Video: Yamaha's collection display

The world launch of the 2008 Yamaha R6 took place at Sugo circuit, Japan last week.

Part of the launch involved a one-off whistle-stop tour of Yamaha’s Hammatsu factory and a brief walk around of the Yamaha Communication Plaza – Yamaha’s head office.

Part of this building is dedicated to the history of Yamaha in a series of displays and exhibitions of Yamaha products produced since the company was founded in 1955.

MCN’s chief road tester Trevor Franklin was one of the fortunate few to walk around the impressive displays of Yamaha motorcycles past and present; drone helicopters; electric wheelchairs; plus many other creations including Yamaha-built engines from the successful tie-up with Toyota – did you know Volvo’s monstrous XC90 4×4 is powered by a V8 built by Yamaha (irony at its finest?).

The latest display is a collection of R-tagged bikes (R1, R6, R7) and their components to celebrate 10 years of the R1 (1998 was the first year of the R1). Check out the video below for a taste of what can be found on display.

The display hall of the Yamaha Communication Plaza is open to the public on the second and fourth Saturday every month and can be found at 2500 Shingai, Iwata-shi, Shizuoka, Japan (tel: +81-538-33-2520).