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

Motorcycle Thefts Down 11.2% in 2010

Motorcycle thefts in the U.S. are down for the fourth consecutive year in 2010,  according to a report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. There were 49,791 reported motorcycle thefts in 2010, an 11.2% drop from the 56,093 thefts reported in 2009.

More Teasers for the 2012 Kawasaki ZX-14R

Kawasaki has released another teaser for its upcoming revised ZX-14, now dubbed ZX-14R. In the first video, a couple of numbers are cryptically displayed: 84 x 65mm. This is a thinly veiled reference to its bore and stroke dimensions, indicating the biggest Ninja received a 4mm stroke elongation, which would bump the bike’s displacement from 1352cc to 1441cc.

Kawasaki Grassroots Movie Debuts

Last night Kawasaki premiered Grassroots: Celebrating 30 Years of Team Green at Oakley sunglasses HQ theater at Oakley headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California. Powersports industry personalities, Team Green racers from all disciplines, friends and journalists were all in attendance to support and celebrate Kawasaki’s commitment to the up-and-coming racer. The 24-minute movie highlights the past and present efforts Kawasaki delivers to amateur racers, turning them into the champions race fans love to celebrate.

2012 Kawasaki ZX-14 Teaser Video

It appears as if Kawasaki is gearing up to launch a revised version of its ZX-14 Ninja. We already showed you a video teaser featuring a crop-circle-like number 14 in a farmer’s field. Now we’ve unearthed a new video that includes the sound of a large-displacement inline-Four motorcycle engine revving out, which you can see after the jump.

Colin Edwards Joins Forward Racing CRT Squad for 2012

Colin Edwards will join the Forward Racing team to compete in the 2012 MotoGP season as a Claiming Rule Team entry. Edwards, known as a good development rider and an even better quote machine, is the first rider to officially sign on with a CRT. Forward Racing may be more familiar to some race fans by its former name, Hayate Racing, the outfit that ran the Kawasaki ZX-RR with Marco Melandri in 2009 after Kawasaki pulled out of MotoGP racing.

Is This a Teaser for a New Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14? [Video]

Bikeland.org has unearthed a video teaser for what it suggests is an updated Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14. The video (see it after the jump) appears to be part of what’s likely to be a series of teasers leading up to a big reveal on Oct. 10.

MSF Begins Year-long Real World Motorcycle Safety Study

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has started what it calls the first-ever naturalistic study of motorcycling, with 100 motorcycles equipped with data logging equipment to record real-world riding situations over the course of a year. The information will valuable data that will help shape the MSF’s rider education and rider training program and other safety initiatives. “Our priority with this research is to observe the participants on a day-to-day basis,” says Dr.

2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250 – Ninjette Loses the “R”, Keeps the Carbs

  Kawasaki has released information about its 2012 Ninja 250. Yes, you read that right, Kawasaki has dropped the “R” from its littlest Ninjette. And no, it’s still not fuel injected.

Battery Care Tips from Kawasaki

Kawasaki has released a new video offering tips on taking care of batteries in powersports vehicles. While the video itself specifically discusses Kawasaki‘s motorcycles, ATVs and personal watercraft, the information is useful for owners of other brands. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Dungey, Villopoto and Baggett Named to 2011 MXoN Team USA

Ryan Dungey, Ryan Villopoto and Blake Baggett will represent the U.S. in the 2011 Motocross of Nations, Sept. 17-18 at Saint Jean D’Angely, France.