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

WSBK 2013: Donington Park Race Report

Tom Sykes had an outstanding weekend in front of his home fans, scoring a pair of wins at the World Superbike Championship round at the United Kingdom’s Donington Park. The Kawasaki racer led every session from first qualifying onwards, before leading all 23 laps in both races for the double. The double victory brings Sykes to within 4 points of series leader Sylvain Guintoli who had a decent weekend himself with a pair of podium finishes.

Kawasaki Sponsoring World Superbike Viewing Party May 26 At Dainese D-Store Orange County

If you’re a motorcycle racing fan in Southern California, be sure to come to the Dainese D-Store Orange County on May 26 to watch the World Superbike races from Donington Park on the D-Store’s giant 9-foot TV screen. Kawasaki will be sponsoring the event and will be bringing former factory racebikes to display.   You’ll also get the chance to chat with former Kawasaki factory AMA race tuner Joey Lombardo, and get your photo taken with Kawasaki racebikes, complete with umbrella girls!

Kawasaki Reports 2012-2013 Results

Kawasaki Heavy Industries reported a 7.1% increase in net sales from its Motorcycle and Engine business for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. The bump in sales resulted in the division’s first year-end profit since the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The Motorcycle and Engine division, which includes Kawasaki‘s ATVs, UTVs, personal watercraft and general purpose engines, generated 251.8 billion yen (US$2.462 billion) in sales revenue, up from 235.2 billion yen reported the previous fiscal year.

WSBK 2013: Monza Race Report

Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri split a pair of victories at Monza but the most biggest news from the World Superbike weekend was a strange series of appeals after Race Two that saw Tom Sykes finish third, relegated to fourth and then reinstated on the final step of the podium. The unusual mix-up occurred after Sykes, sitting in third place, ran off track and into the run off area on Turn 5 on his final lap. The Kawasaki rider returned to the track again in third place where he finished ahead of Aprilia‘s Sylvain Guintoli.

Brammo Earns Seventh Place Against Gas Bikes

This past weekend, Brammo arrived to Sonoma Raceway in Central California ready to do battle. Only this time the electric sportbike manufacturer would be trading blows not with other electric bikes, but with their ICE counterparts at the second round of the American Federation of Motorcyclists series — one of the oldest club racing organizations in the country. We recently mentioned Brammo’s eligibility with AFM, and this weekend was the first outing. Team Icon Brammo and its two riders Eric Bostrom and Steve Atlas competed on the Empulse RR machines while third rider, Shelina Moreda, rode the Team Parker Brammo Empulse TTX — a modified version of the road-legal Empulse.

WSBK 2013: Assen Race Report

Tom Sykes earned his first win of the 2013 season and came a hair short of a double victory at the World Superbike Championship round at Assen in the Netherlands. Traditionally a fast starter and qualifier, Sykes started on the pole once again at Assen and had strong starts in both races. But unlike the first two rounds where he started strong before fading, the Kawasaki factory rider was able to remain at the front in both races at Assen and earn some valuable championship points.

2013 AMA Supercross Salt Lake City Race Report

Monster Energy Kawasaki racer Ryan Villopoto demonstrated once again he is a the top of his sport, clinching his third-consecutive AMA Supercross championship. Villopoto cemented his title with a win in front of 43,149 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, his ninth main event victory of the season and 33rd in his career. Though he led every lap, Villopoto didn’t have as easy a time in Salt Lake City as he has had in some races this season.

ABS Option Coming for 2014 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Classic, Nomad and Vaquero

Anti-lock brake technology has become fairly commonplace for motorcycles now, and it sometimes comes as a bit of a surprise when a major manufacturer does not offer ABS as an option on certain models. The European Parliament making ABS mandatory by 2016 has helped push things along, as manufacturers work to equip their models with the technology ahead of the deadline, not just for the European market but also for other markets including the U.S. New documents released by the California Air Resources Board reveal Kawasaki will offer an ABS version for its 2014 Vulcan 1700 cruisers and tourers for American consumers.

2013 AMA Supercross Minneapolis Race Report

Hometown hero Ryan Dungey put a stop to Ryan Villopoto‘s winning streak, taking the victory before 48,846 supportive fans at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn. The Red Bull KTM rider from nearby Belle Plaine, Minn., stalked Monster Energy Kawasaki‘s Villopoto for most of the race before taking the lead and winning the 20-lap race by just 0.903 seconds. The win put Dungey into second place in the standings ahead of Rockstar Suzuki‘s Davi Millsaps and perhaps more importantly, cut away at Villopoto’s points lead.

WSBK 2013: Aragon Race Report

BMW Motorrad Goldbet racer Chaz Davies scored his first career World Superbike double victory, taking both races at Spain’s Aragon circuit. The wins were the second and third of Davies’ WSBK career (the first came last year at Nurburgring for the ParkinGo Aprilia team) and the second ever double in the series for BMW. The Welsh rider and former AMA Pro Racing competitor has had some success at Aragon, getting his first career WSBK podium at the Spanish track in 2012.