http://express-advocate-gosford.whereil ... k-kwackas/
Thought some my be interested...
ORIGINALLY established in 1924, the forerunner of Kawasaki was originally involved in metallurgy and the aircraft industry.
After World War II Kawasaki entered the motorcycle industry by producing small capacity engines and in 1954 produced its first entire motorcycle under the name of Meihatsu (a subsidiary of Kawasaki Aircraft Co).
It was not until 1960, after buying out Meguro Motorcycles - - that the first motorcycle rolled off the production line under the Kawasaki name.
In about 1966 Kawasaki moved into the production of large capacity motorcycles with the release of the 650cc W1 model, a copy of a British parallel twin four-stroke and a little later released two lighter versions the 250cc A1 Samurai and 350cc A7 Avenger two strokes which were highly popular models at the time.
In 1969 Kawasaki’s high performance reputation started to kick into gear with the release of the two-stroke, three-cylinder 500cc H1 model (Mach III), which was a powerful machine for the day that quickly developed a big reputation.
The H2 (Mach IV) released in 1972 was, at 748cc, a larger and even more powerful machine whose life span was cut prematurely short due to the onset of strict emission laws in the mid-’70s.
But the die had been cast and Kawasaki had officially established itself as a high-performance brand.
Kawasaki built on this reputation with the release of the 903cc Z1 in 1973. Affordably priced and offering outstanding performance, the Z1 was dubbed the King and immediately developed a large following.
Things got better in 1976 as the Z1 evolved into the Z900 and later the Z1000. The late ‘70s saw the introduction of smaller Zs, such as the ‘77 Z650, followed by the awe-inspiring, six-cylinder Z1300 developed with the intention of pulverising the opposition with pure, unbridled horsepower.
The legendary GPZ900R laid the groundwork for the development of the modern day super bike.
By the 1990s the sports bike era was in full swing and the race to build the fastest, most powerful machines was hotter than ever. It was the perfect time to introduce the ZZR1100.
Launched in 1990, the ZZR sported Ram Air induction and established itself as the fastest production motorcycle of the day. Fast forward to the year 2000 and the release of the ZX-12R, with a very low weight and producing an astounding 130kW, the ZX-12R quickly took over.
Five years later, Kawasaki has cemented its position at the front of the performance motorcycle world with a range of no compromise, extreme performance machines including the razor-sharp ZX-6R, the rocket ship ZX-10R, and the next bike to rewrite all speed records, the peerless ZX-14.