MEGURO (KAWASAKI)

250 S3 Junior - 1956

Japanese-with an English accent

Formerly, Meguro was one of Japan's oldest motorcycle manufacturers, specializing in four-stroke machines. In the early Fifties, they produced a whole series of single cylinder machines, from 125cc to 500cc, whose very English lines revealed their inspiration. However, these bikes were more than simple copies like the first Japanese motorcycles; they were original machines.

Successful Manufacturer

Meguro was indisputably the most successful of the early Japanese makers. Its first machine, a 500cc single, had appeared in 1937. In 1964, Meguro was absorbed by the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Group, which had been involved with motorcycles since 1949 and had produced two-stroke models under its own name since 1961. The first Kawasaki four-strokes were just renamed Meguros.

Faithful Replica

The 250 S3 Meguro, built between 1953 and 1957, was a faithful replica of the company's 350cc and 500cc machines and had many parts in common with the larger bikes. That, of course, made it on the heavy side for a 250 – it weighed 400 lbs. ready for the road, against 445 lbs. for the 500. Oddly enough, all three Meguros had the gear selector pedal on the right like British and French machines, not on the left like the German bikes that were widely copied by the Japanese (and which would become the standard). In 1958, the 250 S3 was replaced by the 250 F, with an overhead-cam engine – and left-foot gearshift.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 248cc (65x75 mm) single-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 150 hp

Valves: overhead valves

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 4-speed, chain final drive

Suspension: (front) telescopic forks; (rear) plunger

Brakes: drums

Wheels: wire

Weight: 368 lb dry

Maximum Speed: 60 mph

This 250 53, seen at a 1990 rally of vintage bikes at Mount Asama, japan, looks remarkably like a typical English bike of the Fifties.