Kawasaki
Kawasaki's Aircraft Company began the development of a motorcycle engine in 1949. The development was completed in 1952 and mass production started in 1953. The engine was an air-cooled, 148 cc, OHV, 4-stroke single cylinder with a maximum power of 4 PS (3.9 hp/2.9 kW) at 4,000 rpm.
In 1954 the first complete Kawasaki Motorcycle was produced under the name of Meihatsu, a subsidiary of Kawasaki Aircraft.
In 1960 Kawasaki completed construction of a factory dedicated exclusively to motorcycle production and bought Meguro Motorcycles.
Kawasaki has since then become one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers. |
