User:Noles1984/sandbox-a

The Kawasaki F81M (UNDER CONSTRUCTION-USER CREATION PAGE) was a racing motorcycle manufactured by Kawasaki Motorcycles for 1971. It was "ready to race" and designed for the competition market. Though it was used in off-road and early motocross, the F81M was designed more for Short track and TT racing, desert events, and flat track racing.

History
Kawasaki was the first manufacturer to introduce a 250 cc motocross motorcycle. The 1968 Kawasaki F21M with a red tank was Kawasaki's entry into motocross. From 1969 to present, candy lime green became Kawsakis racing color. The F21M became known as the "Green Streak" by many riders from 1969 on:



The F21M was a 238 cc off-road motorcycle manufactured from 1968 through 1970. The F81M was created from the Kawasaki F8 250 cc Bison, a street legal, enduro or dual-purpose motorcycle. Only made for 1 production year, it was still a formidable adversary with its superior horsepower. While the F81M, like the F21M were more suited for desert racing and scrambles in N. America, in Europe motocross was dominant and tracks became more demanding. (Ref: Early years) Kawasaki upped the displacement in 1971 to 247cc and rebadged the F21M as the F81M, but it was still called a Greenstreak, with the rotary valve and open pipe. (Ref: Motorcycle.com)

Engine
The F81M was powered by a single cylinder, two-stroke engine with a displacement of 247 cc. Its power came from the rotary inlet valve design used by all Kawasakis at that time. Unlike the other rotary valve engines on Kawasakis, only the F81M and Kawasaki G31M had a large main air filter and intake behind the cylinder head as well as a small air intake on the carburetor cover on the right sides of the engine. The F81M also had a steel rotary disk while its predecessor had a fiber disk. It had a smaller, lighter flywheel and external coils.