Background
He was born in Fukuoka City, Japan.
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Hideo Yoshimura
Edit ProfileCareer
He is remembered for his ties to the beginnings of American Medical Association Superbike racing and the Suzuki factory racing team Yoshimura was called into military service during the Second World War where he was trained as an aircraft mechanic. In 1971, he moved his business to Los Angeles at the beginning of the four-cylinder superbike era.
He gained a reputation as an excellent motorcycle tuner.
In 1976 the American Medical Association introduced a racing class for production based bikes and Yoshimura established himself by entering fast, reliable Kawasaki Z1 bikes. In 1978 he switched to Suzuki bikes and began winning races.
With Wes Cooley as his rider, Yoshimura claimed the American Medical Association Superbike national championship in 1979 and 1980. Yoshimura formed a close relationship with Suzuki and eventually his team became the official Suzuki factory racing team in the United States.
His company experienced success as one of the world"s largest performance aftermarket sportbike exhaust manufacturers.
Yoshimura died of cancer in 1995. He left a legacy as a master craftsman, tuner and fabricator and was one of the pioneering personalities of superbike racing. In 2000, he was inducted into the American Medical Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Yoshimura celebrated its 60th Anniversary event at the 2014 Suzuka 8 Hours race in Japan.
Kevin Schwantz and Satoshi Tsujimoto raced a "Pops Yoshimura" special race bike for the Yoshimura Legends race team
