Take A Look At Kawasaki's Historic World Superbike Liveries

KRT race bikes donned these special liveries in celebration of Kawasaki's 125th anniversary.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Oct 20, 2021 at 11:00pm ET

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The month of October, 2021, has certainly been one of much change for Kawasaki. On October 1, 2021, Team Green officially spun-off its motorcycle business into a separate entity, adopting a new logo in the process. The Kawasaki River Mark, seen in the H2 models since their release, will now represent Kawasaki Motors Limited, Kawasaki's motorcycle company. To add to this, 2021 also marks the 125th anniversary of the company as a whole.

To celebrate both the past and the future—the rich heritage the company has brought about over the last one-and-a-quarter century, as well as the exciting things that are to come—Kawasaki made use of special liveries in the Argentina round of the WorldSBK. Two special liveries were designed for the Kawasaki ZX-10RR KRT machines of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes. The reigning championship team adopted historic racing liveries, nodding to the company's rich racing heritage.

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On the one hand, reigning champ Jonathan Rea's bike features a modern-day interpretation of Kawasaki's livery on the iconic ZXR750-H race bike from the 90s. Its distinct white, blue, and green motif truly made it stand out from KRT's usual lime green livery. Alex Lowes' bike, on the other hand, was equally special. It featured an adaptation of the GPZ900R's livery launched in 1984—the first bike to carry the Ninja name in the U.S. market, and the famous motorcycle a very young and sweaty Tom Cruise piloted in Top Gun.

Apart, of course, from being a nod to Team Green's racing legacy, the historic liveries also symbolize the acceptance of change, with Kawasaki welcoming what the future has in store with open arms. Kawasaki states that the use of these historic liveries in the Argentina round of the 2021 WorldSBK celebrates the past, present, and future of the company. Certainly, these liveries captured the attention of thousands of spectators from all over the world last weekend. It would definitely be super cool if Kawi released limited-edition liveries like these for its street bikes.