Fast & Feature Rich. Review on Kawasaki KB 100

Hi everyone,

The year was 1987 and after having sold his second Yezdi, my uncle(dad's elder brother) Mr.Pradeep Mittra, was looking for a light-weight and easy-to-maintain motorcycle. He decided to go in for a Hero Honda CD100 but the Hero Honda guys told him that he would have to wait for a very very long time to get his CD100. So he dropped the idea of buying a CD100 and thought of buying himself some other bike. Then one day he noticed a new bike in a Bajaj showroom. He enquired about it and came to know that it was a new bike from Kawasaki Bajaj known as the'KB100'. Although my uncle was very interested in cars and bikes he knew nothing about this bike as Bajaj did almost nothing to promote this bike in those days. After looking at the specifications and features of this bike he decided to invest his money on this bike. Then on the14th of October 1987 he got home a brand new, silver Kawasaki Bajaj KB100. He bought it from Utkal Auto, Cuttack and paid Rs.15, 600 for it which included 2 mirrors, leg guard, saree guard, and a dicky.This happened 5 years before I was born. He used it for the next 23 years before giving it to me completely. Actually he had promised me that after he retired in 2010, he would give me his bike and kept his promise. After I got it I got it painted black, put on new stickers, buffed the aluminum parts and did a complete engine job.

Don't confuse this bike with a KB100RTZ, it's not. RTZs came later. This one was the very first model(with Japanese parts). The quality of the parts of this bike is simply amazing. The chrome is still in good shape, most of the original parts are still there on the bike etc etc. When I was re-painting the bike all I had to do was to buff the aluminum parts to get back the shine. I changed the accelerator wire a month back and when I changed it it hadn't snapped.

In it's time this was the only bike to feature a tachometer(of course the RD had it but then it cost a lot lot more), a center handle lock with both side locking facility, a fuel gauge, a helmet lock, biggest brake drums and longest wheelbase in its segment, a 12v electronic electrical system, an engine kill switch, a 5Ah battery, long-travel front telescopic shock-absorbers, choke lever under the horn button, a back panel and of course a fully concealed carburettor. Till today it is the only bike in India to offer a parking light. However, one stupid thing that I noticed was that the toolbox is behind the battery and the battery cover is held in place by a screw which has to be opened with  a screwdriver, so it is impossible to access the toolbox unless one has a spare screwdriver!

Now what many would be wanting to know-YES it can beat A Yamaha RX100. I have beaten Yamaha RX100s, TVS Apache RTR160s, Pulsar150s, Unicorns etc. This bike has got very good pick-up and also terrific top-end grunt. I have done 95 kmph on this bike. The best part is that it reaches its top speed without losing its breath. It does 95 kmph exactly in the same way it does 60 kmph. In other words, it does not slow down after reaching a speed of 60 or 70kmph as most of the new 4-stroke 150s do.

I and my uncle have made a few changes to the bike, not for style but for a purpose. The front headlamp and indicators are from Yamaha RX. The RX's round headlamp has better focus and the indicators match the headlamp and they are easy to find as well. The original mudguard is still in good shape but the chrome had started to come off so we put a Bajaj Caliber mudguard. And the kick lever is from Bajaj Platina which in my opinion is better than the original one.

Another great thing is that the bike doesn't ask for any maintenance. Just remember to put 2T in the 2T tank. My bike returns 37 kilometers to a litre of petrol.

I have uploaded some pictures of my bike here and 2 videos on Youtube called Kawasaki Bajaj KB100. If anyone is interested he/she can check them out.

Take Care

Wear A Helmet

And Thanks Uncle

Guddu