Meguro motorcycle
 |
|
| Motorcycle manufacturer | |
| Founded | Meguro, Tokyo, Japan (1937) |
| Defunct | October 1964 (merged into Kawasaki) |
| Products | Motorcycles, gearboxes |
Meguro motorcycles were built by Meguro Manufacturing Co motorcycle works (目黒製作所), founded by Hobuji Murato and a high-ranking naval officer, Takaji Suzuki, in 1937. One of the first Japanese motorcycle companies, it became a partner of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, and was eventually absorbed. Named after a district of Tokyo, Meguro had its roots in Murato Iron Works, which was established in 1924. Meguro Seisakusho, which had once developed a copy of a Harley-Davidson V-twin, was established to design and build gearboxes for the nascent Japanese motorcycle industry. Abe Industries, which had once produced its own motorcycle, merged with Meguro in 1931.
Once a prestige brand, supplying the Japanese government with military and police motorcycles, and racing alongside Honda, Meguro (メグロ) became bankrupt after launching a range of lightweight motorcycles which sold poorly, and experiencing a yearlong labor strike. The rates the Meguro Z97 model introduced in 1937 as one of their 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology.
Although the first motorcycle arrived in Japan in 1895, it was not until the 1930s that its own motorcycle industry started to develop.
After the Wall Street Crash, Meguro invested in Harley-Davidson and gained drawings, tooling and important knowledge of metal heat treatments in order to make gearboxes. These were then used in their vehicles and those of another early Japanese company called Rikuo (literally "Road King"). The resulting transfer of American intellectual property taught the Japanese how to produce motorcycles in quantity. In 1935, Murato and Suzuki built a 500 cc single Z97 model based on a Swiss Motosacoche design but work was restricted due the start of WW2, during which it supplied aircraft parts. Meguro started full production again in 1948, the Z97 being joined by 125 cc, 250 cc and 350 cc overhead valve singles.
...
Wikipedia