Yamaha is revered for its work in the dirt bike industry, but it may surprise you to learn how long the storied manufacturer has been making dirt bikes for.
It was 1955 when Yamaha Motor Co. was founded, expanding the Japanese company’s focus from manufacturing musical instruments to motorcycles. To no surprise, the company applied the same precision techniques used to manufacture its beloved pianos to its burgeoning line of two-wheeled vehicles. The first Yamaha motorbike hit the streets that very same year, and Yamaha’s ever-changing motorcycle lineup has ranked among the most celebrated brands in the motorcycle arena ever since.
Though the brand has delivered its share of incredible cruisers and road racers, Yamaha has more than made a name for itself in the off-road sector, with its trail-ready builds becoming a constant podium presence in racing circuits. That may come as a surprise to some, if only because Yamaha didn’t actually make its first proper dirt bike until the late 1960s. That era saw Yamaha’s design team release a few signature off-road vehicles in the Trailmaster, the YX26, and the legendary DT-1 — the latter of which is regarded as its first proper production dirt bike. Here are a few other things you should know about the early days of Yamaha’s off-road program.The Trailmaster was one of Yamaha’s first off-road ready bikes
First released in 1964, Yamaha’s Trailmaster bikes arrived with small-displacement scramblers that were a little more powerful than a scooter and, as the build’s name implies, were tough enough for light trail riding. Given its versatility, the Trailmaster was popular with riders looking to do a little off-roading.
Those early Trailmasters were hardly the torquey beasts Yamaha has come to be known for. If one were so inclined, they could argue they were the company’s first real entry into the dirt bike game.
