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

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.

Villopoto to Enter World Motocross Championship

Four-time consecutive AMA Superbike Champion Ryan Villopoto is ready to move on to the next stage of his career, signing on to represent Kawasaki in the World Motocross Championship in 2015. Villopoto will race in the newly- christened MXGP class. Formerly known as the MX1 class, MXGP allows 450cc four-stroke machines and 250cc two-strokes.

Kawasaki Ninja H2 Teaser Video 7

In this, Kawasaki’s seventh teaser video for its much-hyped Ninja H2, we get a short (really short) history of Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ history and experience building industrial gas turbines. Why does this matter? Because it’s this extensive background that went in to designing and building the centrifugal supercharger for the H2.

Josh Hayes Wins Fourth AMA Superbike Title

Say what you will about the depleted state of the American roadracing scene, it shouldn’t diminish the fact Hayes put in the effort and beat some formidable challengers to the title. Here, the AMA congratulates Josh Hayes on his accomplishment. Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes entered the 2013 AMA Pro SuperBike season on the heels of the most dominant campaign in the history of the series and with his primary threat no longer in the paddock.

Volume Six Of The Ninja H2 Video Series

In Kawasaki’s latest H2 video teaser the company is associating the forthcoming H2 with its predecessor from the early ’70s. The original H2 Mach IV was a 750cc, two-stroke, inline-Triple. The original H2 was renowned in its day for its incredibly quick acceleration.

Ninja H2 Adorned With Traditional Kawasaki Emblem

Apparent from the latest video teaser in the Ninja H2 miniseries, Kawasaki is reaching into the company’s past and reintroducing the River Mark logo on its forthcoming H2. Vintage bike enthusiasts will recognize the Rivermark emblem from models introduced in the early to mid-sixties era. The River Mark emblem has been associated with various products from Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Pirelli To Remain Tire Supplier For All World Superbike Classes Through 2018

Pirelli’s relationship with the World Superbike Championship started in 2004 and will carry on through 2018, as the Italian company will continue to supply tires for every class of the championship. What follows is the official Pirelli press release. Pirelli has been confirmed as the Official Tire Supplier for all classes of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship having won the tender organized by Dorna, promoter and organizer of the World Championship, in agreement with the FIM, the International Motorcycling Federation.