 | |
Native name | カワサキモータース株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kawasaki Mōtāsu Kabushikigaisha |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Predecessor | Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine Company |
| Founded | February 12, 2021; 4 years ago (2021-02-12)[1] |
| Headquarters | 1-1, Kawasaki-cho,Akashi,, Japan |
Key people | Hiroshi Ito[2] (President &CEO) |
| Products | Motorcycles,ATVs,utility vehicles,personal watercraft, general-purposepetrol engines |
| Parent | Kawasaki Heavy Industries |
| Subsidiaries | Autopolis Co., Ltd. |
| Website | global-kawasaki-motors.com |
Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. (カワサキモータース株式会社,Kawasaki Mōtāsu Kabushikigaisha) is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that producesmotorcycles,all-terrain vehicles,utility vehicles,watercraft,outboard motors, and other electric products. It derives its origins fromKawasaki Aircraft Industries, a subsidiary ofKawasaki Heavy Industries, and is rooted in the motorcycle, boat, and engine businesses. In 1953, they began manufacturing engines for motorcycles and have since produced products such as theMach andNinja series in motorcycles and theJet Ski, which has become a generic term forpersonal watercraft. Until 2021, it was a division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, known as theKawasaki Aerospace Company (川策重工業汎用機カンパニー) and later theKawasaki Motorcycle & Engine Company (川崎重工業モーターサイクル&エンジンカンパニー). In 2021, it was separated as Kawasaki Motors, Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Kawasaki Aircraft initially manufactured motorcycles under theMeguro name, having bought an ailing motorcycle manufacturer, Meguro Manufacturing with whom they had been in partnership. This eventually became Kawasaki Motor Sales.[3] Some early motorcycles display an emblem with "Kawasaki Aircraft" on the fuel tank.
During 1962, Kawasaki engineers were developing afour-stroke engine for small cars. Then some of the engineers transferred to the Meguro factory to work on the Meguro K1 and the SG, a single cylinder 250 ccOHV. In 1963, Kawasaki and Meguro merged to form Kawasaki Motorcycle Co., Ltd.[4][5] From 1962 through 1967, Kawasaki motorcycles used an emblem which can be described as a flag within a wing.
Work continued on theMeguro K1, a copy of the BSA A7 500 cc vertical twin[6] and on theW1. The K2 was exported to theU.S. for a test in response to the expanding American market for four-stroke motorcycles. At first it was rejected for a lack of power. By the mid-1960s, Kawasaki was finally exporting a moderate number of motorcycles. TheKawasaki H1 Mach III in 1968, along with severalenduro-styled motorcycles to compete withYamaha, Suzuki andHonda, increased sales of Kawasaki units.
1974 saw the establishment of a Kawasaki assembly facility inLincoln, Nebraska, US, named the American Kawasaki Motors Corporation (KMC), to complete Japan-produced components into finished motorcycles for the North American market.[7][8]
Kawasaki's engines division, housed in a single office complex inGrand Rapids, Michigan, consolidates research and development projects for engines.[9]
Kawasaki's Aircraft Company began the development of a motorcycle engine in 1949. The development was completed in 1952 and mass production started in 1953.[10] The engine was anair-cooled, 148 cc,OHV,four-strokesingle cylinder with a maximum power of 4 PS (2.9 kW; 3.9 hp) at 4,000 rpm. In 1954, the first complete Kawasaki Motorcycle was produced under the name of Meihatsu, a subsidiary of Kawasaki Aircraft. In 1960, Kawasaki completed construction of a factory dedicated exclusively to motorcycle production and boughtMeguro Motorcycles.
Kawasaki's first ATV was the three-wheeled KLT200, which debuted in 1981. Its first four-wheel ATV, the Bayou 185, was introduced in 1985 and in 1989, its first model with four-wheel-drive, the Bayou 300 4x4. Today, Kawasaki's ATV line-up includes a wide range of recreational and utility ATVs.
Kawasaki'sMULE (Multi-Use Light Equipment) utility vehicle combines an ATV with a pick-up truck. The first MULE was produced in 1988. Kawasaki now calls their utility vehicles "side-by-side" vehicles.
In 1973, Kawasaki introduced a limited production of stand-up models as designed by the recognized inventor of jet skis,Clayton Jacobson II.[11] In 1976, Kawasaki then beganmass production of theJS400-A. JS400s came with 400 cctwo-stroke engines and hulls based upon the previous limited release models. It became the harbinger of the success Jet-Skis would see in the market up through the 1990s.In 1986 Kawasaki broadened the world of Jet Skis by introducing a two-person model with lean-in "sport" style handling and a 650 cc engine, dubbed theKawasaki X2. Then in 1989, they introduced their first two-passenger "sit-down" model, the Tandem Sport (TS) with a step-through seating area.
In 2003, Kawasaki celebrated the Jet Ski brand by releasing a special 30thanniversary edition of its current stand-up model, the SX-R, which has seen a revival of interest in stand-up jetskiing. The X-2 has also been updated, based on the SX-R platform and re-released inJapan. Kawasaki continues to produce three models of sit-downs, including manyfour-stroke models.Thefour stroke engines have come on since the late 1990s; with the help of superchargers and the like the engines can output up to 300 horsepower (220 kW) as seen in the Kawasaki Ultra 300x.
Jet Ski is thebrand name of personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki. The name, however, has become agenericized trademark for any type of personal watercraft.
Kawasaki's traditional racing colour is green. Many Kawasaki racing teams are calledTeam Green. The "Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green" provides a support program developing amateurmotocross racers.[12]
Kawasaki's first title was withDave Simmonds in1969 when they won the 125 cc World Championship. Kawasaki dominated the 250 cc and 350 ccgrand prix classes from1978 to1982 winning four titles in each category.
With the introduction of the four-stroke engines intoMotoGP in2002, Kawasaki decided to take part in the new MotoGP World Championship. Kawasaki entered the championship in2003 with 250 cc Grand Prix racerHarald Eckl'sTeam Eckl.
In 2003, the Kawasaki Racing Team was formed after Kawasaki had developed their new 990cc ZX-RR bike throughout 2002 and raced it in the last three races of the2002 MotoGP season. The racing activities were managed byHarald Eckl's team based in Germany. It was not until 2004 that Kawasaki had two riders -Alex Hofmann andShinya Nakano, who raced for the entire season. Nakano placed 3rd inJapan that year achieving Kawasaki's first podium finish in MotoGP.[13]
In 2007, Kawasaki split from Harald Eckl because of Eckl's involvement with a competitor's MotoGP activities, which forced Kawasaki to terminate the relationship immediately.[14] Kawasaki formedKawasaki Motors Racing, aEuropean subsidiary ofKawasaki Heavy Industries responsible for managing the racing activities of theMotoGP team and any other motorcycle racing activities Kawasaki may enter in the future. For the first time since Kawasaki returned to the premier class of motorcycle racing, the team became a complete 'in house' factory team.
On January 9, 2009, Kawasaki announced it had decided to "... suspend its MotoGP racing activities from 2009 season onward and reallocate management resources more efficiently". The company stated that it will continue racing activities using mass-produced motorcycles as well as supporting general race oriented consumers.
| Year | Champion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 350 cc | 250 cc | 125 cc | |
| 1982 |  Anton Mang | ||
| 1981 | Anton Mang | Anton Mang | |
| 1980 | Anton Mang | ||
| 1979 |  Kork Ballington | Kork Ballington | |
| 1978 | Kork Ballington | Kork Ballington | |
| 1969 |  Dave Simmonds | ||
Kawasaki's involvement in theWorld Superbike Championship started in1990 with the US-basedTeam Muzzy Kawasaki, which managed the superbike activities until1996. Between1997 and2002, Kawasaki gave factory backing to theHarald Eckl's team, based in Germany, while Muzzy focused on theAMA Superbike domestic series.From 2003 to 2008, only privateer teams like Bertocchi and PSG-1 entered the world championship, with small factory support.In2009, Kawasaki officially returned to SBK withPaul Bird Motorsport, but after three seasons, in2012, Kawasaki switched the factory support to the Spanish-basedProvec Racing team.
Kawasaki has won severalsuperbike racing championships. They won therider's Superbike World Championship in1993 withScott Russell, two decades later in2013 withTom Sykes, and six times consecutively in2015,2016,2017,2018,2019, and2020 withJonathan Rea. The manufacturer has also claimed nineAMA Superbike Championships with riders such asReg Pridmore,Eddie Lawson,Wayne Rainey,Scott Russell, andDoug Chandler. During the 1990s, they also dominated theEndurance World Championship.
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1993 |  Scott Russell |
| 2013 | Tom Sykes |
| 2015 | Jonathan Rea |
| 2016 | Jonathan Rea |
| 2017 | Jonathan Rea |
| 2018 | Jonathan Rea |
| 2019 | Jonathan Rea |
| 2020 | Jonathan Rea |
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1977 | Reg Pridmore |
| 1978 | Reg Pridmore |
| 1981 | Eddie Lawson |
| 1982 | Eddie Lawson |
| 1983 | Wayne Rainey |
| 1990 | Doug Chandler |
| 1992 | Scott Russell |
| 1996 | Doug Chandler |
| 1997 | Doug Chandler |
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1981 |  Jean LafondRaymond Roche |
| 1982 | Jean-Claude Chemarin Jacques Cornu |
| 1991 | Alex Vieira |
| 1992 | Terry RymerCarl Fogarty |
| 1993 | Doug Toland |
| 1994 | Adrien Morillas |
| 1996 | Bryan Morrison |
Kawasaki machinery has been pivotal in the development of Supertwin racing.[15] The racing machines are developed from the Kawasaki 650cc parallel twin commuter bike (ER6-n or ER6-f).[16] The machines are then transformed through development into an 85 bhp race bike with top end speeds in excess of 150 mph.[17]
TheKMR Kawasaki Racing Team[18] are one of the leading race teams in the category, whose team members includeRyan Farquhar andJeremy McWilliams.[19]
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Ryan Farquhar |
| 2013 | James Hillier |
| 2014 | Dean Harrison |
| 2015 | Ivan Lintin |
Kawasaki has enjoyed numerous successes at theIsle of Man TT Races. The marque has notched up a total of 34 victories which include 3 victories in theSidecar TT.[21] Notable achievements includeMick Grant's 1975 outright lap record of 109.82 mph (176.74 km/h), finally beating the previous record set byMike Hailwood and which had stood since1967.[22]
Riders on Kawasaki motorcycles won races in theBritish Motocross Championship,Motocross des Nations,AMA Supercross Championship,Sidecarcross andSupermoto.
Championship wins:
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