The past recession, and its possible double-dipping nature, still has the motorcycle industry on its heels. This fact can be no better exemplified than by the latest move from Yamaha, whose board of directors recently voted to merge its North American operations under one roof. In an effort to restructure itself more appropriately, Yamaha Motor Canada will become a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor USA, which would in turn take responsibility for the entire North American market.
Yamaha Motor Corporation USA knows how to have a good time when MotoGP comes to Laguna Seca. Last year the American branch of the tuning fork brand amused us with their viral video that showcased Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards, and James Toseland working hard at the Yamaha office. Launching off Seca with this year with an old fashioned photo of their four MotoGP riders, we can only hope that Yamaha has more entertainment lined up this week as we head into the race weekend.
Source: Yamaha USA
Yamaha Canada has just announced that the 2011 Yamaha FZ8 and 2011 Yamaha Fazer 8 street bikes will be available in the Canadian market. Perhaps as a disappointment for some, both models of the new street-naked will come without the option for ABS.
Presumably the Canadian market has now cleared out its back-stock of Yamaha FZ6’s, which the 8-series has been replacing in European markets, and can now begin to offer the new middleweight.
With Canada getting the 8’s in its line-up, all eyes are now on the Yamaha USA to see if/when they’ll bring the bike to the US market. When they do, we can probably look forward to some great commercials, like these gems from the European campaign (that’s sarcasm for those keeping score). Check them out after the jump…did we mention they’re really bad?