The Japanese government's policy of militarization in the 1920s led to the rapid development of aircraft construction. Thus, by the beginning of World War II, Japan had a record 575 aircraft deployed on aircraft carriers alone, while the United States and Great Britain together had only 220. The Asian state managed to inflict enormous damage during the fighting to Allied forces, spreading its aggression throughout Southeast Asia, all the way to India and Australia.
After its defeat in the war, Japan was occupied by the United States, whose government imposed a moratorium on the development of the aircraft industry. Aircraft factories were dismantled and exported abroad as contributions, and specialists lost their jobs. Kawasaki partially succeeded in keeping its production facilities, but only by completely retooling them. This is how the motorcycle production line emerged: largely due to the collapse of the aviation industry.
Initially, Kawasaki facilities were focused on the production of gearboxes for the motorcycle industry. In 1949, it was decided to design its own engine. Since 1951, 2-stroke and 4-stroke power units made by KAWASAKI were installed on bicycles from Noriz. Production of spare parts for third-party manufacturers did not bring the desired revenue and capacity utilization. And in 1953, motorcycle production was spun off into a separate division of the concern, which was named Meihazu. Its goal was ambitious: to develop its own motorcycle models from scratch.
The second step to remedy the situation was to increase production. If in the early 60's the concern produced annually 1700-2400 motorcycles (for comparison, Honda at the time - up to 100 thousand units per year), then in 1964 production increased to 6-9 thousand units per month. For such a leap, KAWASAKI had to acquire Meguro, which had been producing some obsolete models. After several unsuccessful developments, the 650 Meguro X motorcycle, called the KAWASAKI W1, premiered in May 1966. It was equipped with a four-stroke two-cylinder engine of 50 horsepower and 650 cm³ volume, and had a top speed of 180 km/h.
Managers of Japanese manufacturer had to do market research, studying the preferences of American consumers. During which it was found that transoceanic motorcyclists, recognizing and respecting the leadership KAWASAKI in power and maximum speed, would like a more dynamic acceleration, lower weight bike, as well as better handling and safety while making turns. Work began on lightweight powertrains, and the result was a new model in the lineup, the KAWASAKI A1 Samurai with a 250cc engine.
In 2001, KAWASAKI formed a strategic alliance with another legendary Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, Suzuki: they design and produce motorcycles, but retain their own sales structure.
The manufacturers sought leadership in all classes of motorcycles. They could not ignore cruisers. In 2004, they launched the flagship Vulcan 2000 with a record-setting 2,053cc V-engine producing 103 horsepower. Electronic fuel injection, dual throttle valves, forged pistons and rods and hydro-compensator valve timing ensured precision, reliability and power. Do not forget to use Kawasaki VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.
VIN Examples
2014 RENAULT CLIO
2014 FORD ESCORT CX 2
2014 RENAULT R. MEGANE
2014 FIAT DOBLO 1.3 JTD
2014 RENAULT 5 TL
2014 HUSABERG HUSABERG FE 350
2014 OPEL ASTRA-G-CC
2014 PIAGGIO VESPA 50 CARB
2014 RENAULT R 19 GTS
2014 FORD FOCUS
2014 PEUGEOT SATELIS 125
2014 RENAULT CLIO
2014 FORD FIESTA 3 PUERTAS 1.3
2014 KYMCO AGILITY CITY 125
2014 SEAT LEON 1.9 TDI 5V
2014 FORD ESCORT 5P
2014 CITROEN NC5 HDI110BSNES
2014 OPEL ASTRA-G-CC
2014 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
2014 OPEL CORSA 1.0
2014 RENAULT MEGANE
2014 OPEL CORSA
2014 NISSAN PRIMERA
2014 GAS-GAS ENDURO
2014 CITROEN XANTIA 20HDI110
2014 RENAULT KANGOO
2014 SUZUKI LIDO