IT IS hugely ironic that Kawasaki, at the forefront of street bike performance ever since the 1969 release of its H1 Mach III two-stroke triple, should have started life on two wheels by building a better British bike. For that’s what the OHV parallel-twins it manufactured from 1965 to 1974 unquestionably resembled. And even after it trumped Honda’s CB750 Four with the 903cc Z1, Kawasaki still kept producing the W3 650 alongside the Z1 at its Akashi factory. For a couple of years, grilled steak and beef stew coexisted on the menu.
The Japanese had form in replicating British two-wheeled technology. The country’s first series production model, the Miyata Asahi 500cc single from 1913 onwards, was a faithful copy of the side-valve Triumph 3½. Rip-offs of British designs dominated the Japanese motorcycle market in the run-up to WW2, but there was no shame then attached to what was seen as a necessary first step on the path to manufacturing. Stage One entailed copying others
