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

New: Venhill 888 fast-action twistgrips

CONTROL specialist Venhill has launched its new 888 range of bike-specific fast action twistgrips.  Supplied complete with the company's top of the range Featherlight cables, the kits are designed for a straightforward replacement of the factory-fitted equipment.  Bike-specific kits are now available for the Honda CBR600F, Kawasaki ZX-6R/ZX-10R, Suzuki GSX-R600/750, Triumph 675 Daytona and Yamaha R1/R6, among others, with prices from £105. Here's Venhill's description of the new product: "Manufactured with a robust CNC machined alloy body, the 888 fast action twistgrip provides a choice of two settings and is supplied with two rotors so that riders can select the throttle action that best suits the riding conditions.  Settings can be changed swiftly by undoing the two set screws securing the throttle body and changing the rotor. On the fastest setting there is 80° of rotation, (taking up 36mm of the cable), which is typically 45% faster than 'standard' throttles.

2013 AMA Supercross Atlanta Race Report

James Stewart captured his first AMA Supercross win in nearly a year, leading every lap in front of 68,987 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in his most consistent main event showing so far this season. The Yoshimura Suzuki racer was dominant in Atlanta, posting the fastest qualifying times and taking the holeshot to lead his eight-lap heat race before doing it again in the 20-lap main event. Stewart’s previous win was March 10, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway.

WSBK 2013: Phillip Island Race Report

Max Biaggi who? The Roman Emperor’s retirement after winning the 2012 World Superbike Championship marked the end of an era for Aprilia, with the 2013 campaign marking the first without Biaggi since the Italian manufacturer came back to the WSBK scene with the RSV4. If Aprilia misses its two-time WSBK Champion, it sure didn’t show it with a dominating display at the 2013 season opener in Australia.

FIM Updates Superbike Racing Homologation Lists for 2013

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released an updated list of motorcycles homologated for the 2013 Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock racing season. Notable additions include the new BMW S1000RR HP4, the MV Agusta F3 and the Superbike-spec Ducati 1199 Panigale R. To qualify a production-based racebike for FIM homologations, manufacturers have to meet certain production thresholds.

Behind The Scenes: The Making Of the Ninja ZX-6R vs The Isle of Man Video

You may remember last fall’s release of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R was accompanied by a mind-blowing short video commercial of a rider screaming around the 37.33-mile Isle of Man TT course aboard the new 636 Ninja. Now, Team Green has just released a “Making Of” video about the production of that video, featuring TT star James Hillier.  This behind-the-scenes short film shows the crew capturing Hillier as he passes within millimeters of the camera. You’ll see the camera-equipped pursuit bike racing side-by-side with Hillier, as well as the aerial heli-cam.

2013 AMA Supercross San Diego Race Report

Davi Millsaps captured his second main event win of the season and expanded his AMA Supercross championship lead to 19 points with a wire-to-wire victory at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The Rockstar Energy Suzuki rider jumped ahead at the start for the holeshot and held that lead for the entire 20-lap race for the win. Finishing 2.386 seconds back was Team Honda Muscle Milk‘s Justin Barcia while Red Bull KTM‘s Ryan Dungey finished 10.300 seconds back for third place.

Michelin Unveils New Tire for Dual Sport Motorcycles

More than half of the new BMW R 1200 GSs that roll off the assembly line in 2013 will be fitted with Michelin’s new big trail tire, the Anakee III. BMW and Michelin worked together to co-develop the dual-sport tire, which is designed to deliver all the safety and off road capability big trail motorcycle users demand. The Anakee III will also be available as a replacement option for other leading dual sport bikes, like the Suzuki V-Strom, Kawasaki KLR, Triumph Tiger and Yamaha Super Tenere.

2012 US Motorcycle Sales Results – Industry Reports 2.6% Increase

The Motorcycle Industry Council reported a 2.6% increase in motorcycle sales in the U.S. market for 2012. According to the industry group’s figures, American consumers purchased 452,386 motorcycles in 2012 compared to 440,899 motorcycles in 2011.

Villopoto, Roczen Dominate AMA Supercross in Oakland

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto dominated the 450SX Class on Saturday night in front of a record crowd in Oakland, CA.   In front of a record crowd of 46,896, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto raced to his second-consecutive AMA Supercross victory, an FIM World Championship, 450SX Class Main Event win at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, CA on Saturday night. Rockstar Energy Racing’s Davi Millsaps finished in second, and Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey followed in third.

2013 AMA Supercross Anaheim 2 Race Report

Ryan Villopoto claimed his first win of the 2013 AMA Supercross season and his first since the knee injury at last year’s Seattle round that kept him out of the 2012 AMA Motocross championship. The victory in front of 37,789 fans at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., made up for his disappointing 16th place finish two weeks earlier at the same site. His Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Jake Weimer held the early advantage in the main event, taking the holeshot ahead of the Honda Muscle Milk duo of Justin Barcia and Trey Canard.