Who here thinks Kawasaki is the best bike maker and why?

That's awesome   I wonder what Shõzõ Kawasaki would think if he could see his company now 

In the early '90's, Kawasaki Robots were the class leaders.

After a 2 week training course at Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Akashi, Japan, I was tasked with programming all 23 Kawasaki Robots on the very first, fully robotic, automotive vehicle production line in south Africa.

Ford had already divested from South Africa, but a consortium, SAMCOR (South African Motor Corporation) continued building Ford, Mazda and Mitsubishi Vehicles. My Dad worked for Ford for 35 years!

The production line was a world first, being able to assemble bodies from, from different manufactures, on a common production line.
It was aptly named AIMS... Articulate, Intelligent, Manufacturing System... designed and engineered locally. 
A system of interchangeable "tooling sets" could be commanded to "adapt" the production line for up to 16 different models / variants.

Those Kawasaki Robots were capable of moving a 100kg spot-welding gun at speeds of 3 meters per second!

 

 

 

 

 


Good times!
 

That is excellent 
I love to hear these stories and learn new things about Kawasaki, I had no idea the Robotics side was so class leading, amazing. 
fantastic pictures too 

kawasakis always for me had a raw edge to them and you needed/need to ride the bike and not just sit on and twist the throttle
maybe even braking needed a bit of preemptive thought
i not sure many of the young guys i ride with ( them on their modern bikes ) could handle my kz 1000 st and to be fair i woudn't 
want to ride their bikes 
air cooled kzs are like air cooled porches
i might be mistaken but wasn't it a kawasaki boring machine that drilled both the channel tunnel and the chiltern tunnel more recently on hs2
this year i was working at epsom for the derby and kawasaki carts were everywhere hauling all sorts of equipment/materials
kawasaki all day long for me

KHI was Everywhere!! I have a waay older Coleman genset that used a Kawasaki engine. Tiny one but internally overbuilt, still runs ha. 

Although I have a soft place in my heart for 1960's CL and CB Hondas, I now own nothing but Kawasaki...and I have always been impressed with KHI...so much so, that I own stock in KHI and can officially state that I am a part owner (albeit minor) of KHI.

Do the other bike makers have better old bike part availability?  That is I think my only complaint of Kawasaki and I've often wondered if I would have an easier time sourcing parts for an old Honda.

I was going down the rabbit hole of researching old british roadsters(mainly MGBs) the other day and was surprised how available their parts seem, with basically everything I could think of at just moss.

My MGB GT is the cheapest cars I have to keep running. I can get almost any part I need the next day from a parts place in Portland Or. The car is very reliable and simple to work on. 

I like my Kawasaki bikes a lot but I also like my Honda V4 Sabre 700S. It's the most comfortable bike I have.   

Kelly E wrote:

My MGB GT is the cheapest cars I have to keep running. I can get almost any part I need the next day from a parts place in Portland Or. The car is very reliable and simple to work on. 

I like my Kawasaki bikes a lot but I also like my Honda V4 Sabre 700S. It's the most comfortable bike I have. 

 

Out of curiosity what makes your Sabres so comfy? My brother has a honda ST1100 and that thing is also very comfortable, but then again the ST1100 is a sport-tourer.

I imagine it depends on year/model.
eg. I restored an '83 honda cbx550f. Parts were almost non existent. Although that was around 2010. Things may have changed since then.

Regret selling the old girl.

Kelly E wrote:

My MGB GT is the cheapest cars I have to keep running. I can get almost any part I need the next day from a parts place in Portland Or. The car is very reliable and simple to work on. 
 

That tempts me even more towards an MGB.  Not shopping for a second car until I finish my bachelor's, but riding my KZ440 has taught me I do really want a small sports car.  I want an option between a bike and my civic, something fun that doesn't require putting on a bunch of gear first.  My list of potential cars is probably close to 40 cars long, miata is probably the answer, but a British roadster seems more raw in the ways I like about my old Kawasaki.  There is also something comforting about how little my KZ440 is worth and the lower end of rubber bumper MGB aren't too much higher.

bound wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

My MGB GT is the cheapest cars I have to keep running. I can get almost any part I need the next day from a parts place in Portland Or. The car is very reliable and simple to work on. 

I like my Kawasaki bikes a lot but I also like my Honda V4 Sabre 700S. It's the most comfortable bike I have. 

 

Out of curiosity what makes your Sabres so comfy? My brother has a honda ST1100 and that thing is also very comfortable, but then again the ST1100 is a sport-tourer.


The Sabre 700S is 80hp, has a long wheelbase combined with mono-shock rear suspension so it rides like a sport touring bike. Because of the V4 motor the CG is lower. When a local bike wrecking yard closed down I found a recovered seat for $30 that turned out to be really comfy. I've installed Progressive springs in the forks to compensate for the weight of the fairing and I made an adapter to run a 01' Honda CBR 1100xx Blackbird rear shock and it handles great. It's 100lbs lighter than my 94' Kawasaki Concours.
I still ride the Concours on all the road trips because it awesome.