Everyone loves a list, right? Lists provide us the chance to remember, debate, and offer our own opinions, especially when the list is also a ranking. Whether it's a list of your favorite places, books, movies, meals, or whatever—the best or worst ever—it's bound to create conversation. And in the SMX world, there's nothing like the great bench racing that breaks out whenever you see something or someone ranked—or even completely left out—that you absolutely do not agree with. Too high? Too low? It's as much a matter of opinion as it is of sheer numbers.

With that in mind, we decided to kick off a new series in Racer X magazine and Racer X Online called "Depth Chart" that lists all of the riders of each factory team and ranks them accordingly. We started with Team Honda, which has been on the AMA circuit since 1973.

We ranked the top Honda riders a little bit ago right HERE, and now it's Kawasaki's turn. The absolute top of Kawi's depth chart is all-time, but unlike Honda, it drops off pretty quickly.

For example, in the Honda riders ranking, after the top ten, there were ten MORE riders with major titles (250 MX, 450SX or MX), while in this Kawasaki one, it's just one rider (see below).

Keep in mind that we did not include any fill-in riders, and you had to be on the actual Kawasaki factory team to be counted here, so no PC Kawasaki or TUF Racing or any other satellite team. And what we're taking into consideration here is how each rider performed while on the Kawasaki factory team, not their professional career as a whole.

We count AMA MX and SX results with a bit of a nod towards MXoN results, but nothing from the Trans AMA stuff (sorry, Brad!) or MXGP.

Remember, no arguing over these rankings. These are definitive!

Although Honda's depth chart is deeper, the very top level of riders who have ridden for Kawasaki is just as good as Honda, so the debate over the top Kawi rider ever was intense. Jeff Ward rode for Kawasaki for 13 years. He won titles in all three classes outdoors as well as supercross. He was 7-0 at the Trophee and Motocross des Nations. And he was the only non-Honda rider to win the 250SX title for 14 years! An absolute training animal off the track, and a beast while on it, Ward brought his A-game for a very long time against legendary riders from different eras.

BOTTOM LINE: I asked Mitch Payton, Jason Weigandt, Jeff Emig, Bruce Stjernstrom, DC, and more what they thought, and their opinions were all over the map. In the end, we went with Jeff Ward as Mr. Kawasaki, even though he doesn't have the wins and titles of some others below him. What he does have is seven titles, 56 wins, 301 starts, and 157 podiums (which is the most by any Kawasaki rider). His competitiveness over more than a dozen years makes him #1 on our depth chart.

RV had a decent rookie year for Team Kawasaki when he moved up from Pro Circuit in 2009, but it wasn't until he realized he needed to get in better shape that things really took off, and then it was game over. Villopoto won four straight 450SX titles (2011–'14), two 450 MX titles (and it might have been four had he not had a couple big injuries), and four MXoN wins. But then he was out after SX '14 due to burnout, followed by that ill-fated MXGP stint in 2015. Yet RV's career feels somehow underrated despite the numbers: 53 wins, 87 podiums in 118 races (a 73% rate), and six total 450 titles for Kawasaki are all solid numbers.

BOTTOM LINE: Some people wanted RV as #1 on the list, and we can't blame 'em for that. But RV was there for not even half as long as Wardy, so he's a very close runner-up to Wardy, which is not too bad.

As I mentioned at the top, Stew gets the benefit of his 125 stats counting for Kawasaki because he skipped the Pro Circuit part. His small-bike stats in MX and SX are simply unbelievable, but he also won 450SX and 450 MX titles. Some say the switch to four-strokes hurt him; others say he never should've left Monster Energy Kawasaki over his personal Red Bull sponsorship—both of which are probably true. James Stewart is a legend that changed the sport—the fastest man on the planet—most of it happening while on a Kawasaki.

BOTTOM LINE: James' 87 total wins is the most for any Kawasaki rider and his 79% podium percentage the highest, but we put him #3 because over half of those stats were on the small bike and not against the best of the best. (For the record, this author thought James should be #1 on this depth chart, but too many smarter people talked me out of it!)

The 170 races Eli started for Kawasaki are second most—only 131 behind Wardy! Yet Tomac's 34 wins/59 450SX podiums in 101 starts somehow only added up to that one 450SX title, even though he was the fastest guy in the series many times. Of course, Eli was dominant in 450 Pro Motocross with four of those collected while at Kawi. In my opinion, the legend of Eli Tomac started when he first went to Kawasaki in 2016.

BOTTOM LINE: The top five for Kawasaki is absolutely loaded with all-timers, so to see Tomac fourth and the guy below him fifth is something kind of absurd, but also justifiable. Tomac was probably 15 points shy of having two more of those 450SX titles, which would have certainly bumped him up on this list, but it is what it is, sorry, Beast Mode fans.

Kawasaki knew what they had in the short, red-haired kid from Florida and groomed him to be their guy forever. However, RC left Kawasaki after 2.5 years, but in that time, he collected two Pro Motocross titles and the '01 SX title, ending Jeremy McGrath's reign in the process. Carmichael wasn't a fan of the bike in 2001, and despite Kawasaki's efforts to keep him, he took his talents to Honda, then Suzuki. And he kept right on winning with both. Had he stayed with Kawasaki the whole time, this list would look much different... And can you imagine the 1-2 punch of a Carmichael/Stewart lineup? Unfortunately for Kawi, that never happened.

BOTTOM LINE: Ricky's 31 wins and his 62% podium percentage in the premier class while on Kawasaki sits him fourth all-time behind Stew, RV, and ET, so this feels about right, even with those three titles. Overall, he's the GOAT, but on this list—and probably this list alone—he's FOAT (fifth of all-time).

Roy Turner picked up Jeff Emig from Yamaha in 1996, despite the fact that Fro had not gotten off to a great start in the premier class. Emig rewarded Turner's gamble with three titles in two years. Then the bottom fell out. There was really no one beating Jeremy McGrath for a long time, but Jeff did in three straight championships (though McGrath's move to Suzuki in '97 helped). Jeff's '98 and '99 seasons weren't good at all, and Emig and Kawasaki parted ways after an embarrassing incident at Lake Havasu. In Jeff's tenure with Kawi, he gave them two of their best years, followed by two of the worst.

BOTTOM LINE: As tough as it was to decide the top five guys for this list, the next four were even tougher to slot, as they were all so equal. Emig gets the nod because his stats came against McGrath, and he's the only one with a premier-class supercross title—and bonus points for how good his Shift stuff looked!

Here's a stat: Who has more 250SX wins on a Kawasaki: Emig or LaRocco? You would guess Emig, right? Despite no indoor titles, The Rock beats Emig by one! And like Emig, LaRocco went up against the unstoppable force in SX named Jeremy, but he earned seven indoor wins and two outdoor titles. In 1994, Mike was the man in Pro Motocross.

BOTTOM LINE: LaRocco didn't say much, he couldn't start very well, and his riding style was nothing special, but he was fast and tough. His best years really were on green, and a few seasons were ruined by injury, or there might've been more wins/titles. He had 47 fewer starts on green than his rival Mike Kiedrowski but just two fewer wins and seven fewer podiums, so he gets the edge. LaRocco was faster than you remember.

A New York native, Jammer won a 250SX and a 500 MX title for Kawasaki. But get this: after winning that 500 title in '74 for Kawi, he left for Yamaha, defended that title, and then Kawasaki brought him back! He then won his SX title. Most people think of Jeff Ward as the Kawasaki guy, but for people of a certain vintage, it's Jammin' Jimmy who comes to mind when they think of green.

BOTTOM LINE: Three titles and three runner-up finishes for Weinert get him into the top ten in this list. Sometimes the 500 MX class wasn't the deepest in the sport, but Weinert beat Kent Howerton and Tony DiStefano in his two title years, so that's legitimate. He also challenged Bob Hannah in '79 for the SX title. Weinert was a joker off the track, but he was very crafty on it. He was the Ricky Johnson of his time.

One of the most underrated riders of all time, the "MX Kied" was some Suzuki shenanigans away from winning the '90 125 MX title in his first year for Kawasaki. He got his second 125 MX title the following year, then added a 500 title in '92. He battled his teammate LaRocco hard for titles on Kawasaki, with Mike K besting Mike L in '93 for the 250 MX title, and then Mike L winning the last ever 500 title later that year. That 250 title in '92 made Kiedrowski the second rider ever to win MX titles in all three classes, joining Wardy in that very elite club. It's just the low amount of 250SX wins holding him back.

BOTTOM LINE: Mike brings up the rear of this group because he had the most starts of the four (Emig, LaRocco, Weinert) but only two more wins than LaRocco and Emig and the same amount of titles as Jimmy and Jeff. Although he was also never dominant like Emig and LaRocco in 250 MX, he was still awesome.

The man known as Chicken was a fast Kawasaki Team Green rider, winning 125SX races before getting promoted to the factory team in 1988. Yes, he benefited from riding the 125 on the factory team, but Jeff brought home two 125SX titles with great seasons, then captured one win and six podiums in 125 MX. He led most of the '90 250SX season, also winning one premier class SX and one 250 MX for Kawasaki.

BOTTOM LINE: Unlike the Honda story we did, the depth of Kawasaki riders does drop off a bit. We could've gone with Brad Lackey here for his '72 500 MX title, or Jason Anderson for all his 450SX wins, but in the end, Chicken got the nod here. He won on two sizes of bikes, indoors and out, and in those two regional 125SX titles he got, he was basically the pre-McGrath out there, and he always looked so damn cool on a Kawasaki!

"Bad" Brad is mostly remembered for his Suzuki 500 GP title years, but he was on the very first factory Kawasaki team in 1972 and rode for two years there. He won the '72 500 MX title in dominant fashion, but I can't seem to figure out if he started on a CZ and then switched to Kawi or he was on Kawi the whole series. Either way, it's recorded as a Kawasaki national title. Lackey also the top American in the Trans AMA fall series on Kawasaki in 1972, and several of his finishes as top American were counted as AMA national wins, which skews his win total.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 37
Total wins/podiums: 15/22

Hired away from Honda, Ron Lechien never quite hit the heights people thought he would due to a combination of not training and off-track, uh, well, things. The Dogger's first year on the team was horrible as he struggled to get used to the new production Kawasaki after his works Honda, but he got better the next three years. Ronnie won 250SX and MX along with 500 MX races for Kawi and dominated the '88 MXoN as well as winning a 500GP. Lechien made the podium in almost HALF the races he suited up for at Kawasaki and his career basically ended with a broken femur at Steel City the end of the '89 season.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 89
Total wins/podiums: 7/43

Jason is 9th all-time in number of races for Kawasaki - life comes at you fast, right? - and in a bit of a weird twist, Anderson got all nine of his Kawasaki wins in his first year on the team, including two 450 MX races. After that, there were podiums, but he never quite got to the same level as that magical 2022 season. Still, 29 podiums is legit and brings him in at #13. We went with Dogger over him because of the podium % for Kawi, and also, we called Dogger and he told us he was better.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 95
Total wins/podiums: 9/29

"Gassin' " Gaylon was a Team Kawasaki member who was killed on his bicycle while training for the 1980 Unadilla Trans-AMA. He won Anaheim SX, and he won the brand its first 125 National, as well as on 250s and 500s, so he could do it all. Before my time, but from what I read, Mosier had great style on the bike.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 40
Total Wins/Podiums: 4/9

Oh, what could have been for AC! A Team Green kid for his entire career once off 50s, AC won two 450 MX races, and despite blinding speed in SX, only collected four podiums in 45 450SX races. He finished second in 450 MX in his rookie big bike season, but nerve issues made him call it a career early. Adam did deliver a 250 MX national title for Kawasaki, but that was on Pro Circuit, and sorry, that doesn't count for this exercise. Did we mention, “Oh, what could have been for Adam?”

Total Races on Kawasaki: 71
Total Wins/Podiums: 2/13

Sexton's Kawasaki career isn't over (yet?), but he got three podiums in 450SX, including two wins! Yeah, we know, but two 450SX wins are two 450SX wins, so nothing to sneeze at. Will these stats be all he accumulates with Kawi? IDK, man.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 16
Total Wins/Podiums: 2/3

Damon was THE hot property in the sport when he inked a two-year deal to move to the premier class with Kawasaki. Team manager Roy Turner made a curious move to keep Huffy down in 125 MX for his first season on the team, and he won one race there (scorching-hot Kenworthy’s in Ohio) and four podiums. Only one 450SX win for Huffman in his career; he did it in Atlanta in 1997 on a KX250, then broke his leg that next week. Bonus point because Huffy with AXO on Kawasaki looked cool.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 49
Total Wins/Podiums: 2/10

Semics' wins came in 500 MX, where he finished runner-up to then-Husqvarna rider Kent Howerton in '76 for the title, and he also collected one podium in 250 MX for the green guys. A much-traveled journeyman racer from Ohio, Semics had a great career by any standard.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 33
Total Wins/Podiums: 2/6

Wins in the 125 MX series only; we lumped the next two guys together. Reynard was the "next big thing" for the Kawasaki guys, and when Kawi skipped Pro Circuit and put him on the factory team on a 125, it showed you what they thought also. Robbie would seemingly suffer 83 different shoulder injuries in his time at Kawasaki, but he got four 125 MX wins in his time there and podiums in 125SX. He's in the AC "what could have been" category, ICYWW.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 43
Total Wins/Podiums: 4/8

Strange career for the hella-fast Team Green amateur from Michigan. He turned pro with Kawasaki in 1985, but not on the factory team. Eddie won the '85 125SX title, got promoted to the big truck in '86, and won two 125 nationals. Also in '86, he moved to 250SX because, of course, why wouldn't you move a kid up after just one year of SX? He got top-tens there, then in '87, battled a shoulder injury, made a 250SX podium, got on the podium outdoors, and was fired. Then he never raced in the USA again. I was going to put him ahead of RR with two less wins but one 250SX podium, but Reynard got him on podiums and double the wins. I did manage to track Eddie down years ago to ask him WTF happened. https://racerxonline.com/2020/04/09/fly-racing-racer-x-podcast-eddie-warren

Total Races on Kawasaki: 40
Total Wins/Podiums: 2/5

Look, I know Red Dog has just one win for Kawasaki, and it was given to him when Kevin Windham thought the white flag was the checkers, but don't forget about those two MXoN wins as well! His 18 podiums are third overall of all Kawasaki riders outside the top ten on this list, so that's good! He also was a great supporting teammate to all-timers Ryan Villopoto and James Stewart! After typing all this out, maybe he should have been even higher!

Total Races on Kawasaki: 70
Total Wins/Podiums: 1/18

All the guys here and below had this weird time at Kawasaki where they're all probably known for riding for another brand, but at some point, they stopped over on green. Reedy's time was better than you remember, although he got one win, and it was in 450 MX! Better than you remember because he only raced 13 races for Kawasaki factory team but got on the box in five of them. Because he was close to a 50% podium ratio, he gets the tie-break over the guys below him.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 13
Total Wins/Podiums: 1/5

Two years for Yogi at Kawasaki, and in there, he managed to get a 450SX win in Phoenix. He also collected five podiums outdoors and probably some moments where we thought Lusk was going to win more, if we're being honest. Yogi won races on every brand but KTM, ICYWW.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 50
Total Wins/Podiums: 1/10

The former multi-time national champion rode his last two full-time years for Kawasaki and enjoyed some success in the 500MX class with one win and ten podiums in just eleven starts! Then after that great year, they moved him to 250 MX where he scored, checks notes, zero podiums. The Rhinestone Cowboy went 1-1 at the 1983 national opener at Gatorback on the trick water-cooled KX500 for his one win. You may think of Howerton as a Suzuki guy or maybe a Husqvarna guy, but don't forget Kawasaki.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 41
Total Wins/Podiums: 1/10

Yup, another "Oh yeah, he rode Kawasaki" guy! The Bomber got a 250SX win for Kawasaki (with a 2-2 score in that weirdo '85 season) in Atlanta (he was always good in Atlanta!) and also dropped down to 125s in his one season on green. But the three-time 125 MX champion was beyond his prime, didn't win a race, and only podiumed twice in six races with a wonky knee.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 16
Total wins/podiums:1/4

We gave Liles the tie-break over the next guy below because his one win came in a deeper 250 MX class. It always felt like Liles deserved a longer leash at Kawasaki, but he was two and done. He was fourth overall in '84 in 250 MX, third overall in '85, but he was fired. The ‘80s motocross scene was a weird time, everyone. The Bullet had a nice renaissance in Europe racing 500 GPs later on; he even won an MXoN for Team USA!

Total Races on Kawasaki: 51
Total wins/podiums: 1/11

More 500 MX success for Kawasaki, between Wardy, Howerton, Lechien, O'Mara, Breker—the green guys crushed it in the big boy class. Breker rode for Kawasaki for three years, scored one 250SX podium, and a 500 MX win as well. His one podium in 30 career SX starts is the worst podium % of anyone with at least one podium on a Kawasaki.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 54
Total wins/podiums: 1/12

Somehow, after three years of knee issues/missed races at Suzuki, Johnny O'Mara signed up with Kawasaki for his last season and raced every single race in 1990?! Yeah, he did, and he scored four podiums in 500 MX and one 250SX podium as well. Bonus points for O'Show for having that sweet green Answer Gator gear as well.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 30
Total wins/podiums: 0/4

Ryno rode Kawasaki for three years with no wins, but he did get 11 podiums for them in the premier class. It was seven in 250SX and four in 250 MX for Hughes, which is the highest total of podiums without a win for any Kawi rider. He also got in a fight with his teammate on a practice day.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 48
Total wins/podiums: 0/11

Weimer rode alongside Ryan Villopoto, and they were good friends, but with all the winning RV was doing, some looked at Weimer's time with just eight podiums in 83 races as a bit of a disappointment. Weimer had injuries every year he was on Kawasaki, which stunted some results, but overall, he was a good "B" guy when he was on the track.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 83
Total wins/podiums: 0/8

Ron-Ron was signed straight off a great season in 125SX/MX with Yamaha of Troy, and hopes were high. There were some off-track issues that affected him, but there weren't too many highlights for the Frenchman either. He did lead races in SX but wasn't in the shape he needed to be to maintain it.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 50
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/4

Reid's two years at Kawasaki for the '80-'81 seasons produced four podiums, three of them in 250 MX. He had a great nickname later in his career when he had "Warren-out" on the back of his pants.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 16
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/4

A bunch of guys to choose from for this spot, but why not give the #33 spot to #33, Josh Grant? Two years at Kawasaki with injuries limited him to one season's worth of races and a podium indoors and out.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 27
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/2

The friendly Aussie was plucked from GEICO Honda to be James Stewart's teammate for three years on Team Green. To me, Weimer and Byrner are sort of the same guy: great riders alongside all-timers that did their job capably. After he left Kawasaki, Byrner had a more successful stint at Suzuki for a few years, but on green, it was just two 450SX podiums.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 71
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/2

Croft got just one year at Kawasaki in '79, and I assume he got hurt as it was just 10 races, but there were two 250SX podiums in there, so, hey, not so bad! “Tomahawk” made the box in his first race on green. Between Croft, Howerton, O'Mara, Barnett, Dowd, Larry Ward, etc., Kawasaki really liked squeezing that one more year out of guys, huh?

Total Races on Kawasaki: 10
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/2

Paul was an odd choice for the factory Kawasaki spot in the 2004 season. Kawasaki had Mitch Payton running the small bike program, but Kawi signed the New Yorker up. He collected 1 podium in 125 MX and two in 125SX in his lone season. He probably should've been higher than this because he was forced to ride the Kawi-zuki 250F that was not good (ICYWW).

Total Races on Kawasaki: 18
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/3

The Junkyard Dog's final time on a factory team doing the whole year was his one year on Kawasaki in 2000 wearing No Fear (?!?) gear. Dowdy's a legend for sure; he got one podium on his KX250, and I'm sure you're guessing Southwick, but nope! It was the High Point 2000 mudder, which, if you didn't guess Southwick, you'd guess a mud race, right? We wanted to include Dowd in the "Hey, remember when we rode for Kawasaki?" guys but couldn't justify it with his stats.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 28
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/1

#38, #39, #40, #41 - Steve Wise (1976), John DeSoto (’72), Tom Benolkin (’81-’82), and Larry Wosick (1980).

There's not much to choose from with this group; maybe we need sign up for the Cycle News Archives? Tommy B was there for two years; the other guys, one year. They all got one podium for Kawasaki, and I don't know, man, flip a coin.

In his first full-time year in 450s, Marchbanks got better as this season has gone on, and obviously, we don't know his full record yet at Kawasaki. He's signed back up for 2027, so that's a good sign!

Total Races on Kawasaki: 9 (still current)
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

Hired from Pro Circuit after doing everything but win a title in 250s, Savatgy probably deserved another year on factory Kawasaki, but they had Cianciarulo coming, so Joey got the boot. He later filled in back there, but we don't count that in these things. No podiums for Savatgy on Kawasaki, but he did get six top-fives, and that gave him the tie-break over the guy below him here.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 24
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

I don't think Big Bird was a fan of the bike in 2000 when he signed on for his one year. Dowd, Ward, and Carmichael was an odd team, for sure! Larry has the "record" of most races on Kawasaki without a podium, which I'm sure he'd be stoked about.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 28
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

1978 saw Kawasaki hire “Short Stack.” He raced 10 500 MX nationals and four 250SX races, and then he left. Oddly enough, the 1977 season saw Steve be much more successful on a Maico. Upon doing some research, our friends at MXA have this quote from Steve about his year at Kawasaki: "It was a fire drill. I had six different frames and four different engines during the year. How was I supposed to get used to the bike if they kept changing it?"

Total Races on Kawasaki: 14
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

The first big hire for Kawasaki after RV left, Millsaps crushed it as a privateer on Suzuki in 2013, but on Kawasaki, whatever it was, Davi was unable to find the results. Fired before the end of SX for some something that was found in his locker in the big rig, Millsaps scored three top-fives in 14 races, and that was it.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 14
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

Everyone loves Wil Hahn! So this pains me to put him here, but our guy Wilbur had some potential on the big bike with his rides with GEICO Honda, but his two years at Kawasaki were just injury-filled, and he actually never did a 450SX race for them. Seven total races, all 450 MX, for Hahn.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 7
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

Blose rode just eight races for Kawasaki in 1980 and scored no podiums.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 8
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

I mean, the multi-time MXGP champion from Spain was signed to a huge three-year deal from MXGP and then proceeded to get hurt in his third 450SX race. When he came back for motocross, he hated the bike and stopped trying to go fast. It all culminated in Prado (probably) trying to not qualify for the Budds Creek national. The two sides decided enough was enough, and they went their separate ways where Prado has rebounded with a nice season back on his familiar KTM. With the money spent, the expectations, and how it went, Prado was probably the worst Kawasaki signing ever.

Total Races on Kawasaki: 13
Total Wins/Podiums: 0/0

The late Wyman Priddy is a difficult rider to place, not because he wasn’t fast, but he may or may not have been a true factory rider. DC believes he was, as does Texas motocross historian Shand Garcia, but to me he was more like an early factory test rider, along with Jim Cooke out in California and Finnish import Peter Lamppu. Priddy’s high finish on a Kawasaki was runner-up at the ’73 Road Atlanta National, so if he really was just a test rider, he was also a damn good racer!