#Kawasaki

It’s a question we get all the time at Motorcycle.com: What should I get as a first bike? Well, there isn’t just one answer to this question, as different people have different wants, needs, and desires in their first motorcycle. We’re lucky to live in a time where, no matter what kind of riding you’re into, there’s a lightweight, beginner-friendly machine just for you. Here, we’ll give you our take on the 10 best beginner motorcycles available today.

From the moment that the Kawasaki Z1-inspired Z900RS was announced in October of last year, enthusiasts have been saying they wanted the model to go even further into the retro-racer styling. Just a month later, large portions of the rest of the world received the word that their dreams had been made real in the form of the Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe. Naturally, riders in the U.S. market wanted to know why they weren’t going to be allowed to own this strikingly-styled version of the RS.

We already performed a complete road test with amazing video on Kawasaki’s amazing new H2 SX SE a while ago. But why let that stop us from revisiting the highest-ranked bike I ever raved about, with a 97.5% approval rating, and with the first engine I ever gave a perfect 20?

They’re both Open-class Japanese transverse inline four-cylinder standard bikes, a pair of motorcycles that have followed that divinely ordained orthodoxy since Saint Soichiro carried the streetbike tablets down from Mount Fuji nearly 50 years ago. One of them wants to transport you all the way back to relive that era; the other wants to take you back only ten years with its 2005 GSX-R-derived long-stroke engine. Many MO readers (and some MO writers) have already pledged their undying love for the Kawasaki Z900RS, and all of us agree the Suzuki GSX-S1000Z is no slouch. In fact, if horsepower is your measuring stick, the Suzuki buries the retro Kawasaki – but you have to work for it a bit more. Our question becomes, then, just how much performance are you giving up if you go retro, and is it worth it in the real world?

Kawasaki has been spotted testing a new KX450F race bike in Japan, suggesting big changes are on the way for 2019. The updates include new bodywork, electric start and, most notably, a brand new engine.

Tuesday we published our epic review of the amazing new supercharged wonderKawi, complete with bonus poetry reading video! Today, we milk that sucker yet again with this Top Ten List!, complete with a few tidbits that got left out before! All that’s left now is a comparo with the KTM Super Duke GT.

It’s funny how time’s arrow flies. Seems like only yesterday we were in a chill and rainy Milano for the big international motorcycle exposition, drooling over the showstopping new Ninja H2 SX SE with Sean Alexander and Brent J., knocking out non-award-winning videos and wondering what Kawasaki could possibly be thinking to produce such an outrageous motorcycle? Shirley it will be way expensive and unobtainable like the other H2s?

Remember when Lamborghini tried to make motorcycles? No, we’re not talking about Ducati, which is technically owned by Audi through its subsidiary Lamborghini (with Volkswagen hovering over the entire family tree). Through most of the ’80s, Lamborghini was under the ownership of French businessman (and later, contemporary artist) Patrick Mimran. Under Mimran’s guidance, Lamborghini saw a period of resurgence including a brief expansion into non-automotive products.

Pretty much all of us have looked back at things we did in our youth, shaken our heads, and wondered how we survived. Few of us ever came as close as Hammy Dawg does here.

Being the Canada-based staffer of a primarily U.S.-targeted site like Motorcycle.com, it’s hard not to feel jealous of my American colleagues sometimes. In between minding the three-hour time difference between me and the other MO editors, and remembering to omit the “u” in words like “color” and “rumor”, I get to read about their exploits in sunny California from my desk in grey gray Toronto.

When Kawasaki redesigned its smallest Ninja for 2018, the engineers went back to the drawing board and while the motorcycle on your screen may look like a revision in styling, the Ninja 400 has, quite literally, undergone changes from the ground up.

Kawasaki may have just found the sweet spot with its new Ninja 400. At a glance, the new motorcycle has undergone a substantial weight reduction treatment, a displacement boost of 103cc, and a sexy styling redesign – all while remaining at the exact same price point. Non-ABS models start at $4,999 while ABS is an additional $300. Kawasaki was out for blood when it went back to the drawing board for its new entry-level motorcycle.

Kawasaki’s all-new Ninja 400 is ready to upend the small-displacement sportbike category by offering the triumvirate of appealing motorcycle characteristics: class-leading power, a reasonable price, and swanky good looks.

Dear MOby,

When John speaks, I listen…