You’ve been on the restoration team longer than anyone else. What did you do before coming here?

I joined the company in 1975 and was first assigned to the machining shop. After that, I spent about two years in the boat sales and technology department (today’s Domestic Sales Division) doing service work on marine products. During that time, I got my Class 1 boat license, received technical training for our outboard motors and swimming pools, and more. So, I studied all sorts of things. Then in 1979, I moved to the Promotion Center (today’s Motor Sports Strategy Division) where I worked as a motocross and road race mechanic. After that, I spent a long time in racing, working on race coordination, team management, and other areas of Yamaha’s racing effort.

How did you get your start as a race mechanic?

Back when I was still new to it all, I really grew as a race mechanic thanks to Tadashi Ezaki. In 1983, he was going to race a special TZ125R equipped with a rear-positioned rotary disc induction valve and I was picked to be his mechanic. In those days, most riders also did the maintenance on their bikes, so most of them were quite skilled mechanics as well. Ezaki, in particular, had extensive technical knowledge, and back when he was racing as a privateer, he was fully capable of rebuilding and maintaining his machine’s engine, not to mention he could also weld like a pro. It was while working as his mechanic that I learned a lot of technical skills and know-how from him. It wasn’t just technical stuff though; he taught me so much more, like what it takes to win, to be passionate about my work, and how to apply myself. In 1984, he became the first All Japan F3 Champion and I was able to share in the glory as it was the first time for me to have wrenched for a champion racer.

What were your responsibilities as a race team manager?

Well, I had to think about and make adjustments to get the best working balance among the members of the team according to how they work and cooperate together, arrange accommodations as we moved from race to race, and so on. I did whatever tasks that the team needed doing. And because I also had to train the team staff, I was quite strict with the riders and mechanics. Only later did I learn that many on the team were quite scared of me! [laughs] In racing and at the racetrack, one small mistake can lead to a huge accident or serious injury, so I think that’s why I often took a strong tone with them. But the whole team was united in our desire to win races, so the harder we worked, the greater the joy and sense of accomplishment was when we won.

Which riders or races were most memorable?

In those days, there was no race more popular than the Suzuka 8 Hours. Motorcycle racing in the late-‘80s was incredibly fierce and Japan’s bike manufacturers were going all out to beat each other back then. Teams weren’t shy to brand rival teams as enemies and battles weren’t limited to the race itself. Even on the grid before the start, there was a lot of tension and mind games going on beneath the surface. I’ve worked with many different riders, but the one who made the greatest impression on me was TAIRA Tadahiko. At the time, there were seven or eight riders on Yamaha’s official race teams, but he was by far the most popular. The fans used to crowd around him like he was a movie or pop star, so he had to take on a public persona that was different than his true personality. I think he faced a lot of struggles even when he was outside the paddock.

How did you go from the frontlines of racing to your current job doing restorations?

Until I transferred, I was supporting privateer racers under our Yamaha Racing Service program by teaching them how to approach racing mentally, offering the teams bike setup advice, and things of that nature. Basically, giving them everything from technical to psychological support. I suppose it may be because times have changed, but now, if there’s any sort of trouble, they ruthlessly go after whoever is in a position of responsibility. That led to manufacturers not even being able to offer information about bike settings at races, so it became difficult to give advice to the teams. But when things like that become taboo, you aren’t able to teach people technical skills or even train them up. So the place where the job that I had found so rewarding faded away, and over time, I no longer felt like heading to the track. It was around that time that Taichi Ito, who was in charge of the Communication Plaza at the time, asked me if I wanted to work on restoring old motorcycles and I immediately accepted his offer because I was already moving away from racing and also felt that I knew better than anyone how fun it is to work on motorcycles. If I hadn’t received that offer, I would’ve probably retired. Here we are over ten years later and I’m still restoring bikes. Life is full of surprises!

What do you think of the Communication Plaza’s activities?

I actually restore all sorts of bikes at home in my free time, and my house right now is full of classic motorcycles I have. The biggest difference between restoring bikes as a hobby and doing so as a manufacturer is that quality takes the highest priority, more than time or cost. On top of that, I feel a lot of pride knowing that these machines will be put on display at the Communication Plaza for visitors or employees to see. Even now, that aspect of the job still feels very rewarding for me.

What are some of the biggest differences between working as a race mechanic and your restoration work?

The manufacturing era and technologies differ for each motorcycle we restore, so there is a lot that we have to study up on for each machine. The older a bike is, the more things we have to research and learn about, and it gets especially challenging when it comes to fixing their electrical systems. I still sometimes lose sleep because I’m trying to track down the cause of an electrical problem!

But there are, of course, things common to both jobs. One is speed. In racing, a weekend’s schedule is set, so you really have to work fast. But with restorations, you aren’t doing everything you can to beat the clock, and if the job doesn’t turn out as well as we like, we’ve got the time to do things over. However, taking advantage of that and working lazily takes away the feeling of accomplishment and it isn’t fun either. I want to complete every task as quickly and as efficiently as possible, so whatever I’ve decided my task for the day is, I try to complete it that day.

Another commonality is precision. With racing, if something about how the work was done concerns me, it becomes a source of worry for the whole race and you end up wanting to pray nothing comes from it. As human beings, we naturally want to do things the easy way. So whether it’s racing or restorations, having to take the bike apart again after working so hard to put it together is very mentally demoralizing. That’s why if you don’t put everything into ensuring each and every task you do is proper and precise, you might very well regret it later.

What’s the most difficult part of the restoration work?

That would be returning the machine to the same condition it was in when it left the factory. Until about ten years ago, the restorers who were here before me prioritized making the machines as clean and attractive as possible. This led to some bikes being “over-restored,” as in the resulting finish was higher quality than what the bikes would have had when they actually left the factory. So now, I do my best to recall things personally or ask people of my generation what they remember the bikes looking like when new, and purposely try to not go overboard with the outward finish. Deciding how far to go with the sandblasting, how to leave buff marks, how to apply the clear coats, and so on always presents us with very difficult decisions.

You’ve done many restorations over the years. Which ones are particularly memorable for you?

I touched on this when speaking about why we do restorations, but the first one I worked on is quite memorable for me. It was a YM1 that belonged to a friend of mine. It was in terrible condition and was very difficult to restore. Also, the TX650 I finished last year that made its debut at the Historic Model Demonstration Run was another bike I think I restored to a very high level. I also own a TX500, and it was because I wanted to buy one that I went to work for Yamaha Motor, so I’m very attached to those two bikes. Restorations like those definitely provide a little extra motivation for me.

What kind of people are best suited for doing restoration work?

You have to like motorcycles; I think that’s everything. I’m pretty crazy about bikes myself! Even when I’m just driving down a road like any other day, if a motorcycle is coming from the other way, I always look to see what kind of bike it is. I’ve been doing this job for more than ten years, but even now, when a bike comes to me for restoration, I immediately start getting all sorts of ideas on how I’m going to tackle this or that, and I get really excited to get started before I’ve even touched it. But then when I finally get to taking it apart, I sometimes end up thinking, “Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into…” [laughs] But, the more difficult a machine is to restore, the bigger the sense of accomplishment is when it’s completed. If you love motorcycles and enjoy the methodical, step-by-step process of restoration, I think there’s no better job than this one.