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Kawasaki A1 250 Samurai
The Kawasaki W1 did not sell as expected, because all rival bikes were still faster, lighter and had better steering. Kawasaki developed the lighter A1 Samurai in 1967. The A1 took center stage as a high-performance machine, with approximately 80ps per liter. It was quickly followed by a larger-bore model, the Kawasaki A7 Avenger which shared most of the Samurai components except the motor. The A1SS Samurai has a crossover dual exhaust mounted on the left side and just below the seat. Other than exhaust system, there were no other changes between the standard A1 and A1SS. The engine was a unique straight twin,
two-stroke, air-cooled, oil-injected, dual rotary disc
valve. The engine's ignition air supply began in an air
filter canister below the seat and was pulled through a
large plenum chamber just above the transmission and
behind the cylinder head then downward into the two
internal passages leading to the carburetor housing
feeding the carburetors. The A1 had two Mikuni
carburetors located on the engine's left and right sides
and inline with the crankshaft. The carburetors were
enclosed and protected from the elements by carburetor
covers fixed to the crankcase. Inboard of each
carburetor, and supporting each carburetor, was the disc
cover. The rotary disc valve was housed inboard of that
cover. The A1 Samurai motor was lubricated by the
Superlube system, with 2-stroke oil directly injected in
the intake tract. Previously equipped with points, the
ignition system was equipped in 1969 with a Capacitor
discharge ignition including thyristor-based switching
system then increased the voltage to between 25,000 and
30,000 volts reducing the unburned fuel mixture within
the cylinders.[1] Source wikipedia
Overview Early on, Kawasaki executives quickly learned that customers wanted far more than just getting from Point A to Point B on a fun little machine. The open roads and huge continent invited bigger bikes with more performance, much more. So, in a brazen move for the time, a twin-cylinder, rotary-valve two-stroke motorcycle called the A1 Samurai was created, soon to be followed by the larger A7 Avenger. Both bikes were specifically designed for the United States market under the leadership of the president of American Kawasaki Motorcycle Corp., Royozo Iwaki, but before launch they needed to be proven on America’s roads. In February 1966 a factory engineer from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. arrived with a Samurai prototype, and American Larry Beall, a future Kawasaki sponsored racer, signed on as test rider. With a budget of just USD2,000, the test ran from Oklahoma City to New Mexico, with most of the route in Texas. The trip was successful, and within months A1 production bikes – along with Kawasaki’s first production road racer, the A1R, began arriving at dealers. They were fast. Their performance matched that of the British bikes twice their size. Word of this performance began to spread among dealers, customers and the press. When Jim Deehan won the Open Production race at Willow Springs Raceway aboard an early A1 Samurai – the first road race for a Kawasaki vehicle –the floodgates of interest in the Kawasaki brand burst open. Kawasaki’s unique brand of daring, in-your-face attitude had arrived.
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Any corrections or more information on these motorcycles will be kindly appreciated. |