Kawasaki Motors Corp USA
In 2005 I was hired by Kawasaki Motors Corporation, Kawasaki’s U.S. headquarters. Working for KMC was so very different from working at AHM. Not only were there almost three decades separating my corporate Honda experience from that at corporate Kawasaki, but the business world had naturally changed, consumerism had changed, and how companies treated employess had greatly improved. And of course the motorcycle as a product was much more sophisticated and required a much higher level of support. I was hired to develop technical training, and I also was a trainer myself. Near the end of my tenure at KMC I was for about three years tasked with the management of all things training related. In that role I was fortunate to have created the dealer training for the out-of-the-box Ninja H2.

While working for Kawasaki's corporate office in L.A., I had the opportunity to create and conduct training for Kawasaki's handful of dealers in the US state of Hawaii. Not many are aware of this, but due to the way Kawasaki's US presence unfolded in the early days, Hawaii had its own distributorship separate from the US distributor. As such the eight Kawasaki dealers in that state were not supported by Kawasaki Motor Corp., USA, my employer, but by this smaller, parallel organization. However, the level of support by the Hawaiian organization was less than was available by KMC and thus the Hawaiian dealers occasionally requested help from the main distributor, my employer. Incidentally, a similar situation existed with Latin America, for whom KMC likewise regularly offered assistance in the form of hosting at the main office training for several Latin American nations' distributors' dealer mechanics. So, three days in Hawaii, my first time ever, and it was very interesting, though mostly in rather urban Honolulu and therefore not really offering the full taste of Hawaiian culture. Later I got an opportunity to go to Japan.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries
I was in Japan! What a heady opportunity! The long air flight, the seriously crowded train terminals, passing through Japanese customs. The utterly foreign societal and physical landscapes. But there I was. Almost forty-five years up in the industry and finally I am in the land of the Big Four manufacturers! Kawasaki of Japan (called KHI or Kawasaki Heavy Industries because they also make industrial robots, cargo shipping support equipment, tunnel borers, helicopters, space exploration products, and quite a bit more) had invited the technical people from several nations’ Kawasaki distributors to the manufacturing plant in Akashi, Japan. Akashi is famous for two things. One of them is definitely octopus! Everywhere are reminders of the area’s fascination with the sea creature. Even octopus-flavored cookies! No, I didn’t try them! The second is the Akashi bridge, regarded as the longest suspension-type bridge on the planet at over two and a half miles. And KHI developed it.

We foreigners were in Akashi to be exposed to the very latest in Kawasaki production tech. The then-new gyro-equipped ZX10R, for one, and of course the then-new Ninja H2 and H2R. And all of this training we would be absorbing and taking back to our respective countries to train each of our distributorship's dealers. Though many nations were represented, all of us English-speaking guys stuck together—Canada, Australia, UK and the US—to experience, process and discuss all we were shown. The Australian individual was picked that year to head up the “gaijin” contingent and very ably demonstrated his knowledge of Kawasaki’s latest sport bike front forks. Later, all of us gathered around one of KHI’s engineers to witness the latest fuel injection diagnostic procedures using methods new to all of us that year and very different from what we had been teaching and using up til then. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed.

On one day I found myself being interviewed by a KHI manager who wished to get some insights into American values and perspectives. The conversation was enlightening to both of us. Also very interesting was the factory’s lunch facility, about the size of a Walmart. A loud electronic buzzer signaled the change in shifts. On one end was a counter divided into a dozen or more banks of pretty, young order-takers. Highlighted was a dish called simply, “curry”, which is rice and breaded meat covered in a thick gravy, a concession to American tastes and closest to our chicken-fried steak. The hotel I was put up in was a common foreigner hangout. An effort had been made to make it seem opulent and inviting to westerners. English language signs, gold-colored drapes and dark, massive furniture in the lobby. All the Japanese I encountered were very friendly. A cab driver helped me with Japanese coins! On the street were many bicycles carrying people to their jobs. Many walked home from work at 9:00 at night. And so quiet! And so clean!

It was great to get perspectives from my counterparts at other country’s distributorships, and a rare inside look at the heart of an OEM. I look back with appreciation at my role at Kawasaki corporate, and among the many enjoyable parts of my tenure there was this perk of meeting with the parent company in Japan in addition to the continuous technical dialogue with KHI by email that I enjpyed throughout the year. More...