Kawasaki’s origins date back to the late 1870s, when founder Shozo Kawasaki opened a shipyard in Tokyo. After building steam locomotives and Japan’s first metal aircraft in the early twentieth century, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the company began building motorcycles in earnest. The 3-cylinder H1 proved popular in the all-important U.S. market, but the 1972 introduction of the 4-cylinder, twin-cam Z1 marked the first genuine Japanese superbike and saw the model claim numerous speed records. Kawasaki then became the first Japanese vehicle manufacturer to open a U.S. factory in 1975. Kawasaki’s Ninja sport bikes as well as its cruisers and motocross products have become mainstays in the motorcycle market. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a massive corporation that builds everything from aerospace and defense equipment to bullet trains and robots, but it’s recreational vehicles like motorcycles and the original Jet Ski that have made the company a household name.