Kawasaki motorycles are manufactured by the Motorcycle & Engine division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries at plants in Japan, USA, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.[1] The motorcycles have been produced since 1954.
[edit] History
Kawasaki logo from 1961 to 1967, which appears on motorcycles of that period.
Kawasaki Aircraft initially manufactured motorcycles under the Meguro Works name, but later formed Kawasaki Motor Sales.[2] Some motorcycles display an emblem with "Kawasaki Aircraft" on the fuel tank.
During the merger in 1962, Kawasaki engineers were engaged in the development of a four-stroke engine for small cars which ended in 1962 with some of the engineers transferred to the Meguro Works to work on the Meguro K1 and the SG, a single cylinder 250 cc OHV. In 1963, Kawasaki and Meguro merged to form Kawasaki Motorcycle Co.,Ltd.[3][4] Kawasaki motorcycles from 1962 through 1967 used an emblem which can be described as a flag within a wing.
Work continued on the Meguro K1, a copying of the BSA A7 500 cc vertical twin.[5] and on the Kawasaki W1. The K2 was exported to the U.S. for a test in response to the expanding American market for four-stroke motorcycles in which case it was rejected for a lack of power. (Kawasaki Museum). By the mid-1960s, Kawasaki was finally importing a moderate number of motorcycles. The Kawasaki H1 Mach III in 1968 along with several enduro-styled motorcycles to compete with Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda increased sales of Kawasaki units.
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