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

2013 AIMExpo: Cox Racingroup Radiator Guards – Video

Cox Racingroup would like you to think of radiator guards as insurance against expensive radiator damage. We talked with owner Andrew Cox at the American International Motorcycle Expo in Orlando, Fla. Manufactured in Newberg, Ore., Cox Racingroup radiator guards are designed to offer your radiator protection from stones, bugs and other debris.

WSBK 2013: Jerez Race Report

Eugene Laverty did everything he could, scoring a pair of race wins but it was not enough as Tom Sykes rode smartly and conservatively at the season finale in Spain, securing his first ever World Superbike Championship. Sykes landed in Jerez with a 37-point lead over Laverty and a 38-point lead over Sylvain Guintoli. While Laverty battled Marco Melandri to win Race One, Sykes coasted comfortably in third for most of the race to score 16 points, enough to clinch the title.

Rare Racing Motorcycles To Be Displayed At AMA Legends Weekend

A number of rare, one-of-a-kind bikes with ties to the AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame‘s newest inductees will be on display at the 2013 AMA Legends Weekend, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., Friday and Saturday, Oct 18-19. Tickets are available to the general public. Jeffrey V.

New: WSB sticker kit for Kawasaki ZX-10R

IF you have a ZX-10R and want it to look more like Tom Sykes' WSBK bike, then this sticker kit is a good start and saves you the £100,000 you'd have to spend to build the real thing. Here's what Kawasaki have to say about it:  As the premier road motorcycle based racing series, the World Superbike Championship is followed by racing enthusiasts across the globe – none more so than in Europe where the Kawasaki Racing Team, is based. UK born rider, Tom Sykes and Frenchman Loris Baz have entertained all year and both have a strong fan base eager to see how Kawasaki’s factory team and riders perform.

Bonhams To Auction Bruce Smith Collection Of Original Illustrations

On October 20, Bonhams will be auctioning off a collection of original illustrations by Bruce Smith from the 1960s and 1970s. Each one will be signed by Smith on heavy cartridge paper. The collection is comprised of cutaway illustrations of a 1963 Royal Enfield Interceptor 750cc, Chris Vincent’s 1964 BSA 650cc A65 Race Outfit, and a 1966 Greeves Racer, the largest of this series being 45cm x 62cm.

2014 Kawasaki J300 Revealed for European Market

Kawasaki officially announced the new J300, the company’s first scooter introduced for the European market. At the moment, U.S. availability has not been announced.

2014 Kawasaki J300 Scooter Spy Photo Surfaces

A spy photo of the new 2014 Kawasaki J300 has emerged, a week after the maxi-scooter was first spotted being filmed for a promotional video in Milan. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: J300Forum.com As previously reported, the J300 will be Kawasaki’s first scooter intended for western markets. The J300 sports a broad front fairing, not unlike other maxi-scooters such as the Yamaha TMax or BMW‘s C600 Sport and C650 GT scooters.

Classic Japanese Bikes Highlight Bonhams’ Next Auction

Bonhams’ annual fall auction, the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show, at Stafford County Showground is scheduled for October 20, 2013. Included in the auction is the above pictured 1974 Kawasaki H1-RW 500cc triple. Expected to sell for approximately $96,000 to $112,000, the Japanese works Grand Prix racer is one of only two machines built by the factory for the French Kawasaki importer SIDEMM for use in the 500cc World Championship. The bikes were ridden during the 1974 season by the French endurance racing specialist Christian Léon and French-Canadian Formula 750 star Yvon Duhamel.

WSBK 2013: Magny-Cours Race Report

Tom Sykes snapped up a pair of wins at Magny-Cours, setting himself up in good position to capture his first World Superbike Championship at the season finale in Jerez in two weeks. The Kawasaki rider scored his series-leading eight and ninth victories of the season, giving him a commanding 37-point cushion over Eugene Laverty and 38 points ahead of Sylvain Guintoli. Sykes needs only score at least 13 points in total over the final two races at Jerez to secure the championship.

2014 Kawasaki J300 Scooter Spotted Filming in Milan

Of the “Big Four” Japanese motorcycle manufacturers, Kawasaki stands out from Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha in at least one notable way: it doesn’t produce scooters. Well, at least not for developed western markets. In the Philippines, Kawasaki offers a 112cc step-through scooter called the Curve, pictured above, while other Asian markets get underbone-style models like the Indonesian Kawasaki Edge R.