The Kawasaki KR250 was a

racing motorcycle Motorcycle racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) is the motorcycle sport of racing motorcycles. Major varieties include motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Ot ...

built by Kawasaki from 1975 to 1982 for the ''250 cc'' class of

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

. It was powered by a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

" tandem twin" engine The motorcycle won four world championships, in 1978 and 1979 with

Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1982, most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki fac ...

and in 1980 and 1981 with

Anton Mang Anton "Toni" Mang (; born 29 September 1949 in Inning (Starnberg) at the Ammersee) is a former five-time world champion in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from Germany. Early life When he was 11 he had his first experience with motorcycles on th ...

. Kawasaki first started to develop the motorcycles in 1974, under the direction of Nagato Sato, and chose the layout in order to minimise the frontal area of the machine and allow a disc valve engine design. In its first years, it was ridden by

Mick Grant Mick Grant (born 10 July 1944) is an English former professional motorcycle road racer and TT rider. A works-supported rider for Norton, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki, he is a seven-time winner of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race on various ma ...

and gained little success but in 1977 it won the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champ ...

at the Assen racing circuit. The engine design was also used for a road going motorcycle inspired by the racer.

Kawasaki KR350

The KR350 was built by Kawasaki from 1978 to 1982 for the ''350 cc'' class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The motorcycle was very similar to the smaller KR250. It won four world championships, in 1978 and 1979 with

and in 1981 and 1982 with

In Popular Culture

The KR250 (road version) was featured in Dragon Ball.

References

KR250 and KR350 Grand Prix motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 1975 {{motorcycle-stub

Kawasaki KR350

In Popular Culture

See also

References