So Kawasaki made a Hybrid bike. Will this be a better option than an electric motorcycle? Let's find out! Link to Bellevue Motosports: bellevuemotosports.com/ #kawasaki #hybrid #dailyrider #revzilla #motorcycle #review
This bike is perfect....i like the walk mode....i wish more future bikes have this function....i cant tell you how many times all those big adventure bikes could really benefit from this mode.
Interesting how Kawasaki are using the River Logo on this hybrid motorcycle. I thought it was only found on the super charged models! I guess the Logo represents innovation and this hybrid is certainly innovative.
True. Not sure why. The H2 as you mentioned does have the River logo due to the supercharger unit being a collaboration between various branches of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries corporation. Perhaps this bike too has components that are collaborated on.
This bike is prefect for me because I travel country by road so when at custom they will be so many bike I mean so many few hundred thousand bike crossing daily…it will take 40 to 1 hrs to cross country… so with slow traffic below 10kmp this bike just prefect… using ninja 1000sx so stuck at traffic for more then 40 minutes with all the engine heat Daam it’s hot 🥵
I feel like this bike has a weird audience. Most people who want an electric motorcycle want one that is fully electric, and are fine with the quirks that come with it (lack of shifting, charging). Most people who want a normal gas bike probably don't care to drop a significant amount of money for slightly better mpg and also something that lacks traditional bike features like a shift lever. Its really cool to see new tech like this, and I commend Kawasaki for even just making a bike like this, but I feel its in a weird spot in the market.
Yep, precisely my thoughts as well. The compromises are not worth the value it's offering. might be a good collector's item though. But who knows? In 20 years we might look back at this video and say "I was wrong?!"
You know what else people who want a normal gas bike want? 1. Going fast and smooth on tight mountain hairpins 2. _Getting_ to said mountain hairpins without being fined for breaching emissions regulations. Most towns in the Alps are starting to impose heavy fines for non Euro-compliant bikes, if they go _really_ gung ho in a couple of years and start allowing only electric and hybrid vehicles... the Ninja 7 makes perfect sense. And this bike is very, very maneuverable at slow speed and accelerates _fast_ although the rear end feels a bit weird (you can't "feel" the chain). It does stand a fair chance, if you ask me, if people are willing to get used to it. If Kawa were to re-engineer the controls for better feedback (a more satisfying "clunk" from the shift levers would be an obvious low hanging fruit) it would help.
Helpful review, thanks. I was wondering about the new Hybrid Kawasaki. Expensive in the US at 12,000 from what I saw, and many pounds heavier really is heavier, 502.7 lb* (incl. battery) defeating some of the efficiency unfortunately, but still an interesting start. Thanks.
It's strange to me that they decided on a parallel hybrid rather than a series hybrid, where the motor only charges the battery, and the wheels receive mechanical power through the electric motor alone. Especially since their goal was efficiency rather than performance, which i thought wasn't the case. In a series hybrid, the engine can be fined tuned for efficiency at a single RPM, whatever is enough to charge the battery while the EM is running. You could also have a smaller engine and ditch the gearbox and mechanical drivetrain, reducing weight and increasing durability. You lose the top end performance of an ICE, but that seems a lot more inline with Kawasaki's goals here. I'm not an engineer, or even all that smart to begin with, so if anyone knows why they would choose a parallel hybrid, please let me know!
By 2030, in accordance with upcoming Euro 6/+ for 2 wheel vehicles along with California emission standard, all bike manufacturers will eventually only produce hybrid / e-bikes.
I dunno. This feels like a weird product to me. Unlike an electric motorcycle, you still have to deal with all the maintenance of ICE vehicle - changing oil, valve clearance, etc. It's not much cheaper, either. Why buy this over the Livewire Del Mar or the Zero S? On the other side, I do like that it's automatic. But automatic is nothing new. Electric motorcycles are automatic, too. I own a Honda NC750X DCT. It's automatic. Why buy this over a Honda DCT if all you want is automatic? I imagine it's hard to find a mechanic to work on this thing. You have to be familiar with hybrid vehicles. This is the only production hybrid motorcycle on the planet. You have the same issue you have with an electric motorcycle - trying to find someone that can actually work on it. This is also a very strange choice for their first hybrid. Why not the Versys? Cramming all this into a Ninja had to be a pain.
Automatic motorcycles, they just shouldn’t be lmao. A motorcycle is supposed to be raw and require skill, it’s supposed to be fun. Taking all the skill out of riding sucks
@@SimonRiley752 this is a super sport style motorcycle tho. If it was a cruiser like the dct gold wing, it makes sense perhaps. This bike tho I don’t really get it they should’ve put it on a cruiser
