From humble beginnings

Almost 40 years ago, the Meguro 250 single proved a very useful asset for the recently formed Kawasaki Motorcycles, helping the firm establish itself quickly while leaving its engineers free to develop bigger, more exciting machinery. Roland Brown goes back to the roots.

It was one of those scenarios that I’d heard about, but never really believed was possible until it happened to me. Accelerating away on the little Kawasaki single shortly after starting my test ride, I changed up through the gearbox a few times, then wondered whether there was another gear to go, so flicked my left foot again.
Finding myself in neutral, presumably a false one, I prodded the down-for-up gear lever once more. Suddenly I was amazed to find the little 250cc engine revving madly, and the bike slowing – because I’d just changed gear directly from fourth back into first, passing only via the genuine neutral on the way!
Suddenly the vaguely remembered stories about early Kawasakis that could be changed straight from top into first came flooding back, this time with the realisation that this curious design had, indeed, been used by Kawasaki 40 years ago. I was just glad that I’d been taking things relatively easy, so had changed up early on the elderly 250SG, and hadn’t damaged the motor or locked up the back wheel.
In fact the no-stop gearbox arrangement is not really as dangerous as it might sound. After trying for another gear when already in top, you do get the warning of going into neutral – itself not exactly ideal, admittedly – so a rider aware of the layout would have to be pretty clueless to shift up again. Most riders would certainly not do it more than the once, I’d guess, and I didn’t come close to repeating the mistake during the rest of my ride.

Not that I’m about to defend the arrangement, which did at least serve to emphasise not only the age of this little single, but also just how far Kawasaki came in a short time in the late 1960s and early 70s. This bike was registered in 1966 and the model remained in production until 1969, just four years before the fearsome 904cc Z1 four arrived to redefine the term superbike. You certainly wouldn’t have wanted to change from top to first gear just as the Z1 was getting into its stride at over 120mph…

The giant Japanese ship-, train- and plane-building corporation’s rapid progress was made with a great deal of assistance, though, because Kawasaki gained a huge early boost by taking over the well-established but struggling Meguro motorcycle firm. Essentially the SG was originally not a Kawasaki at all but a Meguro, having originally been sold in Japan as the Meguro S8.
If the little single’s shape, with its rounded tank and single saddle, is familiar, that’s because the SG was the inspiration for the Estrella 250 retro-bike that was popular in Japan in the 1990s, and was also sold in small numbers in some European countries, with a few ending up in Britain. The Estrella was quite a sweet, if low-powered and unexciting machine, though its visual similarity to one of Kawasaki’s oldest models was doubtless lost on many owners.
Power and excitement were not part of the attraction back in the 1964, either, when the 250SG was introduced by Meguro. Its air-cooled motor used pushrod valve operation to produce 18bhp, and was held in a simple tubular steel frame, with telescopic forks, twin rear shocks and drum brakes front and rear. Behind the old-style sprung saddle was a luggage rack that could hold a pillion seat if required.
The SG differed little from its Meguro predecessor, though Kawasaki engineers made some refinements to the engine, while Meguro’s development team concentrated on the chassis. Most of Kawasaki’s R&D effort went on the 650cc W1 parallel twin, however, and the single changed little over the next few years.
This 1966-model SG was on sale at BAT Motorcycles for £2200, having been imported from Japan. It was original and unrestored, with only 30,000km showing on its odometer. For a bike of almost 40 years old it was in very good condition, although its alloy and paintwork were tarnished in places.
The little single ran well, firing up effortlessly with a light dab of the left-sided kickstart – and requiring even less effort after I’d realised, half-way through my test ride, that the motor incorporated a very reliable electric starter! I simply hadn’t expected a small bike of such vintage to be fitted with one, but it was and it sent the little motor chuffing into life every time.
Performance was inevitably nothing to rave about, but the SG pulled away from a standstill in lively fashion, and its left-foot, down-for-up gearchange worked well once I’d learned not to look for a non-existent fifth ratio. The bike cruised at an indicated 50mph and slightly more, feeling effortless and respectably smooth, though the single-pot motor began to buzz a bit at higher speeds. Given more room it would probably have managed 70mph but, given the motor’s age, not to mention the likely availability of spare parts, I thought it best not to attempt to confirm this

Classic Motorcycle Mechanics August 2005 edition

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