The Daytona 200 is one of my favorite races of the year. This year I was perusing some historic photos of the race when I came across one from 1969. It’s a faded photo from Kawasaki showing five race bikes and riders trimmed in green and white. Of course they’re Kawasaki racers, they’re in green.
Seeing that green brought back memories of my dad taking me to school in the 1980s on the back of his green KZ440, and my own old Ninja 500. It’s the same color as many of the new Kawasakis you’ll find on a showroom floor, whether those are dirt bikes, Jet Skis, or even electric bicycles. But that 1969 photo shows the first time that Kawasakis were painted in their now-famous color.…