Yamaha Future Innovation: Make it different

MANILA, Philippines - Yamaha Motor Philippines Inc. (YMPH), headed by its president Takeshi Yano, kicked off its International Motorshow at the SM Mall of Asia Atrium with the unveiling of its new innovation, Fuel Injection (Fi) technology.

A press tour was conducted for the motoring media as Yamaha unveiled a variety of bikes from its AT scooters, underbone, backbone, and big bikes, highlighted by the original Motorcycle Grand Prix Yamaha M1 bike of 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo complete with its race leather and helmet.

With the return of Valentino Rossi to Yamaha Hiroyuki Yanagi, President of Yamaha Motor Japan, confirms that “Rossi will be coming back to Yamaha next season and we are keeping the two best riders in the world both Lorenzo and Rossi. We’ll try to continue to fight in the race with two top racers. They really are contributing to improve our product technically and with their high competitiveness. Support us, our MotoGP team of Yamaha.”

The one-week grand event which started last September 6 carried the slogan of Future Innovation and showcased all the high-end and highly distinguished local, international and racing motorcycles and their one-of-a-kind technologies which made them popular worldwide.

“We’ve been conducting activities many times the past years; this is our way for our customer to have a chance and experience Yamaha motorcycles. Now, here at the Yamaha International Motorshow you will not only get the chance to experience local Yamaha models but also have the glimpse of the international products of Yamaha. It’s the symbol of Yamaha’s commitment of providing an unending excitement to our customers. Aside from this products Yamaha will also unveil the new innovation, an innovation that will change the way we look at motorcycle, an innovation about the future,” Ryan Jude Camus, section manager of YMPH advertising and promotion said.

The innovation came with the launching of its new AT Mio Soul i with fuel injection technology that Yamaha calls YM Jet-Fi, an intelligent Fuel Supply System that has a computer (ECU) that calculates injection duration and timing based on signals from sensors according to temperature or environmental air conditions. Compared to normal fuel injection, YM Jet-Fi enables good atomization at cold engine temperatures and good combustion even at low speeds. It results in fewer amounts of wasted gas and less emission of unburned gasses, which contribute largely to air pollution.

The Mio Soul i comes with a 115cc air-cooled, 4-stroke, SOHC, 2-valve engine, an 8.8-liter under-seat storage compartment, and a 4.8 liter fuel tank capacity. It also has racing-inspired high-performance DiASil (Die-casting Aluminum-Silicon) cylinders and forged pistons that ensure excellent heat dissipation, more stable engine performance and increased strength and durability.

Asked why fuel-injected motorcycles are being introduced to the country only now while other Asian neighbors already introduced it years ago, Camus said that, “other Asian country complied early with the Euro 3 emission regulation and in the future it’s inevitable, we really need to comply that one and we are proud to say that Yamaha is one of the pioneers that complies with that regulation.”

Yamaha assured that the new Fi models would be fuel-efficient, responsive and eco-friendly. “Fi is cheaper in terms of maintenance provided that you follow the regular maintenance schedule. In the long run you’ll save on gas, parts, and maintenance,” added Camus.

In the area of after-sales service, we asked how the new technology would adopt to the current market, “It’s been really a concern for us because Fi is really something new not only to the industry but also for some of our dealers and mechanics. Yamaha really invested in training them; in fact a year ago we already started training and we can say that we are 100 percent Fi-ready,” Camus added.