Kawasaki W Series

Kawasaki W Series

In 1960 the Akashi-based Kawasaki Aircraft Company acquired an interest in the Meguro motorcycle company, which had obtained a license to produce a copy of the 500 cc BSA A7. Meguro had been Japan's largest motorcycle manufacturer but in the late 1950s its models had become less competitive and it was short of money. Kawasaki's investment enabled Meguro to launch its A7 copy as the K.

The BSA A7, Meguro K and their respective derivatives have a parallel twin-cylinder pushrod pre-unit construction engine. All have a 360° crank angle, which provides an even firing interval between the two cylinders but high vibration caused by the two pistons rising and falling together.

In 1963 the new Kawasaki Motorcycle Corporation completely took over Meguro, but it maintained the licensing agreement with BSA and continued to build the K. The K suffered engine lubrication problems, so in 1965 a revised model called the K2 entered production with improved crankshaft bearings and a larger oil pump. Since the introduction of the K2, the K has tended to become known retrospectively as the K1.

The K2 has a larger timing cover which distinguishes it from the model K and the BSA A7. Also the K2 chassis has a different rear subframe, fuel tank and side panels. These changes gave the K2 a typically conservative Meguro image, dissimilar to the original BSA A7.