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

2014 AMA Supercross – Phoenix Results

Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto nabbed a hard-earned first victory of the 2014 AMA Supercross season, overcoming a poor start that saw him ninth after the first lap for the win. The three-time reigning champion found himself well back after the first corner as Yoshimura Suzuki‘s Jake Moss took the holeshot ahead of Yamaha‘s Justin Brayton and the KTM‘s Ryan Dungey. Brayton took over the lead by the second corner and would stay in front for the first 13 laps.

MWR Air Filters Claim Amazing Power Improvement

From the News That Sounds Too Good To Be True But, Boy, Do We Hope It Is Department, MWR Air Filters wants riders to know that its MWR High Efficiency Air Filters are breaking new ground in air filtration technology. While the company’s name might not be commonplace among performance oriented riders – yet – some pretty big names are using MWR filters even though the company doesn’t pay sponsorship dollars. According to MWR’s press release, “the reigning WSBK champion, Tom Sykes uses MWR Air Filters in his Kawasaki ZX10R.” Also, 17 riders at the Isle of Man TT were running with MWR filters.

2014 AMA Supercross – Anaheim 1 Results

KTM rookie Ken Roczen captured his first 450 class win in the AMA Supercross world championship, taking the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. An audience of 45,050 fans watched a clean race from the rookie while errors by veterans like James Stewart and three-time reigning champion Ryan Villopoto knocked them out of contention. Villopoto had a strong start, taking the holeshot and leading the first eight laps, just like the Kawasaki rider had done so often the last few seasons.

2014 Monster Energy Supercross Season Preview – Video

The highly anticipated 2014 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, gets underway this Saturday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., as three-time 450SX Class Championship Ryan Villopoto will stage his title defense against the deepest field of riders the sport has ever seen. Live coverage will begin at 10:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

Single-Cylinder Kawasaki Ninja Spotted in Indonesia

Based solely on recent history, you’d think the engineers at Kawasaki are strong believers of the “bigger is better” philosphy. You need only look at the Ninja ZX-6R which shook off the shackles of the 600cc supersport segment with a 636cc displacement, then came the Ninja 300 replacing the 250. New spy photos from Indonesia, however suggest there’s still room for smaller engines from Team Green.

Kawasaki ZX-10R Race SCU For Öhlins Mechatronic Steering Damper

With an upgraded Öhlins’ Race SCU (Suspension Control Unit), the Öhlins OEM-fitted steering damper on 2013-14 Kawasaki ZX-10Rs can now be ramped up to race mode. The Race SCU is programed to transform the Öhlins Mechatronic, electronically controlled OEM-fitted steering damper on the latest ZX-10R into race mode, allowing it to meet the demands of the track. From the factory, the Öhlins electronically controlled steering damper is tuned to be adaptive to a broad range of street riding, from parking lots to legal speeds.

2014 Kawasaki KLR650 New Edition Revealed

Kawasaki revealed an updated version of its popular KLR650 dual-sport at the New York International Motorcycle Show. The new KLR650 isn’t exactly a full model-year replacement as Kawasaki had already announced the 2014 model; instead Kawasaki is calling it the KLR650 New Edition, offering it for a retail price of $6,599, a $100 premium over the “old edition” KLR650. The extra Benjamin Franklin gets you new springs for both front and rear suspension, multi-contour dimpled seat and revised graphics.

Watch the Kawasaki J Concept Transform – Video

The transforming Kawasaki J Concept was one of the highlights of the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, thanks to its futuristic styling that was like a cross between a Tron Lightcycle and the Batpod from Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy. The electric three-wheeler is unlikely to enter full production, but it is nice to see some outrageous concept models again. The J Concept was primarily produced to showcase Kawasaki‘s GIGACELL high-capacity nickel-metal hydride battery technology, but the most dramatic feature is the concept’s ability to transform.

2013-2014 Kawasaki Ninja 300 Faces More Brake Issues

Earlier this year, the Kawasaki Ninja 300 was one of several models impacted by a recall on Nissin anti-lock brake system modulators. The fault for that problem clearly lay with Nissin, as the same issue affected other motorcycles from several manufacturers. The little Ninja might not be out of the wood yet however, as other brake-related issues have come up.

2013 Long Beach International Motorcycle Show Report

Today the motorcycle press descended upon the Long Beach Convention Center to attend media day at the annual International Motorcycle Show. After feasting from a continental breakfast buffet the discerning journalists set to the task of reporting on the bounty of new model motorcycles – most of which has been previously showcased in our November EICMA reporting. If you missed anything from that show here’s a run down of what to look forward to: Triumph Thunderbird LT Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Can-Am Spyder Royal Enfield Continental GT Zero KTM Super Duke R – KTM confirmed the retail price to be $16,999 BMW R NineT Ducati Monster S 1200 Honda Valkyrie Kawasaki Z1000 Husqvarna A cool item of interest included a reproduction TZ750-powered flat tracker King Kenny Roberts made famous.