When Kawasaki debuted their electric motorcycle concept at INTERMOT, the naked unit turned heads with its plug-in potential.
Now, Milan’s iteration of the world’s biggest motorcycle show has given us three more machines to stare at – and they represent every niche of carbon neutrality that Kawi has been poking their fingers into until now.
Kawasaki’s reveal of four bikes at EICMA included several electric options, a hybrid, and an experimental hydrogen concept. Media sourced from Kawasaki.The Plug-In e-Twins
As stated on MCN, these two electric bikes may carry the same electric platform, but they’re fraternal twins at best. The one gains visual bits from the Kiwi Ninja range, the other from Kawi’s naked offerings.
These particular machines will be the father and mother to Kawaski’s eventual production model, which we’re guessing will be the main e-contender for performance, agility and overall handling in Kawi’s future zero-emission lineup.
No pricing or debut date, but they’re definitely well-suited aesthetically to Kawi’s lineup, so we will likely be seeing updates in the coming seasons….perhaps the next iteration of EICMA, considering the announcement toward electrification was last year and the trifectal debut was this year?
Expect both these beauties to be “compliant with the A1 licence class and feature a max battery capacity of 3kWh” when they finally arrive – and who knows, maybe she will replicate Kawi’s smaller-cc offerings and feature a 785mm seat height, non-adjustable suspension and a preload-adjustable monoshock…
Kawasaki’s reveal of four bikes at EICMA included several electric options, a hybrid, and an experimental hydrogen concept. Media sourced from CycleWorld.Hybrid Newcomer
This was a bike we know for a fact was taking up a lot of space in the proverbial lab. Kawasaki’s extremely keen on fuel alternatives that can be used cheaply and safely in the motorcycle community – options like E-fuels, biofuels and a combo of our traditional offering with one of the two.
“…the hybrid…is bolstered by an electric motor, with both the electric powertrain and the combustion engine driving through a semi-automatic transmission operated by buttons on the left handlebar,” explains a report from CycleWorld.
“Other features include a “walk” mode, allowing the electric motor to be used to manoeuvre the bike at low speed, and a switch that moves the transmission into a fully-automatic setting.”
Other perks of this machine will be a trademarked feature called “eBoost.” Apparently when that ‘eBoost’ button is pressed, the bike will combine both gas and alternative fuel for a blended result.
For now, we’re looking at plans for a 2024 debut, so hold on to your hats.
Kawasaki’s reveal of four bikes at EICMA included several electric options, a hybrid, and an experimental hydrogen concept. Media sourced from CycleWorld.The Hydrogen Hooner
Purely experimental, still in her infant stages and playing a guessing game with the audience; we present the new hydrogen engine from Kawasaki.
Based on the supercharged Ninja H2, the heart of this mechanical masterpiece is no abecedarian; gaseous hydrogen directly injected into the governing bodies of the engine purportedly does the job for instant results and then some.
As for the inspiration as to the design of the hydrogen canisters, we have another anecdotal tidbit from CycleWorld:
“Images of the bike show its hydrogen stored in canisters in the rear. That’s potentially a result of Kawasaki’s tie-in with Yamaha and Toyota on hydrogen-fuelled combustion-engine development.”
“Toyota revealed cylindrical hydrogen canisters looking much like the Kawasaki ones earlier this year, with the intention of using them like swappable batteries in Woven City, an entire community that Toyota intends to build at the foot of Mount Fuji,” continues the source.
“The idea is to have hydrogen canisters available at vending stations, and to power small hydrogen fuel cells for electric devices and vehicles.”
…but more on that later.
Kawasaki’s reveal of four bikes at EICMA included several electric options, a hybrid, and an experimental hydrogen concept. Media sourced from The Autopian.Meantime, what do you think about what Kawasaki’s up to?
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