Is it true that Kawasakis are American made motorcycles?

[jtcbx]

I was told by a mechanic, whom of which owns a Harley Davidson, a Honda, and a couple of Kawasakis that the Kawasaki motor company became an American owned company in 1974 and that any Kawasaki made during or after 1974 was/is manufactured in the United States (nebraska, specifically) and that it is an American owned company. He said most people don't know this because the name, which is obviously Japanese, was not changed. Is this so?
Thanks,
- Jason

[RichLockyer]

That information is mostly incorrect.

There is a Nebraska facility that produced the Vulcan 800, and still produces some ATVs, but the entire current "2-wheeler" lines are 100% Japanese production.

Of the vintage bikes, there may have been some KZs built in the US, but 1974? Nahh... it would have been much later. The entire purpose of the small motorcycles 750cc and below was to avoid the import duties that the US placed on imported vehicles in the 1970s. For the same reason, the Ford Courier and Chevy LUV were imported as cab/chassis vehicles (which were exempt, being considered commercial vehicles), and the beds were imported separately (parts were also exempt), and the two parts were assembled here.
There was even a special federal excise tax that applied to aftermarket wheels that were 14" diameter with the bolt pattern that matched the Courier and LUV. That excise tax was in place well into the 1980s.

As far as ownership, 90% incorrect.
Kawasaki Motorcycle is a division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and is a miniscule part of the business. The entire motorcycle division could "go away" and it would not hurt the company financially.

Ownership of KHI? It's a publicly traded company. I'm sure controlling interest is held by Japanese investors and corporate officers, but you may actually be an "owner" of KHI through your 401k.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[RichLockyer]

Honda actually built more motorcycles in the US than Kawasaki (both number of models and units sold)... and even that is over, with Goldwing production having been moved back to Japan last year.

[jtcbx]

Thanks for the quick reply.........
Could he have been referring to my model? I own a 1980 kz750 ltd. He swore up and down that it was made in America. He also said that Harley has more parts built overseas than Kawasaki does. He compared them to modern cars (kinda like ford owners believing that they actually own an american car when, in fact, they own a mitsubishi) I just happened to find this very interesting and would like to know exactly how much, if any of it, is true.
- Jason
1980 KZ750 LTD

[RichLockyer]

I'm not positive about the KZ750, but as far as I know, it was a "tariff buster", and still would have been Japanese production in 1980.

BTW: Ford has had a long standing partnership with Mazda, not Mitsubishi, but they are still completely separate companies.
Chrysler had a similar partnership with Mitsubishi, and GM has had a partnership with both Izusu and Toyota.
The Ford Courier was a Mazda, and the Ford Ranger remains a Mazda B series truck. The Ford Escort/Mercury Tracer were originally 90% unmodified Mazda GLCs, though in the 2nd generation in 1990 or 1991 they were reworked to look more like the Taurus, and at that time actually used Ford key blanks (my wife's '88 Tracer was 100% Mazda GLC except for the badges). The Chevy LUV was Isuzu, and that situation continued with the S10/S15 series trucks. The Geo line was a mixture of Toyota (Corolla rebadged as a Prizm, built on the NUMMI production line in Fremont CA), Izuzu (Spectrum and Storm were rebadged Impulse and Stylus, made in Japan), and Suzuki (Tracker was a Suzuki Sidekick/Grand Vitara, and the Metro/Sprint was a Suzuki Swift, made in Canada).

There is heavy imported content in most vehicles from all manufacturers... but there is virtually no US-made components in current Kawasaki motorcycles.

[RichLockyer]

Tell him to check the VINs on a few bikes... the country of manufacture is encoded into the VIN, though they were not totally standardized until some time in the 1980s.

[jtcbx]

I realized it was mazda (instead of mitsubishi) right after I made the post.
Anyway, thank you for the very informative replies. It may sound superficial, but I am a 'buy american' kinda guy that happens to be in love with his kawasaki and I was really hopin' the guy was right (just to be able to say that I own an American made motorcycle).
If you or anyone else here on the forums can delve a little deeper into the story (of Kawasaki selling out, so to speak, and setting up shop in Nebraska and Missouri), I would appreciate hearing it.
Thanks again,
- Jason
1980 KZ750 LTD

[Mcdroid]

Kawasaki started assembling motorcycles in Nebraska in 1974 with the KZ400 models...in 1976, they also began manufacturing the KZ900 (not Z1's...they were all assembled in Japan) in Nebraska. Most of the parts (but not all) for the bikes assembled in Nebraska were imported from Japan but since they were assembled in Nebraska, the white VIN sticker on the triple-tree says 'Made in the USA'. I believe that all early 750's were imported from Japan and none were assembled in Nebraska. Both my KZ1000's were 'Made in the USA' but all my other bikes are from the homeland.

[Mcdroid]

double post

[Rocket_88]

Originally Posted by jtcbx

whom of which

I love it when people talk swanky

[Bob Myers1]

Originally Posted by Mcdroid

Kawasaki started assembling motorcycles in Nebraska in 1974 with the KZ400 models...in 1976, they also began manufacturing the KZ900 (not Z1's...they were all assembled in Japan) in Nebraska. Most of the parts (but not all) for the bikes assembled in Nebraska were imported from Japan but since they were assembled in Nebraska, the white VIN sticker on the triple-tree says 'Made in the USA'. I believe that all early 750's were imported from Japan and none were assembled in Nebraska. Both my KZ1000's were 'Made in the USA' but all my other bikes are from the homeland.

In 1982 while I was leased to a trucking co out of Pa I was assigned a regular run, and put into the Kawasaki "fleet" I had a dedicated run from Lincoln Ne to Savannah Ga. pulling Kawasaki trailers loaded with Kawi "things". Water craft and KZ's of all sizes and descriptions were built in Lincoln. The trailer I pulled to Savannah was eventually loaded onto a boat for European export. i would swap trailers there and pull another to Seattle Wa. It was loaded with frames and forks and shocks of all descriptions, they were European import parts, and as best as I can recall there was some small atv in that mix too but I do not remember what it was. 90% of this stuff in this trailer was for Asian export after repackaging in Seattle. The other 10% was repackaged and loaded onto the Asian import trailers to fill out the load and taken to Lincoln for assembly or redistribution. Occasionally I would totally bypass Lincoln and take the Asian (Seattle) trailer straight to Chicago to the main Kawi warehouse, and then on to Savannah.
back then white boxed "stuff" was USA built and tan boxed"stuff" was Asian import. Euro import "stuff" came in yellow boxes.

[steell]

Tariff Buster refers to the 700cc bikes built between 83 and 86 (or so), to get around the 750cc or greater tariff imposed on behalf of Harley. IIRC the tariff only lasted two years.

New York Times story on the subject:

Now Harley-Davidson Is All Over the Road - The New York Times


.

[StarGate]

Here is a little of the info Jeff has posted about the Nebraska plant.

Originally Posted by Jeff.saunders

The first bikes out of the Lincoln Nebraska plant were some of the KZ400's in 1975. Followed by some KZ900's in 1976.

All Lincoln Nebraska bikes would have a 5 in the first digit of the number - i.e. KZT00B-5xxxxx

[Bob Myers1]

Originally Posted by steell

Tariff Buster refers to the 700cc bikes built between 83 and 86 (or so), to get around the 750cc or greater tariff imposed on behalf of Harley. IIRC the tariff only lasted two years.

New York Times story on the subject:

Now Harley-Davidson Is All Over the Road - The New York Times


.

I never knew why they downsized the fleet of leased trucks in late 83, that could explain it. I had the dedicated run gig from early 82 until week before Christmas in 83.

[jtcbx]

Originally Posted by Rocket_88

I love it when people talk swanky

You mean swankily?

[apbling]

I thought I read somewhere that the bikes made in NE actually were called america's or something, and that they had a different paint scheme....does anyone have a picture of one or own one??

[Rocket_88]

Originally Posted by jtcbx

You mean swankily?

[Mcdroid]

Originally Posted by apbling

I thought I read somewhere that the bikes made in NE actually were called america's or something, and that they had a different paint scheme....does anyone have a picture of one or own one??

Here is a not-very-good photo of #51 of 200 made. Produced in 1978 and was essentially a KZ1000A2 with a white paint job, decals, a fairing, bags, and mags. Bikes were individually numbered and you see them every year or so on eBay. Sellers assume they are worth a bundle but they hold no more value that a 'normal' A2. The problem being is that Kawasaki didn't keep track of the VIN's associated with #1 through #200, so there is no way to verify what you have.

Across the top of the fuel tank was emblazoned 'The Americanization of Kawasaki' in red and blue.

[zoro]

Originally Posted by jtcbx

I was told by a mechanic, whom of which owns a Harley Davidson, a Honda, and a couple of Kawasakis that the Kawasaki motor company became an American owned company in 1974 and that any Kawasaki made during or after 1974 was/is manufactured in the United States (nebraska, specifically) and that it is an American owned company. He said most people don't know this because the name, which is obviously Japanese, was not changed. Is this so?
Thanks,
- Jason

Heres some trivia the "Hardley" riders hate to hear. That while Kawasaki was building the worlds #1 selling bike in Nebraska, Hardley Davidsons were being built in Japan for the AMF corperation.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by zoro

Heres some trivia the "Hardley" riders hate to hear. That while Kawasaki was building the worlds #1 selling bike in Nebraska, Hardley Davidsons were being built in Japan for the AMF corperation.

Ya, but even Harley riders don't consider AMF-Harleys to be "real" Harleys.