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

Ninja H2 Video XVI – High Precision Machinery + Video

Yes, folks, Kawasaki has released yet another teaser video for the Ninja H2. This time, it’s number 16, titled, “Beauty in High Precision.” In it, we see the impeller for the supercharger being created from a solid piece of billet aluminum. Admittedly, this inundation of H2 videos is getting to be a bit much, even for us, but if you’re a fan of machine porn, then Kawasaki’s latest video will surely please.

Webb Wins Salt Lake City EnduroCross

From an EnduroCross press release: Factory Beta and Stillwell Performance-backed Cody Webb took a decisive win tonight in Salt Lake City’s inaugural AMA GEICO EnduroCross event. The win was Webb’s second after taking the first round victory in Las Vegas and puts him and his Beta two-stroke 300 into the points lead. The race fans in attendance at the Energy Solutions Arena saw a night go almost perfectly for GEICO-supported Webb.

ECUnleased Performance Reflash Available For 2014 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R

ECUnleashed now has a ECU performance reflash for 2014 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R models. If you aren’t familiar with ECU reflash tuning, specifically the ones offered by ECUnleashed, they provide more power by eliminating factory restrictions, optimizing fuel, ignition and throttle mapping, increasing rev limit, and removing the top speed limiter. It also delivers better response and control through eliminating the factory fuel cut off and optimizing the off throttle deceleration mapping.

Ninja H2 Video XV – Robot Welding + Video

In case you weren’t tired yet of Kawasaki’s H2 teaser videos, here’s yet another. In fact, it’s number 15 out of who-knows-how-many-more teaser videos from Team Green. This time, the focus is on the advanced robotic arms used to weld together the complex trellis frame of the H2 and H2R.

2014 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship On The Line At Pomona

Granted, flat track racing isn’t our specialty at MO, but we’re no doubt fans of the action. See our coverage from the 2012 season finale for proof. The following is from an AMA Pro Racing press release: A total of 15 races over eight months couldn’t separate Jared Mees and Bryan Smith by much.

Lee Rocker To Play Free Concert At AIMExpo

Lee Rocker, of 1980′s Stray Cats fame, and still considered one of the most influential upright bass players in rock n’ roll history, will perform a free concert at the AIMExpo Saturday Night, October 18 outside of the AIMExpo show floor at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). Rocker and the band take the stage at 7 p.m. to deliver a rockabilly performance. All AIMExpo attendees with either an admission ticket or a show badge are welcome to attend the intimate performance. Rocker’s performance is sponsored by the Ace Cafe Orlando, Bell Helmets, Kawasaki, Metzeler, AIMExpo, and MOTOTV. Ace Cafe, the legendary British hub for vintage motorcycle, car and music events, announced plans to open its first U.S.

Kawasaki Teases Street-Legal Ninja H2 for EICMA + Video

Kawasaki has released a new teaser video offering the first glimpse of the Ninja H2, the street-legal version of the supercharged Ninja H2R track bike recently revealed at Intermot in Cologne, Germany. The video shows the two machines side by side while posing the question: “track or street?” Discuss this at our Kawasaki Ninja H2 Forum. The video ends teasing the announcement of the street version reveal for Nov.

New Kawasaki H2R Tops 210 mph!

The hype surrounding Kawasaki’s supercharged H2R has been as immense as its power output, said to be in the region of 300 horsepower. Intermot 2014: Kawasaki Ninja H2R Well, it appears the H2R’s speed capabilities are commensurate with the hype. “I went 210mph on it today,” said Kawasaki test rider and racer Jeremy Toye on his Instagram account on October 2, accompanied by a picture of an H2R.

Photos Of This Weekend’s Denver Endurocross Track

This weekend the EnduroCross championship makes its way to Denver and the National Events Center for the fifth round of the nine-round series. Truckloads of dirt, mountains of rock and piles of logs are coming together to create an EnduroCross course that’s sure to challenge racers and entertain fans.  Excitement will be a mile-high this weekend as the EnduroCross Championship puts three different race winners into an epic battle for valuable points before the halfway point in the series. Beta/GEICO-backed Cody Webb has led since his first round victory in Las Vegas, but KTM’s five-time champion Taddy Blazusiak is hot on his heels after a big win at the last round in Atlanta and at X-Games. And don’t count out Colton Haaker.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Announces 2015 Racing Team

The following is from a Monster Energy Kawasaki press release. Monster Energy Kawasaki is excited to continue its legendary form into the 2015 season aboard the championship proven Kawasaki KX lineup. Following nine major championships in the United States, Kawasaki announced that Ryan Villopoto will look to capture another prestigious title by contesting the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2015.