Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. Celebrates 50th Anniversary – The Centurion
Kawasaki’s most famous early production dirt racer was the 1970 100 Centurion G31M, a “beginner” 99cc two-stroke with dizzying performance.
Irvine, CA -(AmmoLand.com)- Man had just landed on the moon, the film Easy Rider, (1969) premiered, and the Woodstock Music Festival had just occurred.
It was a remarkable time in the USA. Then came the 1970 Kawasaki 100 Centurion G31M, 99cc of rotary-valve two-stroke dynamite wrapped in Lime Green racing paint. Before the advent of KX motocross bikes, the Centurion quickly developed a fierce reputation as a scrambler and dirt-track racer.
No wonder: its small-bore engine produced a claimed 18.5 horsepower at 10,250 rpm. Priced at $560 and weighing just 178 pounds dry, the Centurion was offered as a beginner’s bike – but the performance was simply rabid, as anyone who rode one or even just heard the raspy exhaust note from the expansion chamber could attest.
As was typical for dirt bikes of the day, the Centurion featured a conventional fork with just five inches of travel and twin rear shocks with even less. The chassis used a double-cradle steel frame, small-diameter drum brakes, and 3.25-18 Dunlop K70 tires. But it …Read the Rest
Source:: AmmoLand
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