Kawasaki Motorcycles was started in Japan in 1896 and at the time primarily worked in the aerospace industry. Their work in the motorcycle industry began in 1949 with production of engines, and then within a few years they were creating complete motorcycles.
The Kawasaki B8M Motocross bike was released in 1963, setting the company up for what would be an amazing future in the business. The B8M was a 125cc two-stroke that was created to compete in the Japanese Motocross Championships. The engineers took a stock bike, tuned it up some, painted the gas tank red, and raced. How did they do? They won the top six places in the 125cc class!
The second bike debuted by Kawasaki was the F21M. This 250cc two-stroke was released in 1967, and was successful like its predecessor. Also produced in the 1960s, the Kawasaki C2SS was a 120CC two-stroke dirt bike that was also called the Roadrunner. The Kawasaki KX series debuted in the 1970s, and anyone in the mx world knows has been their most popular series of mx bikes.
The popular Kawasaki KX series foundations would be revolutionized from the B8M series. The two-stroke KDX series was extremely popular in enduro and off-road racing as well. While two-stroke bikes were the popular versions in the past, environmental concerns have forced companies to invest in making four-strokes that are light and easy to control, as well as more environmentally friendly. This led to the emergence of the KX250F and KX450F.
4 Comments
I am chasing a piston for a 75 kx250 with a plated bore.
Thanks and regards
The F21M was a 238cc machine. It apparently was destroked from a 250. I have no idea why. This led to a timing mark error that caused the pistons to seize easily, about 10* too much advance and a bad reputation. When timed to 21* instead of aligning the marks on the flywheel or using the published TDC value there was no such problem. The gearbox had a bottom neutral that could be really exciting climbing hills too. I still have mine. it could use some paint touchups.
Dennis
Anyone know the fork diameter for a 1981 Kawasaki KX250?
What is the stock compression for 1975 Kawasaki MC1MA 90?