KENNESAW, GA – June 2, 2008 — Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. today announced that the personal watercraft industry’s first fuel saving feature, Low RPM Mode, is now saving Yamaha WaveRunner owners up to 26 percent in fuel costs based on average annual use.  

This fuel savings is in addition to Yamaha’s already industry-leading fuel economy, and was calculated using the Yamaha FX SHO® Series WaveRunner and today’s prices for regular 87-octane fuel.  Yamaha WaveRunners are the only line of personal watercraft optimized for Regular Unleaded fuel rather than more expensive, higher octane blends.

“It’s clear that fuel consumption is an important factor in determining how people enjoy their time on the water,” said Bryan Seti, national marketing manager, Yamaha WaterCraft.  “We’ve always been focused on creating cleaner, more efficient engines and our Low RPM Mode helps our owners save money and still enjoy the fun and excitement of riding a Yamaha WaveRunner.”

Yamaha’s Low RPM Mode is activated wirelessly using a handheld remote transmitter.  Once activated, the WaveRunner automatically adjusts the maximum RPM across all throttle positions.     

Yamaha’s Low RPM Mode can be found on the FX SHO® Series WaveRunner, which was named “2008 Watercraft of the Year” by Watercraft World®   magazine, and has become the most acclaimed, and technologically advanced personal watercraft ever created.  In addition to the SHO Series, Low RPM Mode can be found on half of the models in Yamaha’s 2008 WaveRunner lineup.