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

Small-Displacement Class Considered for 2015 AMA Pro Racing Season

More and more manufacturers are entering the small-displacement sportbike market and AMA Pro Racing has taken notice, opening the possibility of adding a new racing class representing the growing segment. With plans to consolidate the Daytona Sportbike and Supersport classes and the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series signed through 2015, a spot will open up on race weekends for another racing class to support the premier Superbike Championship. The logical choice is to introduce a new small-displacement class.

46,061 Motorcycles Stolen in US in 2012

An average of 126 motorcycles were stolen in the U.S. every day in 2012, according to a report released by the the National Insurance Crime Bureau. That’s from a total of 46,061 motorcycles reported stolen that year a 1.3% improvement from the 46,667 motorcycles reported stolen in 2011.

Kawasaki Reveals Supercharged Inline-Four Engine

Kawasaki announced it is developing what it calls the world’s first supercharger developed by a motorcycle manufacturer. The giant Japanese company called on its extensive experience in working with turbine engines, and distilled the technology for motorcycle applications, showing a supercharged Inline-Four engine at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. No details were given on the size of the sample engine, though diagrams included in Kawasaki’s patent applications for motorcycle superchargers include one image that looks vaguely similar to the Ninja ZX-14R.

Kawasaki J Electric Three-Wheeler Concept Revealed in Tokyo

Kawasaki revealed a new concept at the Tokyo Motor Show that appears to combine a rowing machine, a Tron Lightcycle and Yamaha‘s Tesseract leaning four-wheeler concept. Dubbed the Kawasaki J, the concept vehicle is an electric-powered three-wheeler that can change its shape to suit either a sportier or a more comfortable riding position. Instead of handlebars, the rider grabs a pair of hand grips that each connect directly to one of the two front wheels via two long levers.

2014 Kawasaki Estrella Retro-Styled 250 Announced for Japan

Fans of classic-styled motorcycles will have to go to Japan to find the 250cc Kawasaki Estrella. The Estrella has been around since 1992 but apart from a few years of European availability in the late ’90s, has mostly been confined to Kawasaki’s home market. Updated for 2014 with a new seat and color options, the Estrella remains powered by an air-cooled 249cc Single.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 First Impressions Video

“It looks kind of angry!” That pretty much sums up what Editor-in-Chief Kevin Duke thinks of Kawasaki‘s newly redesigned Z1000 and its “sugomi” design philosophy. And for those of you who feel turned off by today’s machines and their dependance on the latest electronics, Kawasaki says the Z1000 does not have traction control because they want to keep it raw and untamed. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Kawasaki J300 Scooter Debuts at EICMA

At the 2013 EICMA show, Kawasaki revealed more details about the new J300, the brand’s first scooter designed for European markets. Join our Kawasaki J300 Forum Developed with Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco, the J300 scooter is powered by a 299cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine, likely the same motor equipped on the Kymco Downtown 300i which claims an output of 29.5 hp and 18.1 ft-lb. The J300 may have some Kymco DNA but there are some distinct features that mark it as a Kawasaki.

EICMA 2013: 2014 Kawasaki Z1000

Following the launch of the heavily revised 2014 Ninja 1000 ABS (reviewed here) comes a not-so-surprising, equally revised Z1000 for 2014. Boasting a plethora of performance upgrades the new Z also comes to the party in new Sugomi style. According to Kawasaki, sugomi “describes the intense aura or energy given off by a person or object of greatness and felt by the viewer.

Q3 2013 US Motorcycle Sales Results

Motorcycle and scooter sales in the U.S. in 2013 remain consistent with last year’s figures, according to data released by the Motorcycle Industry Council. Several manufacturers blamed poor weather for the poor start this year, and the rebounding sales in the third quarter helped to negate the slow sales from earlier in the year.

2014 Kawasaki KSR Pro Announced

When Honda introduced the Grom earlier this year, it kicked off a renewed interest in the monkey bike, small-sized motorcycles with a high fun-factor that made up for its single-digit horsepower output. Suzuki is on board, announcing a new electric mini-bike concept called the Extrigger. But we’d be remiss if we forget that Kawasaki has been producing a mini-bike of its own for the Asian market.