RIT LEFRANCOIS RETIRES FROM YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION
Cypress, California—November 21, 2005   Yamaha Motor Corporation has announced the retirement of  Mr. Rit LeFrancois from its corporate office after 28 years in various marketing environments  for both the motorsports and parts and accessory divisions.

Throughout the years, LeFrancois’ expertise in the area of market research led to many innovative products and designs for both motorcycle and ATV applications. Most recently, LeFrancois was in part responsible for the tremendous growth of the Star Motorcycles accessory line and its emergence as one of the strongest and most diverse lines of cruiser accessories available to consumers today.

“Rit has made tremendous contributions to the entire company over his 28 years,” said Robert Pearce, Vice President of the Customer Support Group, “and we truly wish him the very best in his retirement and all the time for he and his wife to finally enjoy riding his FJR with no interruptions.”