News
Kawasaki Motorcycles 70-year Anniversary
Celebration Project Begins
In September of 2023, Kawasaki Motors will celebrate the 70 years of making motorcycles.
We made our first forays into the motorcycle business in 1953 after the end of World War II, producing motorcycle engines under the name of “Kawasaki Machine Works.” Since then, according to our “Let the Good Times Roll” slogan, we have strived to share “Fun to Ride” motorcycles with our customers around the world. Today, Kawasaki motorcycles are sold in more than 90 countries and regions.
To commemorate Kawasaki Motorcycles’ 70-year anniversary, a special exhibition focusing on the history of the motorcycle business in the U.S. market, which marked a major turning point in Kawasaki's overseas strategy, will be held at Kawasaki Good Times World*1 from September 2023. It will be the first in a series of events to commemorate this special anniversary.
Going forward, more information on the commemorative project will be posted on the Kawasaki Motors official website and elsewhere, so please look for further developments.
Working toward upholding our mission statement of “Working for the happiness and joy of all those whose lives Kawasaki touches,” we aim to keep moving forward and growing at a steady rate into the future.
Kawasaki’s Motorcycle Business in the U.S. Market
Kawasaki’s path to success in the motorcycle industry, which began with the launch of the KE-1 motorcycle engine in 1953, was not a smooth one. Several efforts were made to try to expand sales, including a business alliance and subsequent merger with the Meguro Manufacturing Company, in addition to working with trading companies to expand to overseas markets. However, each of these efforts failed to produce the sales results that Kawasaki had hoped for.
With this being the case, it was decided that selling directly to dealers would be the better way, so in 1966 American Kawasaki Motors (AKM) was established. AKM began with only 10 employees and adopted a policy of “localism,” which was innovative at the time, before going on to develop motorcycles like the A1, H1 and Z1 for the U.S. market. Early on, AKM launched a new kind of sales policy aimed at expansion that included the industry's first model year system, and worked to strengthen relationships with dealers by setting up branches in every region of the U.S., thereby consolidating its base in the U.S. market.
In 1974, Kawasaki made a $20 million investment by building a manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Nebraska after it was deemed a smart move to be in-line with a coming shift to a floating exchange rate in the U.S. Kawasaki’s Lincoln plant became the first plant built by any Japanese auto or motorcycle manufacturer in the U.S., and it remains Kawasaki’s main overseas plant to this day. It is where PWCs*2 (“JET SKI *3”) and off-road four wheelers including the TERYX and MULE are still manufactured today.
Along with this year marking the 70th anniversary of Kawasaki Motorcycles, two other well-known brands in the U.S. market—“KX” and “JET SKI”—will mark their 50-year anniversaries, while next year the American-born “Ninja” brand will mark its 40-year. To commemorate our milestones in the U.S. market, we plan to create a special exhibit that looks back on the history and trajectory of our entire motorcycle // consumer product business.
Mr. Yoji Hamawaki, who played an active role in launching the U.S. business as president of AKM, sadly passed away on April 17 this year. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
*1. Kawasaki Good Times World
| Location: | 2-2 Hatobacho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo (Inside the Kobe Maritime Museum) |
| Hours: | 10:00 - 18:00 (Entry until 17:30) |
| Closed: | Mondays (If Monday is a national holiday, closed the following day.) |
| Year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 - January 3) | |
| *Days and hours are subject to change without notice. | |
| Web Site: | https://www.khi.co.jp/kawasakiworld/english/ |
*2. Personal Watercraft
*3. “JET SKI” is a trademark of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
History of Kawasaki Motorcycles
| 1953 | Began sales of first motorcycle engine, the KE-1 |
| 1960 | Began start-to-finish production of motorcycles at Kobe Works (now Akashi Works). First Kawasaki brand motorcycle, the “Kawasaki 125 New Ace” released. |
| Formed business alliance with Meguro Manufacturing Company | |
| 1963 | “Kawasaki B8” wins motocross race in Aonogahara, Japan |
| 1964 | Merged with Meguro Manufacturing Company |
| 1965 | “W1” motorcycle released |
| 1966 | American Kawasaki Motorcycle Corp., sales company, founded in U.S. |
| “A1” motorcycle released | |
| 1969 | “H1” motorcycle released |
| 1972 | “Z1” motorcycle released |
| 1973 | “KX250” and “KX125” motorcycles released |
| 1974 | Established motorcycle assembly plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A. |
| 1984 | “GPz900R Ninja” motorcycle released |
| 1990 | “ZZ-R1100” motorcycle released |
| 1994 | “Ninja ZX-9R” motorcycle released |
| 2000 | “Ninja ZX-12R” motorcycle released |
| 2008 | “Ninja 250R” motorcycle released |
| 2014 | “Ninja H2/H2R” motorcycles released |
| 2018 | New model “Z900RS” wins first “Bike of the Year Award” in Japan |
| 2021 | Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. splits from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. to become separate company. |