Kawasaki Motorcycles

About Kawasaki

Kawasaki motorcycles are manufactured by the Motorcycle & Engine division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

The Kawasaki Company was founded in 1896 by Shozo Kawasaki as a shipyard meant for building oceangoing steel ships. At the beginning they constructed marine steam turbines, locomotives, freight cars, passenger carriages and bridge girders. In 1918 the Aircraft Department is established and after prolonged research Kawasaki succeeds in building Japan's first metal aircraft. Then came 1949 and they turned towards the motorcycles industry by making engines suited for motorcycles.

Kawasaki Aircraft initially manufactured motorcycles under the Meguro name, having bought out an ailing motorcycle manufacturer called Meguro Manufacturing Co. Ltd with whom they had been in partnership earlier, but later formed Kawasaki Motor Sales. Some early motorcycles display an emblem with "Kawasaki Aircraft" on the fuel tank. Kawasaki motorcycles from 1962 through 1967 used an emblem which can be described as a flag within a wing.

Kawasaki came out with their first bike in 1954, called Meihatsu. This bike had Kawasaki's own KB-5 engine. An improved model of the Meihatsu, called Meihatsu 125 Deluxe, was introduced in 1956.

Kawasaki was producing bikes for a while without much popularity, but technically progressing. Kawasaki started to be noticed as a big player on the motorcycles market due to the release of the 500cc H1 model (also known as Mach III). In 1973 Kawasaki introduced their first superbike, the Z1 which had a 903cc engine.

One of the most notable bikes in Kawasaki history, the GPZ900R came in 1983. This was the first model ever produced by Kawasaki to have a liquid-cooled engine and to reach 250 km/h. A year later they started to sell this bike in the US and they renamed it Ninja, thing which proved to be very benefactor, registering huge sales.

Their first ever motorsports victories were obtained by Dave Simmons in the FIM World Road Racing 125cc Championship. He won the West German and the Isle of Mann TT races and the series championship riding a KR-1. Then came 1981 and Kawasaki won the manufacturer's title in the FIM World Road Racing 250cc Championship, courtesy of A. Mang who was riding the KR250. Kawasaki's most notable win in their motorsports history was the Le mans 24-Hour Race back in 1983. The model which participated in that race was the ZXR-7.

Moto blog

2014 AMA Supercross – New Jersey Results

A crowd of 62,217 fans in East Rutherford, N.J. witnessed the coronation of Ryan Villopoto as the 2014 AMA Supercross Champion. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider took the holeshot and led very lap in a decisive victory to clinch the championship, his fourth in a row.

2014 AMA Supercross – Seattle Results

Ryan Villopoto won his fifth race of the season while James Stewart took second place to just barely remain in contention for the 2014 AMA Supercross title. Meanwhile it was a bitter-sweet podium for third-place finisher KTM‘s Ryan Dungey who was officially mathematically eliminated from title contention. Racing in his home town of Seattle, Wash., Villopoto led every lap en route to an easy win, his fifth of the season.

2014 WSBK – Aragon Results

Reigning World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes put on a clinic this weekend, leading every lap in both races to claim a pair of wins at Spain’s Motorland Aragon circuit. Sykes’ Kawasaki teammate Loris Baz was right there with him, recording a pair of second-place podiums to give Team Green a pair of one-two finishes. Sykes and Baz were also one-two in the Superpole qualifying on this nearly flawless weekend for the Kawasaki factory team.

Mackenzie Tricker Looks To Pad WMX Points Lead At Glen Helen Raceway Sunday

Having won the opening two rounds of the 2014 Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX) – at the AMA sanctioned Ricky Carmichael Amateur Supercross at Daytona International Speedway in Florida, and at the James Stewart Freestone Spring Championship in Wortham, Texas, Australia’s Mackenzie Tricker comes into this weekend’s race at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, with momentum on her side and a 17-point lead in the series standings. Round three of the Women’s Motocross Championship (WMX) will run in conjunction with the FMF California Classic, which runs from April 9 through April 13, with both WMX motos taking place on Sunday. So far, Tricker has won three of the four motos held to date, and the Yamaha-backed rider is hoping to pad her lead in the series standings with a good finish this weekend.

2014 AMA Supercross – Houston Results

Ryan Villopoto ran mostly unchallenged for his fourth win of the 2014 AMA Supercross season, taking advantage of an early spill by Ryan Dungey. The win strengthens Villopoto’s hold on the points lead as the Kawasaki rider seeks his fourth-consecutive championship. Villopoto took the holeshot in the Houston main event and never looked back, leading all 20 laps for the win.

Hilarious Vintage Kawasaki Ad You’d Never See Today + Video

If you meet the nicest people on a Honda, then apparently you got all girls if you rode a Kawasaki. Not just any Kawi, but a Kawasaki 100 at that. Check out this hilarious vintage ad to see what I mean.

Conquering the Nurgurgring In Under 8 Minutes + Gyro Cam Video!

With a nickname like The Green Hell, the Nurburgring Nordschleife is nearly 13 miles of terror wrapped up in a historic race track. Famous for its sheer length, close confines, and the fact it is open to the public most the year, the Nurburgring has a dual reputation as a great testing facility and a widow maker – certain reports estimate as many as 12 deaths a year here. To lap here in under 10 minutes is considered a fast lap.

2014 AMA Supercross – St. Louis Results

Don’t look now, but James Stewart is the hottest rider in the AMA Supercross Championship. The Yoshimura Suzuki rider won his third consecutive race and series-leading fifth victory of the season. But with Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto holding a comfortable lead with four rounds remaining, Stewart’s hot streak may be too little too late.

2014 AMA Supercross – Toronto Results

James Stewart captured his series-leading fourth AMA Supercross 450 class win of the season, giving him sole possession of second place on the overall career wins list ahead of Ricky Carmichael and behind Jeremy McGrath. The win also helped Stewart gain some ground on points leader Ryan Villopoto who suffered from a bout of food poisoning. Villopoto was examined at a Toronto hospital and released in time for the opening ceremonies.

2014 AMA Supercross – Detroit Results

Yoshimura Suzuki‘s James Stewart captured his third win of the 2014 AMA Supercross season and 48th 450 class victory of his career, tying him with Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time win list behind Jeremy McGrath‘s 72. Racing before a crowd of 50,856 fans at Ford Field in Detroit, Stewart took the lead from holeshot-taker Cole Seely shortly before the end of the second lap and led the rest of the 20-lap race for the win. Stewart led by as much as 7.1 second but eased off at the end, crossing the finish less than two seconds ahead of Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto.