#Kawasaki

Rickey Gadson has been hard on the gas. The multi-time champion drag racer recently hit the small screen with a co-starring role in a new TV show, Caffeine and Octane airing on Velocity, and he’s recently ridden to the highest speed ever clocked on a supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2.

As far as 2017 is concerned, this might be the year we remember as the one that saw the entire liter-class field go electric. No, I don’t mean like that. I mean electronic rider aids – every major player in the field has them now. Honda and Suzuki, with their CBR1000RR and GSX-R1000, respectively, had held out on introducing riding aids (beyond differing power modes in the Suzuki’s case) until this year. Meanwhile, the rest of the competition has leap-frogged ahead, introducing highly advanced traction control, wheelie control, launch control, slide control, and all kinds of other controls previously only seen on MotoGP machines.

For all those traditionalists/purists who bemoan modern motorcycle electronics (TC, ride modes, electronic suspension, etc.), Kawasaki has a bike for you. The 2017 Kawasaki Z900 in this review is lighter and more agile than either the Z800 or Z1000, is more powerful than the Z800, costs way less than the Z1000, and is devoid of electronics save its gear-position indicator.

Hello there MOby!

For this week’s Church feature we’re turning the clock back to 2003, and a shootout between five classic tourers: The Yamaha Roadstar Silverado, Victory V92TC, Kawasaki Nomad 1500, Harley-Davidson Road King, and BMW’s R1200CL – the clear oddball of the group. Speaking of oddballs, get a load of the MO crew from 14 years ago – off-the-cuff, irreverent, and funny (and maybe a bit chauvinistic at times), the writing of this shootout is good for a few laughs. As for the results? Read on to find out. 

It’s been almost three years to the day since we posted the 10 cheapest bikes of 2014, and, my, has the landscape changed since then. So much so that we thought it necessary to update the list for 2017. Generally speaking, cheap bikes have gone small. Partially due to the uptick in 125cc playbikes sparked by the Honda Grom, but also due to the proliferation of Chinese motorcycles all powered by little engines. Those two clues should give you an idea of the kind of bikes you’ll see in the coming pages.

The race to deliver the best 450cc motocross bike on the planet grabbed another gear in 2017 when Honda released its all-new 2017 CRF450R to challenge the recent dominance of Yamaha’s YZ450F and the never-ending onslaught from the aggressive European companies, namely the KTM 450 SX-F and its fully revived sister, the Husqvarna FC 450.

Up until now Kawasaki’s Ninja 650 has been recognized as a genteel gateway drug to the company’s true supersport model, the ZX-6R. For 2017 Kawasaki has further distilled more performance from the beginner-ish Ninja while maintaining the bike’s streetable mannerisms. In other words, the 2017 Ninja 650 is a more potent sportbike capable of shredding a twisty canyon road or closed course race track on the weekends, while performing commuter duty during the weekdays.

In our last Top 10 list of 2016, we, the MO staff, mentioned how much we’re looking forward to flogging the crop of mini-adventure bikes that’ll be coming this way in 2017. In case you forgot, those bikes include the BMW G310GS, Honda CRF250L (and its higher-spec sibling, the CRF250L Rally), Kawasaki Versys-X 300, and Suzuki V-Strom 250.  All of those bikes promise big fun in little packages for those who like to veer off the beaten path every now and then. So now we pose the question to you:

This week’s Church feature is yet another example of the early MO crew’s writing chops. The topic this time? Cruisers! The 2001 Power Cruisers, to be exact. We’re talking the Honda VTX, Yamaha V-Max, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, and Kawasaki Mean Streak, ridden by a bunch of mad men and speed junkies. Big, powerful engines stuffed into cruiser frames, this should be a slam dunk for the Harley. The results, however, might surprise you. Read on to see who won.  

By now, we’ll assume you’ve read the Part 1 of the Ankle Biters test, wherein we asked some newer riders to ride the Honda Grom, Kawasaki Z125 Pro, Kymco K-Pipe 125, and SSR Motorsports Razkull 125. Their job was to give us feedback as to which bike makes the best learner for the absolute noob because it’s been awhile since any of the MO staff could call themselves one. Our riders had a lot of fun with the test, but as for us MOrons, we wanted a bit more excitement once we got a chance to throw a leg over the quartet.

Back in August, Kawasaki announced it was working on an artificial intelligence system that will allow motorcycles to communicate with riders. The “Rideology” A.I. project is still in its early stages but Kawasaki has released a video to depict how it would work.

Here’s a number to consider: 382. Kawasaki says that’s the percentage the naked motorcycle market has increased since 2011. For comparison, the sportbike market has stayed relatively stagnant during the same time period. With that kind of popularity in a particular segment, it’s no wonder motorcycle manufacturers like Kawasaki are trying to grab a piece of that pie.

The L.A. Auto Show is, naturally, mostly focused on the realm of four-wheeled vehicles but there was one motorcycle displayed that caught our attention here on MO. Pictured here is the Dagger, a concept bike pairing a 3D-printed frame with a Kawasaki H2 engine.

EICMA and Intermot have come and gone and the question on most American consumers’ minds is which of the wonderful new models will be making their way to the U.S.? Today, Kawasaki answered their part of the question, confirming the ZX-10RR, Ninja 1000, Ninja 650, Z900, Z650 and the Versys-X 300 for the U.S. market.