The Kawasaki KZ200 was a street

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

produced between 1977 and 1984 by Kawasaki. With

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools ...

, it was considered one of the biggest engine capacities of mass-production motorcycle in Indonesia in the early 1980s.

Development history

The production began in 1977, starting with conventional points type

ignition system Ignition systems are used by heat engines to initiate combustion by igniting the fuel-air mixture. In a spark ignition versions of the internal combustion engine (such as petrol engines), the ignition system creates a spark to ignite the fuel-ai ...

. This configuration lasted until the latest production batch in 1982. By 1983, the motorcycle adopted the Capacitor Discharge Ignition ( CDI) system until the production stopped in 1984. The early production of this specification is called Merzy CDI, while the latter were launched with new model of

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for Flammability, flammable fluids, often gasoline or diesel fuel. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine sys ...

and referred as Merzy Cobra. It was once planned that

Kawasaki Motorcycles is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, Utility vehicle#Light equipment, utility vehicles, watercraft, outboard motors, and other electric products. It derives its origins from Kawasaki Aerospace Co ...

would launch a new model with improved engine capacity of 250 cc. However, due to the Indonesia's governmental regulation at that time, the plan was turned down. The regulation limited the engine capacity of maximum 200 cc for public motorcycles during the period.

Specifications

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

* 5-speed

transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

* Front

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...

, rear

drum brake A drum brake is a brake that uses friction caused by a set of Brake shoe, shoes or Brake pad, pads that press outward against a rotating bowl-shaped part called a brake drum. The term ''drum brake'' usually means a brake in which shoes press o ...

Additional information

* The early KZ200 had a cable-operated front disc brake, which was uncommon for a motorcycle sold in the US. * The later engines from the KZ250 and LTD250 will bolt right in for a small displacement increase with more power. * The KZ200 was only sold in the US for two years, 1978 and 1979.

References

* KZ200 {{motorcycle-stub

Development history

Specifications

See also

Additional information

References