This bike was a project
that took place over nearly 6 years based on time and parts
availability! It originally began with the idea of adding the
first "large displacement" Kawasaki to come to the USA to my
collection.
I found three different
W1s, one from Connecticut for $400, one from Michigan for $600,
and one from Wisconsin for $800, and these three, which were all
missing one part or the other, were combined to make one good
running W1. The seat was redone in Florida, even down to the
correct font for the "KAWASAKI" logo on the back. The mufflers
were the only part I could not find, and were remanufactured in
India to exact factory specs for only $1,100, including the
tooling and dies.
Professional restoration
was undertaken at Nick's BMW in Green Bay with John Eng and Pete
Dujanovich. VJEMC members Kevin Rodgers and Jim Robbins were
very helpful in locating needed parts. Kevin also was the
recipient of most of the remaining parts after the bike was
completed.
We are almost ready to do a
road test and look forward to many fun miles on this motorcycle!
Kawasaki hoped this bike would take business away from BSA and
the other British marques, and patterned it after the BSA A10.
Very few remain, and only about 2,400 were manufactured in
total, with many going to England and Australia.
John DeBeck
