamaha Motor entered its first race only ten days after the company was formed . That very first model , the 125cc two-stroke YA-1 , also known as the Red Dragonfly , won its class in the Mount Fuji Ascent Race and later that year also won the Asama Highlands Race . The rest , as they say , is a history steeped in race wins both on and off the road . No doubt Genichi would have ben super proud of the race debut of the Yamaha R9 , winning on World SuperSport debut and carrying the torch on from the legendary Yamaha R6 , who many are still coming to terms with the end of that era . Yamaha Motor have their sights firmly on the future while retaining pride in their history .