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

Bob Collins to ride the 848 at Oulton

Bob Collins will be riding the Ducati 848 Challenge VIP bike at Oulton Park BSB on the weekend of the 6th - 8th July. If you're into motorcycle racing, no doubt you'll have heard of Bob Collins. Former R6 Cup competitor 'Viagra Bob' as he was known, went on to win the Superstock 1000 cup in 2006 and then compete at the Isle of Man TT.

Isle of Man TT 2012: Superstock TT Results

John McGuinness put another notch in his belt, capturing his 19th career victory in the Isle of Man TT by winning the Royal London 360 Superstock TT race. Despite leading all active racers in TT wins, the Superstock victory was just the first in that category for McGuinness. The Honda rider led from start to finish in the four-lap Superstock TT race.

Isle of Man TT 2012: Sidecar TT Race 1 Results

Dave Molyneux won his 15th career Isle of Man TT race with a victory in the first Sure Sidecar TT race of the 2012 festival. The win comes in Molyneux’s return to the Isle of Man TT after sitting out last year’s competition. By far the most successful Sidecar racer in TT history Molyneux is third overall among riders in any class, behind Joey Dunlop (26) and John McGuinness (18).

Win BSB Knockhill tickets with Visordown

Don’t miss the annual MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship visit to Knockhill as the title fight reaches Scotland for the fifth round of the season on 22/23/24 June. We have teamed up with the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team to offer one lucky winner the chance to win a pair of tickets to the event. The Fife circuit always produces fast and frantic action and with the new technical regulations this season making a more even playing field for 2012 expect to see a brace of new contenders lining up to steal Tommy Hill’s championship crown.

WSBK: 2012 Miller Results

Marco Melandri earned BMW its second ever World Superbike victory to move into second place in the championship standings behind Max Biaggi in the series’ only stop in the United States. Melandri won a red-flagged Race Two at Utah’s Miller Motorsports Park after finishing second to defending WSBK Champion Carlos Checa in Race One to give him 142.5 points on the season, tied with Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes but behind Aprilia‘s Biaggi who leads the way with 160.5 points. Race One Highlights Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Estate of Gary Nixon Up For Auction June 16, 2012

The estate of legendary motorcycle racer and all around fun guy, Gary Nixon, will go on auction June 16,2012, in York, PA. Nixon passed in August, 2011, while recovering from heart surgery. A two-time AMA Grand National Champion (1967 – ’68), Nixon was an accomplished flattrack and road racer. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

2013 Kawasaki KX Motocross Bikes Revealed – Air Forks for KX450F!

Kawasaki has unveiled its 2013 KX series motocross bikes. Both models receive updates for 2013 but perhaps the biggest change is the new pneumatic fork on the KX450F. The KX450F has done well for Kawasaki, thanks to Ryan Villopoto’s 2011 and 2012 AMA Supercross and 2011 AMA Motocross championships.

Kawasaki-Supported Zytek ZX10ev TT Zero Electric Racer

British Superbike race team Bournemouth Kawasaki and electric powertrain maker Zytek Automotive will compete in the 2012 TT Zero on the Isle of Man with an electric ZX-10R with support from Kawasaki UK. The Zytek-Kawasaki ZX10ev uses the chassis of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and an oil-cooled Zytek permanent magnet electric motor. Zytek is a race-proven electric powertrain supplier, though its expertise is primarily with cars.

K-Tech release 25SSK for Big Piston Forks

K-Tech have released their popular 25SSK front fork open cartridge system to fit all Showa Big Piston Forks. Here's what K-Tech have to say about them: These lightweight aluminium units are supplied to the same exacting specification as all other 25SSK fitments with 14mm piston rods and a 25mm cartridge tube, the 14mm piston rods displace a large volume of oil through the 25mm control pistons giving enhanced damping characteristics over the standard Big Piston Fork and allow a bigger volume of air for a more precise feel at the bottom of the fork travel. The cartridge kits have compression and rebound adjustment in both legs and are supplied with 1.5mm Flow Control Valves for a more accurate adjustment, all necessary hardware is supplied to convert the Big Piston Forks to take the cartridges but it is necessary to order the springs you require as these are not included, customer price for the 25SSK cartridges is £725.00 + VAT and are available for the following models:- Honda CBR1000RR 2012 Kawasaki ZX6-R 2009-2012 Kawasaki ZX10-R 2011-2012 Suzuki GSXR600 2011-2012 Suzuki GSXR1000 2009-2012 Contact K-Tech on: +44(0)1283 559007.

WSBK: 2012 Donington Results – Video

BMW earned its first-ever World Superbike race win at the U.K.’s Donington Park, but missed out on sweeping the round after teammates Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri crashed on the final corner while battling for the lead in the second race. Melandri earned BMW its landmark first win in Race One leading Haslam in a one-two finish. They could have repeated that finish in Race Two but Haslam low-sided after making contact with Honda‘s Jonathon Rea trying to pass on the inside.