Kawasaki

A collection of 50 posts

News

Kawasaki Demos Hydrogen Motorcycle Engine

Kawasaki has gone down in motorcycle history in a unique manner. The Japanese moto company recently held the world’s first public demonstration of a hydrogen-powered motorcycle engine. Kawasaki’s push for eco-friendly motorcycling is not a new endeavor. Earlier this year, it launched the Ninja 7, the first hybrid

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2024 Kawasaki Z500

Our first date was at the Julian Pie Company in California. We had our “meet cute” in the heart of San Diego only a few days before. I was in town to become more acquainted with Kawasaki’s latest offering. She was there as a model. The connection was immediate,

News

Kawasaki Ninja 7: The World’s First Hybrid Motorcycle

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are old news, with hybrid cars having been around for ages. In the two-wheeled department, though, we’ve had to settle on hybrid scooters. Kawasaki is now changing that. The Japanese moto maker has officially launched the 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 7. It is the world’s

News

Kawasaki Rolls Out the All-new 2024 Ninja 500

Kawasaki’s Ninja lineup is famous for bringing together respectable performance, easy approachability, and a reasonable price. Now, a new member joins this family of road warriors—the 2024 Kawasaki Ninja 500. Although it’s developed on a platform established by the earlier Ninjas, the 500 isn’t just an

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Kawasaki Z650RS

Bike manufacturers are building more and more modern retro motorcycles striving to capture a bygone era—one in which Kawasaki figured prominently. Now, that Japanese company has crafted an exemplary return to the stylings that attracted an entire generation to two wheels. The 2023 Z650RS possesses the design cues and

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Kawasaki Vulcan S

Riding the 2023 Kawasaki Vulcan S home to Long Beach from the company’s headquarters in Foothill Ranch, I noticed many things. The 649cc parallel-twin powering the motorcycle is a peppy companion. The bike feels lighter than its 498-pound claimed curb weight suggests. Throttle response can be kind of light

Motorcycle Review

Review: Bill's Take on the 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure

Few motorcycles have as long a lineage—or as loyal an owner base—as Kawasaki’s iconic KLR650 adventure bike. Introduced in 1984 as the KLR600, it stayed essentially frozen in the same form and specifications for almost four decades. For 2022, Kawasaki introduced some welcome changes. These include fuel

News

2022 Kawasaki KLX230 SE—Special Edition Dual Sport Fun

To accompany its KLX230 dual sport bike, Kawasaki is introducing something special for 2022. The 2022 KLX230 SE special edition version of the motorcycle promises to entertain riders on both pavement and dirt. Like its basic model brother, the KLX230 SE takes design and performance cues from Kawasaki’s KX

Jan/Feb '22

Review: 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure

> Allowing for a couple of model year omissions, the Kawasaki KLR650 has been in constant production for a total of 35 years. Not many motorcycle models can claim that kind of longevity. It has remained desirable for its ability to be both freeway-capable and dirt-worthy, while being affordably priced.

Mar/Apr '21

Comparison: BMW R 1250 RS vs. Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX

> The sport-touring class of motorcycles was once robust, with manufacturers offering a variety of touring bikes that were faster and more agile than yachts like the Gold Wing and Road Glide. But then the adventure-bike segment flourished when long-haul riders learned to appreciate the sporting chops and comfort of

Sep/Oct '19

Review: 2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT+

Since Kawasaki first brought the Versys 1000 to market in 2012, the bike has seen a few changes. With the 2019 SE LT+ model, the Japanese manufacturer is upping the ante across the board, offering improved performance, new suspension, more aggressive styling, and loads of high-tech wizardry. What’s New

Sep/Oct '18

Review: 2018 Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE

> In 1972, Kawasaki set the pace for performance when it introduced the H2, a 750cc, 60-hp, two-stroke bullet that notoriously earned its “Widow Maker” nickname. The age of the Hyperbike is still upon us, and Kawasaki’s new H2 touring motorcycle, based on that simple ’70s two-stroke, hits the

Mar/Apr '18

2018 Kawasaki H2SX/SE and Z900RS

> You’ve gotta hand it to Kawasaki. In the midst of a lot of industry handwringing over declining sales and questions about how to draw new riders to the fold, Kawasaki used the IMS show in NYC to double down on their bread and butter: fast bikes. They had

Sep/Oct '17

2017 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS: Better Than Ever

> Kawasaki’s Ninja 1000 ABS sport-touring model was first introduced in 2014. For 2017, the model has been revamped and updated in a number of significant ways. The bodywork and gas tank have been redesigned with a sharper cowl, more closely resembling Kawi’s supersport models, along with updated

Mar/Apr '15

Review: 2015 Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS

> While other manufacturers raise their prices for the new model year, Team Green drops the list price of the Concours 14 by a whopping 0! This potent sport-touring model was introduced for 2008 and last freshened up in 2010. Changes for 2015 are modest but add up to a

May/Jun '14

Review: 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS

> Kawasaki’s sporty and powerful Ninja 1000 has been morphed into a respectable sport-touring machine for 2014. Some of the biggest changes include standard ABS and revamped color-matched saddlebags, but there are a number of smaller tweaks that add up nicely. Powertrain and Performance Motive power continues to come

Mar/Apr '14

Comparison: 2013 Yamaha FJR1300 vs 2013 Kawasaki Concours 14 Sport: Touring Title Fight

> We’ve been testing two of the most popular sport-touring motorcycles across the country over the past year. A mix of interstates, rural country byways, and the tight and chaotic roads of the Smokies provided the perfect testing grounds. History The FJR was first sold in the States in

Mar/Apr '11

Review: 2011 Kawasaki Vulcan® Vaquero™

> Kawasaki's latest touring-cruiser Vaquero (which means "cowboy" in Spanish) was appropriately introduced amid longhorns and cattle ranches in the Lone Star State north of Houston. The Vaquero shares Voyager's wide upper fairing, but with a shorter windscreen and revamped lower bodywork, plus new,

Jan/Feb '11

Review: 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000

> Most young riders, and surely many seasoned riders as well, want the ultimate sportbike - they want to feel like a MotoGP racer. Of course, in reality, a motorcycle that's been specifically designed for the track isn't the most practical on the street. Kawasaki engineers

Nov/Dec '10

Review: 2010 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager

When Kawasaki invited us to ride the Vulcan 1700 Voyager in sunny California, I jumped at the chance. What could be better than touring the Golden State’s vast highways and beautiful byways on a comfortable machine equipped with everything touring riders need to rack up the miles? Besides nice

Jul/Aug '10

Kawasaki's 2010 Lineup

Kawasaki recently invited RoadRUNNER to attend a two-day ride highlighting the light side of their model lineup. Austere times and higher gas prices have given pause to the gluttony of just a couple years ago, when all the attention was on huge, heavy models. For two great days we rode

Jan/Feb '10

Long-term: 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14

> Back in the Nov/Dec 2007 issue, senior editor Chris Myers wrote Civil Warrior, a first look at Kawasaki's new 2008 Concours 14, based on his initial impressions at the bike's press intro. Lately we've revisited this sole model of Kawi's

Jan/Feb '10

2010 Kawasaki Concours 14

Before the ink was even dry on our long-term evaluation of the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14, Team Green surprised us with a roll out of the new and improved C14 on the mountain curves and desert straights around Palm Springs, California. While we were mostly impressed with last year'

Jul/Aug '09

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Range

> In his best-selling book, Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell describes the usefulness of rapid cognition, the two-second critical judgment we all make when meeting someone new, walking into a building for the first time - or when riding a new motorcycle. I thought it would

Jul/Aug '09

2009 Kawasaki Versys & Suzuki Gladius

Up until the latest bubble burst, nearly everyone was extolling the virtues of behemoth motorcycles, often to the near exclusion of smaller machines. Back then, with some form of "size matters" splattered on nearly every bike magazine cover, it seemed like everybody was taking out equity loans on