Ten short days ago, our Powersports industry lost a valuable soul to the ravages of time.
Yoji “George” Hamawaki – a former Kawasaki executive – passed away Tuesday of last week, leaving behind an admirable legacy that includes “establishing the Kawasaki brand in the United States [and] bringing Kawasaki production to America.”
For reference, there wasn’t much in the way of foreign manufacturer production roots back in Hamawaki’s prime career years; the iconic man might have established American Kawasaki Motors Corp. back in 1966, but even in 1974, a New York Times article sourced from AutoWeek was quoted with the following:
“Although foreign manufacturers have made strong inroads in the United States automobile and motorcycle market, production and assembly here are a novelty.”
Thanks to Hamawaki, the “novelty” of foreign manufacturer production in the U.S. became a reality; together with one Alan Masek, Hamawaki helped build and expand Kawi dealer networks “across America with comprehensive policies, advertising materials, and service training.”
“While building the dealership and sales network, Hamawaki and Masek also studied the consumer needs and model features and communicated that information back to Japan,” continues the report from Roadracing World.
“That feedback was instrumental in Kawasaki launching the 1969 Kawasaki H1 and, later, the iconic “New York Steak” 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900, which solidified Kawasaki as a superbike brand not only in America but across the globe.”
After leaving Kawasaki in 1978, Hamawaki’s expertise traveled to BMW, where he purportedly became the President of BMW Japan, as well as the “President of Japan’s Digital Equipment Company and was inducted into the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame.”
Perhaps the deepest mark Hamawaki will leave on our present (and future) riders is the fact that he was the driving force behind the ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ campaign – an ad series so effective that the multi-conglomerate motorcycle marque trademarked the thing into Team Green genetics.
If you’re reading this and Kawasaki’s ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ campaign was instrumental in your two-wheeled journey, we ask for a moment of remembrance for Yoji “George” Hamawaki during this time.