While nothing is official just yet, Kawasaki is set to launch a mid-sized LAMS-legal cruiser to take on the likes of Honda’s CMX500 Rebel. Expect it here early next year.
Powering the long and low cruiser is a 451cc parallel twin engine, a development of that powering Ninja and Z400s. Up front is an 18-inch wheel wearing 130/70 rubber while at the rear is a 16-inch rim with a 150/80 hoop. Underpinning it all is a new tubular trellis frame. Kerb weight is a claimed 176kg wet. Seat height is set at 734mm.
Other features include a twin-shock rear end, a single 310mm front disc, standard pillion seat and pegs, a digital instrument cluster, and an assist and slipper clutch for lightweight shifting.
The engine is likely to output around 37kW of power and 38Nm of torque. That means a power to weight figure of 139kW/tonne, just under the 150 LAMS limit.
Likely colour options include Metallic Flat Spark Black and Metallic Matte Carbon Gray with Flat Ebony. Price will be made available closer to arrival time but we’d expect it to be around the $12k mark Honda asks for its Rebel 500.
There’s also talk of a new 600 Supersport model from Kawasaki and while there are few entrants left in this class any more, there’s still a ZX-6R KRT model available here for just under $25k. The next variant is said to output nigh on 96kW, or just under 130hp from its 636cc IL4 engine. Features include a new 4.3-inch colour TFT instrument with Smartphone connectivity, improved low to midrange performance, lower emissions, rounded discs instead of petal items, a quickshifter, three-mode TC and various riding and power modes.
Shod with Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tyres, the 2024 Ninja ZX-6R will be available in Lime Green/Ebony and a “stealth” version combining Metallic Graphite Gray and Metallic Diablo Black.
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