It’s Tuesday.
The coffee has brewed, Vivaldi is playing, and I’m hankering for something a little different.
We ask you to recall the recent past where Yamaha was making the usual boatloads of money and decided to start a partnership with the musical side of the street.
The result?
Project AH A MAY (“Yamaha,” spelled backward) – a synchronization of efforts from Yamaha Motor Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation, both companies currently owned by mega mogul Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd.
According to a report from Spoon-Tamago, the Anno-2015 project was originally created to harken back to the roots of a more musical Yamaha when it was founded in 1887 as a piano manufacturer.
The proof of heritage is in the Yamaha logo today, where three musical tuning forks create the symbol we have come to recognize and love.
Several projects were released as a result of the project; a circular marimba, a globe-shaped drum set (don’t ask), a bicycle, and a motorcycle.
The moto brainchild of the Yamaha² partnership, christened “√,” or “Root,” was designed with the landscape in mind – an effort to get the rider as close to the surrounding scenery as possible…without the bloke falling off, of course.
To get the rider as near a part of nature as was natural, designer Kazuki Kashiwase of Yamaha Corporation removed all dials and screens for “√” (Root).
Anything to be kept in view for legal riding purposes was linked to a watch that the rider could wear on either hand.
Eat your heart out, Timex.
To quote the explanation on the company’s advert video, “By taking the meters on the instrument panel off the motorcycle rider’s view, the idea of the design is to enable [the rider] to be a part of the passing scenery.”
“The form was created to flow from the seat to the fuel tank and was inspired by a horse motif that aims to give a sense of unity among people, nature, and the vehicle.”
The view appears, admittedly, stunning.
While not necessarily practical, Yamaha succeeded in creating a work of art that still pops up in Google searches today – and I’m hooked on the concept.
For more functional motorcycles, check out wBW’s 2021 Lineups.