Introduced in 1981, Kawasaki GPz1100 has been called the last king of the air-cooled superbikes, a fuel-injected 1089cc hot rod that ruled the street and strip until the rise of the liquid-cooled, aluminum-framed sportbikes. Said […]
Tag: Kawasaki
Posh Sled: Kawasaki W650 Scrambler
Dirty Dick’s Motos builds a fast & reliable modern desert sled… Produced from 1999 to 2007, the Kawasaki W650 was a retro throwback to the British twins of the 1960s, featuring a 50-hp parallel twin […]
Dream, Build, Race: Kawasaki F5 Bighorn Supermoto
Tommy Canellos (@canellos_racing) builds a vintage road-race supermoto… In 1970, Kawasaki introduced the F5 Bighorn 350, a two-stroke enduro with a rotary disk valve, oil injection, early CDI ignition, and a cast aluminum three-ring piston. […]
Four-Stroke Hunter: 300cc GasGas Drag Bike
“Ya smell it? That’s 2-stroke!!!” The Punk’s Peak Race has become one of our favorite events to watch each year, an FIM-certified 1/4-mile sprint race up a twist of road high on Mount Jaïzkibel in […]
Problem Child: Kawasaki Zephyr 550 by Vintage Sykles
A 70s flat track racer returns to his roots… The Kawasaki Zephyr series was the company’s range of retro-styled naked superbikes, which took inspiration from the original Kawasaki Z1. That meant twin rear shocks, […]
The Rickman Zed: 1075cc Air/Oil-Cooled Cafe Racer
Thirty Years with a Rickman Z900: From 1/4-mile sprinter to cafe racer… Rickman Motorcycles, founded by brothers Derek and Don Rickman — both AMA Hall-of-Famers — is possibly the world’s best-known name in motorcycle frames. […]
STG Tracker: Kawasaki KZ750 Twin
In 1976, Kawasaki introduced the KZ750 Twin, meant to compete against large-bore vertical twins like the Triumph Bonneville, Yamaha XS650, and the bygone British twins of yesteryear. But the KZ was no throwback — the […]
Aquafresh: Kawasaki KZ1000 Cafe Racer
A big-bore Kawa from Mitsuaki Shinohara… The Kawasaki KZ1000 is one of the baddest air-cooled muscle bikes of the 1970s. Introduced in 1976, the bike won the 1977 and 1978 AMA Superbike Championship, and the […]
Kawasaki KZ400 “MoneyPenny” by WKND Customs
Built for a female air force officer… The original Kawasaki KZ400 twin, introduced during the oil crisis in 1974, was billed as a middleweight commuter, featured in magazine advertisements alongside a VW Beetle with the […]
Modern Baja Tribute: Kawasaki KX500AF “Purple Monster”
A 500cc two-stroke monster built in the image of the Mean Green Baja kings… The Kawasaki KX500 is one of the most legendary, if not notorious, off-road weapons ever created. The performance numbers are still […]
