When we think of Kawasaki motocross, we think of team green tractor trailers, unlimited budgets, huge testing programs, and big dollar deals for the best riders. What most forget is that Kawasaki was late coming to North America. The first year was 1966, and the official name was Kawasaki Aircraft Corp. Eventually they became Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or K.H.I. Even though their first year was 1966, they offered a motocross model, which is something that can't be said for other Japanese manufacturer's. The following pages will take a look at the early efforts of Kawasaki in motocross, spanning from 1966 to approximately 1973, or just before the introduction of the production kx models. This article wouldn't have been possible without the help of Jerry Friedrich, who lived the dream back in the day when Lackey and DeSoto were working their magic for K.H.I. John Laurent also passed along a few pages for this article and we thank him aswell.  |
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