Kawasaki Motorcycles - A Brief History

by: Michael O'Brien

Offering a complete line fun, functional and fast motorcycles, Kawasaki has established itself as a dominant player in the cycling world. The Kawasaki line includes sport, super sport, touring cruisers, motocross and enduro machines. Though a big player in the off-road, motocross and touring classes, Kawasaki’s reputation is built largely on the design and production of fast, agile super bikes.

A relative newcomer to motorcycle production, the Kawasaki was introduced in 1960. Other Japanese motorcycle manufacturers like Honda and Suzuki had already made inroads into the American market leaving Kawasaki with some catching up to do. Kawasaki’s first entry into the motorcycle market was a 2 stroke, 125 cubic centimeter model. By the mid-1960’s the company was making entry into the market for more powerful machines with the introduction of the 650 cubic centimeter W1. Though not as popular as the bikes offered by the competition, Kawasaki moved forward with lighter and faster designs, with improved handling characteristics.

The Z line of powerful super bikes proved to be more successful and helped to establish Kawasaki as a force to be reckoned with. Introduced in 1973, the first Z model was designed to directly compete with similar designs from Honda. Engine displacements on the Z models ranged from 650 to 1300 cubic centimeters.

The 1980’s saw the introduction of the popular GPz series with larger and improved variants of the Z series following through the 1990’s. Then came a design that would threaten to blow the competition off the road. The Ninja ZX series bikes are considered to the fastest production motorcycles in the world setting a standard for speed and agility said to be unmatched by the competition.

About the Author

Michael O'Brien is Staff Writer for Motorcycle Sales & Service