VIN Decoder · Kawasaki
Kawasaki VIN Decoder: JKA, JKB, JK1 and ML5 Codes
A Kawasaki sold new in Europe carries its own model code inside the VIN. JKBZXT02K is a Ninja 1000 SX, and that K stays the same from 2020 to 2024, so position 10 is no year at all. JKA does not promise a Japanese bike either: a Z650 with D in position 11 was built in Thailand, a Mule with B in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- WMI set: 5 codes: JKA, JKB, JK1, ML5, MH4
- Plant codes: A Akashi, B Lincoln, D Thailand
- Last verified: 8 October 2026
Decode a Kawasaki VIN
Scope: Kawasaki JKA · JKB · JK1 · ML5 · MH4 (motorcycles, ATVs, Mule, Teryx)0 / 17
A Kawasaki VIN never contains I, O or Q. The stamping on a steering head is often worn: an O there is a zero.
What a Kawasaki VIN actually tells you
The first three characters name the Kawasaki company. JKA and JKB are the main codes and appear on road bikes, ATVs and Mule side-by-sides alike. JK1 shows up on Mule utility vehicles such as the Mule 610. ML5 belongs to Kawasaki Motors Enterprise in Thailand, MH4 to the Indonesian plant that builds the Ninja 125 and Z125. None of these codes says where the machine was assembled. Position 11 does that: A for Akashi, B for Lincoln, D for Thailand.
From position 4 on, a European Kawasaki and an American one part ways. A bike for North America has a standard VIN: a five-character descriptor, a real check digit in position 9, the model year in position 10. A bike for Europe writes Kawasaki's internal model code across positions 4 to 9, so a Z800 reads JKBZR800A, the same ZR800A that Kawasaki's parts catalogue uses. Position 9 is then a letter, and a letter cannot be a check digit.
We ran 160 model-code VINs from Norwegian classifieds through the ISO 3779 formula. All 160 failed, from a 1998 ZX-9R to a 2026 Ninja 650. Every one of the 213 US-market VINs in Kawasaki's recall notices for ATVs and side-by-sides passed. So which kind of VIN is yours? A digit or X in position 9 means the standard layout; a letter means the European one.
Kawasaki WMI codes
| WMI | Meaning |
|---|---|
| JKA | Kawasaki Motors, Japan: road bikes such as the Z900 and Ninja 400, Brute Force ATVs, Mule PRO side-by-sides |
| JKB | Kawasaki Motors, Japan: larger bikes such as the ZX-6R, Ninja 1000 SX and Z800, Mule PRO-FXT and Teryx side-by-sides |
| JK1 | Kawasaki Motors, Japan: Mule utility vehicles such as the Mule 610, built in Lincoln, Nebraska |
| ML5 | Kawasaki Motors Enterprise Thailand: Ninja 650, Z650, Ninja 500, ZX-4R and KLE 500 for Europe since about 2020 |
| MH4 | PT Kawasaki Motor Indonesia: Ninja 125 and Z125 |
For each prefix we matched Kawasaki's own entry in NHTSA's vPIC database against one more source: Wikibooks' WMI list, a Kawasaki recall notice or real VINs from European listings. Left out: the J125 and J300 scooters and the Brute Force 300, built by Kymco in Taiwan under Kymco's own RGS code, and the Jet Ski, which carries a hull number instead of a VIN.
Two VIN layouts, three factories
Kawasaki writes a bike's VIN in two ways depending on the market it was built for. The prefix tells you little about the factory. A Ninja 650 from Thailand began JKA until 2018 and ML5 from 2020, with D in position 11 both times. Are you looking at a US import in a European ad? Position 9 tells you within a second.
Built for Europe: model code in positions 4 to 9
- Positions 4 to 9 carry Kawasaki's model code, e.g. ZXT02K on a Ninja 1000 SX or EX400G on a Ninja 400.
- Position 9 is a letter, so the check digit never computes. All 160 European VINs we tested failed it.
- Position 10 belongs to the model code. It does not change with the year; the registration papers carry the date instead.
Built for North America: the standard 17-character VIN
- Position 9 is a real check digit; a mismatch shows red.
- Position 10 is the model year: N on a 2022 Z900, P on a 2023 Ninja 400.
- Brute Force 750 ATVs and Mule or Teryx side-by-sides come from Lincoln, Nebraska, with B in position 11.
Thailand and Indonesia: ML5, MH4 and JKA with D
- The Z650, Ninja 400 and Z800 for Europe came from Thailand with JKA or JKB and D in position 11.
- From about 2020 Thai bikes switched to ML5: Ninja 650, Z650, Ninja 500, ZX-4R, KLE 500.
- The Ninja 125 and Z125 come from Indonesia under MH4, also in the European model-code layout.
A Kawasaki bought in Japan has a frame number, not a VIN
Bikes sold new in Japan are registered with a frame number: the model code, a hyphen and a serial, in the style of KZ400D-008111 that Kawasaki's own parts catalogues use. It is stamped near the base of the steering stem, like a VIN, but this decoder cannot read it. Compare it with the import papers character by character instead.
Paste a European Ninja 650 and you will see amber: its position 9 is the letter M, which no formula can match. That colour is normal for every model-code Kawasaki. Red is kept for VINs with a digit or X there, such as a US Ninja 400 or a Mule, where a wrong value really means a misread or altered number. Green says the arithmetic works.
Model year: position 10 on a Kawasaki
On a US Kawasaki, position 10 is the model year: R on a 2024 Z900RS. The 30-year cycle is usually settled by the model itself, since no Ninja 400 existed in 1993. The position-7 rule for cars does not apply to motorcycles. A European Kawasaki has no year in its VIN. The Ninja 1000 SX reads K in position 10 from 2020 to 2024. Kawasaki's own Z800 parts catalogue gives one VIN prefix for all four years 2013 to 2016. Buying a used bike in Germany? The Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I records when it was first registered, in its field B; a UK V5C lists that date too.
| Code | Model year | Code | Model year |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2010 | M | 2021 |
| B | 2011 | N | 2022 |
| C | 2012 | P | 2023 |
| D | 2013 | R | 2024 |
| E | 2014 | S | 2025 |
| F | 2015 | T | 2026 |
| G | 2016 | V | 2027 |
| H | 2017 | W | 2028 |
| J | 2018 | X | 2029 |
| K | 2019 | Y | 2030 |
| L | 2020 |
Frequently asked questions
What do the Kawasaki WMI codes JKA, JKB, ML5 and MH4 mean?
JKA and JKB are Kawasaki Motors in Japan and cover road bikes, Brute Force ATVs and Mule and Teryx side-by-sides. JK1 appears on Mule utility vehicles such as the Mule 610. ML5 is Kawasaki Motors Enterprise Thailand, MH4 the Indonesian plant behind the Ninja 125 and Z125. The factory is in position 11: A Akashi, B Lincoln, D Thailand.
Where is the VIN on a Kawasaki motorcycle?
On the steering head: Kawasaki's recall notices place it on the right side of the frame head pipe, behind the front fork. The engine number is a separate stamping on the crankcase in a different format, ZR800AE and a serial on a Z800. On a Mule PRO or Brute Force 750 the VIN sits on the steel frame between the right front lower A-arm mounts. Check it against field E of your registration certificate.
Why does my European Kawasaki fail the check digit?
Because position 9 holds a letter from Kawasaki's model code, not a check digit. A Z900 sold in Europe reads JKAZR900F, a Ninja 650 ML5EX650M. All 160 such VINs we tested failed the formula, so the decoder shows amber. A bike imported from the US is different. Its VIN has a digit or X in position 9, and if that does not compute, recheck the stamping.
The VIN starts with JKA, but the seller says the bike was made in Thailand. Who is right?
Probably the seller. JKA appears on bikes from Akashi, Thailand and Lincoln. A D in position 11 means Kawasaki Motors Enterprise Thailand, as on the Z650, Ninja 400 and Z800. That is why the result card shows a Japanese code next to a Thai plant.
What can't a Kawasaki VIN tell you?
The colour, the ABS option, an A2 power restriction, the mileage or the service history. A European Kawasaki does not even give its model year. Those answers come from the papers, the stamped service book and a Kawasaki dealer who can look up parts by model code.