Make the Land and Sea Your Playgrounds　Yamaha Motor Newsletter (May 6, 2019 No. 71)

In our last issue, we introduced Yamaha Motor’s Sea-Style marine club for boat rentals in Japan, offering an easy and convenient way for more people to experience and enjoy the boating life.

In the same spirit, we have recently launched a new motorcycle rental service as well. For licensed riders who don’t yet have their own bike or have sold their bike, this convenient and worry-free rental service offers a wide range of exciting machines to choose from.

In this issue, we present an example of how much fun you can have by combining the advantages of both rental services to go touring as well as boating in a weekend—a leisure experience only possible with Yamaha.

Building Confidence and Providing More Riding Opportunities

Through its diverse range of products, from motorcycles, boats and outboards to Recreational Off-highway Vehicles (ROVs) and snowmobiles, Yamaha Motor strives to be a Kando* Creating Company that offers new excitement and a more fulfilling life for people all over the world. To that end, Yamaha engages in high-quality and innovative Monozukuri (creating products with an emphasis on craftsmanship and excellence), but also actively hosts a variety of events and programs that allow people to experience and enjoy our products firsthand in safe and friendly environments. These programs have been held to not just further grow demand but also consistently create Yamaha fans.

* Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.

    In fact, while Japan’s birthrate is still in decline and the population continues to age, the young riders who drove the motorcycle boom in the 1980s and mid-1990s have become middle-aged or older in recent years, and their return to motorcycling has triggered a marked increase in demand.
    On the other hand, the fact remains that many of these former riders have been away from motorcycles for an extended period of time and are unsure if they can regain their riding skills, making them hesitant to get back in the saddle. Likewise, there is an increasing number of young people that made the commitment and acquired a motorcycle license, but are still afraid to ride on public roads. To ease the concerns of older, beginner and women motorcyclists, Yamaha holds Adult Bike Lessons as part of its Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) initiative. The course’s friendly instructors, curriculum emphasizing basic riding skills and the short touring trips and other practical drills included have won it praise, and the scale of the program has been growing every year.

In Japan, Yamaha’s motorcycle riding lessons for adults are held in closed areas (left) for honing basic skills as well as on public roads for more real-world instruction (right).

    However, many participants don’t have their own motorcycle, so even after attending the course and building their confidence on a bike, they still don’t have many chances to ride. Furthermore, it is often difficult to get a parking spot for a motorcycle at apartments or condos in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, meaning the number of riders won’t quickly rise on its own.
    To address these problems and help more people frequently enjoy motorcycling, the Yamaha Bike Rental service was launched in the autumn of 2018 with the concept of introducing the joys of touring by motorcycle. Although motorcycle rentals have long been offered at individual dealerships or through rental companies, the growing general interest in vehicle renting and sharing in recent years led Yamaha to offer a convenient alternative that users could feel confident in using.
    One of the key features of the Yamaha Bike Rental service is that any person 20 years of age or older with a motorcycle license can join for free, with all the requisite registration and reservation work easily done online. Knowing that Yamaha Motor itself operates this program brings added confidence, and with spring upon us, 1,900 new members joined in March alone to be ready for one of Japan’s best seasons for touring.
    Rentals are offered at 39 Yamaha Sports Plaza (YSP) motorcycle dealerships (as of April 2019), from Tohoku in the north to Kyushu in the south. The number of bikes and models available vary by dealership but the lineup is extensive and includes new models, ranging from 50cc scooters to 1,000cc+ motorcycles.
    The rental machines are maintained in top condition by the expert technicians at the YSP dealers, and for added peace of mind, breakdowns, accidents or other troubles are covered by a standard coverage package that includes comprehensive insurance, vehicle insurance and roadside service. Helmets, jackets, gloves and rainwear are also available to rent, meaning even if you didn’t bring any riding gear with you, you still can go on a spontaneous day tour by motorcycle at your vacation destination.

Marketing the Fun and Possibilities with Renting

According to Yamaha Bike Rental questionnaires, about half the people who rent through the service don’t own a motorcycle, and they most commonly use their rentals for weekend touring. While some comment that renting is cheaper for them than owning, many others indicate that they rent because they want to test-ride a particular machine before buying.
In other words, for those with motorcycle licenses, renting presents a convenient alternative to navigating the many hurdles involved when purchasing a bike. By allowing riders to enjoy motorcycling without yet having bought a bike of their own, they are more likely to want to continue the motorcycling lifestyle and seek to buy a motorcycle in the future, hence this program makes sense on two levels.

Rental riders in Japan tend to be younger than those who purchase motorcycles. A Yamaha survey revealed that for various reasons, some 70% of motorcycle license holders do not own a motorcycle.

    The predecessor to this rental business is Yamaha Motor’s Sea-Style marine club for boat rentals. Boats are generally much more expensive to purchase than cars and motorcycles, and they also incur significant maintenance and storage/docking fees, all of which usually put boating financially out of reach for the average company employee. Sea-Style was started to allow users to choose from a wide variety of boats to suit the activity they have in mind for a reasonable cost, thereby making marine recreation more accessible, convenient and much more affordable.
    Available at some 140 marinas throughout Japan, Sea-Style also offers various support plans (for a fee) with lectures covering different types of marine recreation and boat piloting instruction to help beginners or those with little boating experience better enjoy their time on the water. Members who decide to buy a Yamaha boat also get a refund on their one-time entry fee and up to two years of membership fees. A license is needed to operate a boat in Japan and is required for a standard Sea-Style membership, but the number of members has still grown to about 23,000 (as of the end of 2018).
    But Yamaha also offers the Sea-Style Light membership that allows you to charter boats with a captain, meaning membership is still possible without a license. A low entry fee and no monthly fee make joining easy, and members wanting to acquire a boat license are automatically eligible for discounted fees at Yamaha’s boat license schools.

Unique to Yamaha: Mountain Twisties and Seaside Vistas

So, how much fun can you have if you were to use both of Yamaha’s rental services for a weekend? We decided to find out.
    With the cherry blossoms in full bloom, we gathered at a YSP dealership on the outskirts of Tokyo and rented some motorcycles. The explanations were thorough and the paperwork smooth, from going through the contract details to covering how to operate the bikes and what to do if there’s a breakdown or accident. In the same aforementioned questionnaire, user satisfaction was very high, with about 90% saying they wanted to use the service again.
    We set off from Tokyo to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. The steep mountains of Hakone were once known as the most precipitous in the country, and during the Meiji Era (1868–1912), Torakusu Yamaha—the founder of the Yamaha brand—once slung one of his first handmade organs over his shoulder on a carrying pole and crossed these mountains to make his way to Tokyo.

Enjoying spectacular views of Mt. Fuji from the mountains as well as the sea is just one experience possible with Yamaha’s motorcycle and boat rental services.

    After riding at a leisurely pace along the winding mountain roads dotted with cherry blossom trees, we arrived at the top of the mountain and gazed back at the route we had travelled. There was a majestic Mt. Fuji beyond the sparkling water of Lake Ashinoko, but the air was still chilly at the top, so while we didn’t linger, the trip ticked all the boxes of an early springtime tour.
    Making our way down, we rode to a Sea-Style-affiliated marina on Suruga Bay in the nearby city of Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture and rented a boat. With the sun shining bright and under clear blue skies, we took in additional views of Mt. Fuji much like those immortalized in Hokusai’s famous woodblock prints. Whether fast or slow, cruising on the water with such great weather and incredible scenery was immensely enjoyable.
    In short, with Yamaha’s rental services for both the road and water, one can escape the noise and bustle of the city and take in everything the mountains and sea have to offer with the seasons.

The Yamaha Bike Rental website (in Japanese only) also
includes several recommended touring routes to take

Use guide of Yamaha Bike Rental (YouTube)