There are so many great riders who have ridden for Yoshimura that there simply isn’t enough space in this BOS edition to give them all their due. It is safe to say though that they all contributed a great deal in making Yoshimura what it is today. We’d like to think that Yoshimura helped them as well, in any case, it’s been a great ride.

After Pops went home to Japan in 1981, Yoshimura R&D of America’s business grew even more and the racing was awesome. During this time some great riders rode for our brand. Riders like:

Dave Aldana, Steve Crevier, Miguel Duhamel, Dave Emde, Scott Gray, Jamie Hacking, Donald Jacks, Jamie James, Tom Kipp, Britt Turkington, Fred Merkel, Pascal Picotte, Ron Pierce, Doug Polen, Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp, Scott Russell, Dave Sidowski, Kevin Schwantz, Jay Springsteen, Thomas Stevens, and many others.

During this era no other rider epitomized the Yoshimura spirit as much as Kevin Schwantz. Yoshimura signed Kevin at the end of 1984 and in his first race for the team, won both races at the 1985 AMA Willow Springs National!

The following year he finished second to Eddie Lawson at the Daytona 200. Injuries plagued Kevin for much of the remainder of the ’96 season, but it was clear that Kevin had something special. In spite of winning numerous races in the 1987 season, Kevin finished runner up to Wayne Rainy for the 1987 Superbike title. But, Yoshimura and Schwantz won the prestigious Daytona 200 in 1988. Winning the 200 was a sweet moment for the company and for Kevin.

It was the beginning of a huge career for Schwantz and marked a transitional period for Yoshimura. The company was changing from a small race shop to a powerhouse in the motorcycle aftermarket exhaust business.

1988 saw Doug Polen win both the 600cc and 750cc Super Sport titles. 1989 had Jamie James win the Superbike title and the 750 Super Sport gold. In 1993 Britt Turkington claimed the 750cc Supersport crown as did Tom Kipp the following year in 1994. Aaron Yates came along in 1996 and power-slid his way to the 750cc Super Sport title while “The Joker” Steve Crevier bagged the 600 Super Sport #1 in 1998.

While not getting the Superbike titles that Yoshimura hoped for, numerous Supersport titles, and Superbike race wins kept the spirit alive. In the meantime the business was incrementally growing all the time. The small North Hollywood shop was replaced by a bigger facility in Chino, California.

It was in this time period that Pops became ill and Fujio headed back to Japan to take care of the business and his family. Suehiro “Nabe” Watanabe (who had risen through the ranks as a race mechanic) took over the reins here in the USA and the company moved forward.