In the late 80’s, Kawi had some success with their KR250 road racer, and released the Kawasaki KR-1 as a wonderful little two-stroke race rep. It was quite successful, triggering increased competition from the big 4, and it set off a 250cc 2-stroke war among the Japanese – unfortunately us Americans didn’t get to enjoy these little demons. You got a two-cylinder, reed valve induction motor with a 180 degree firing configuration. KIPS – the Kawasaki Integrated Powervalve System that’s advertised quite heavily on the fairing – was designed to broaden power delivery and was used in other Team Green 2-strokes. All this meant the water-cooled machine produced 59 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque. Less than 10,000 of the KR-1s were produced, making it much rarer than the competition.
Today we’re excited to offer a KR-1 with a wonderful history in land speed racing – here’s the story from the seller:
“I owned a Kawasaki dealership in Oklahoma City that specialized in high performance over all spectrums…road racers, drag racers, motocross racers, jet skis and 4 wheelers. Former Kawasaki motocross factory racer Trey Jorski was my general manager, and our dealership had factory race mechanic Curtis Ross performing race prep. In 1989 we agreed with Kawasaki Motors to import a Euro KR1 and with their assistance, take the KR1 to the Bonneville Salt Flats and set some speed records so they could use the records promoting their racing heritage.
We set 2 records in 1989, one in the Production class with a 2 way average speed of 129.874 mph against the record of 122.570 mph and in the M-AG-250 class with a two way average of 128.530 mph against the record of 125.727mph. We then took the bike back to the factory and after a winter of testing and adding improvements went back to Bonneville and made an initial pass (per the timing slip) of an unheard of speed of 171.928 mph; however, we were unable to make a return pass due to deteriorating salt conditions so we loaded up, came home, and the bike has remained as it came off the salt, untouched for 30 years.
We had been in communications to restore and run the bike again in 2025 with my youngest daughter piloting it (she previously set a WLSR in the 100 cc production class on a Derbi GPR), but God had other plans. Despite losing my colon and rectum in multiple surgeries, my prognosis is terminal, so I am selling the bike along with several others as well as some exotic cars because it wouldn’t be right to leave them with vehicles they know nothing about. The bike comes with any spares I can find, the Record Certificates, timing slips, commemorative helmet that the factory sent, the magazine clippings from Speed Sport and the WLSR trophy (I gave one to Trey Jorski, so I only have the Production category trophy).”
This example is VIN: KR250B005360.
This was part of a Kawasaki factory effort, it was delivered to the seller directly from Kawasaki UK.
The odometer shows 409.8 miles, the seller states that they were all put on while testing/racing.
Maintenance:
“Nothing has been done to the bike since it came off the salt in 1990. It was on display in my motorcycle dealership (Kawasaki Superbikes) in Oklahoma City until I sold the dealership and moved to the Austin, Texas area and has literally sat untouched in my shop since then. We had made initial plans to send the bike back to the factory for a complete rebuild but the bike has not been started since `1990.”
Modifications:
“This is a factory sponsored and prepared race bike. The cylinders have been done by factory racing mechanics. The carbs have been modified by them, the pipes have been modified and the heads are one off custom all the while meeting the production rules requirements of the “production” class and still be able to run in the M-AG-250 class and the MPS-250 class. It set records in the Production and M-AG classes which stood for many years. After our initial record setting efforts and making improvements over the winter, we went back in 1990 and made one pass crushing our existing record of 129.874 with an official speed of 171.928 mph. Records are usually broken in increments of tenths of a mph so this was a remarkable achievement and Curtis thought we could make the return runs even faster but because of deteriorating salt conditions we were unable to make return runs in either class. All timing slips, Land Speed Record slips and certificates documenting the records come with the bike. We were comfortable that we would be able to run this bike in excess of 175 mph with corrected jetting for the conditions.”
Inside of the tank:
[PLACEHOLDER: PHOTO OF INSIDE TANK]
The sale includes a helmet, the factory work order, trophy, and speed record documentation.
The sale also includes a spare upper fairing.
Cosmetic Blemishes: please see the album in the “Photos” tab for all known cosmetic blemishes. Here is a selection:
“It should be classified as a barn find since it has just sat in the shop for 35 years.”
Currently located in Elgin, Texas, this Kawasaki is offered on a Bill of Sale only. Have any KR-1 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
