Kawasaki Heavy Industries made airplane engines, trains and ships, and decided to make motorcycles in the early 60’s so their name would be known to the public. In the late 60’s they decided Americans wanted straight line acceleration over speed and planned a series of exciting and nasty 3 cylinder two strokes, the largest being the 750cc H2. They were known for their terrific acceleration and poor handling in corners. Hundreds of teenagers have scared the hell out of themselves on one of these. Kawasaki also had in development a 4 cylinder four stroke bike but was scooped by Honda’s CB750 in 1969. They came out with their Honda-beating 900cc Z1 in 1972 and were in turn topped by the Suzuki GS1000 in 1978. It’s been a horsepower race ever since.