The First Challenge, 2003

The wild idea of riding a street bike across some of China's toughest mountain terrain in Tibet was first realized back in 2003. Starting from the Tibet capital, Lhasa, a team of Japanese and Chinese Yamaha people successfully ran a 1,300 km course from Lhasa to the Mt. Everest (Chomolongma) base camp and back, most of which was run at elevations over 3,800 meters.
The machine chosen by the project team was the least expensive Yamaha 125cc motorcycle (approx. 100,000 yen) manufactured by Chongqing Jianshe Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (CJYM) (Jianshe Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (JYM) at the time). To maintain the originality of the model, the only modifications made were the addition of off road tires and handlebars and a carburetor with altitude adjustment function. The three riders who made the run were all Yamaha employees working normally in different divisions. Here is a report from that 2003 raid.