#Kawasaki

A few days ago, some images began floating around reportedly depicting a supercharged 600cc Kawasaki expected to be called the “Ninja R2.” But just like we did last week with a design patent for a 125cc Honda Monkey prototype, we’re going to explain why these reports probably aren’t true.

Kawasaki announced it is working on an artificial intelligence system that would allow a motorcycle to communicate with, and adapt to its rider. The AI would be able to converse with a rider and, using cloud computing and a motorcycle’s electronics, adapt the bike’s settings to the rider’s needs and skills.

Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco has filed a design patent for a motorcycle based on Kawasaki‘s ER-6n. The design, filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, shows a motorcycle with a similar engine, swingarm and offset lay-down shock as the ER-6n and its faired sibling, the Ninja 650. The Kymco design has a different frame and bodywork than Kawasaki’s naked Twin.

Kawasaki Motor Corp. USA just moved from its forever headquarters in Irvine, California, to a new HQ five miles away in Foothill Ranch. There’s probably a very good reason you’d pack up your huge warehouse/office and everything and everybody in it, but nobody at a level that deals with the likes of me seems to know why. Anyway, the same things happen when anybody moves: You dig up a lot of old stuff you forgot you had. How about a quick spin through the stuff that didn’t get thrown out?

I’ve read it a thousand times and probably written it a few hundred: If you want to grow your motorcycle skills, get a dirtbike. Most people who aren’t so familiar with knobbies might think that means one of those $9,000 450cc monsters capable of leaping tall orthopedic wards in a single bound, but what you really want is a bike like the ones they train people on at Colin Edwards’ Texas Tornado Boot Camp, Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, and others. Okay, well, those happen to be Yamaha TT-R125s, but now Kawasaki has a new competitor for that little beast in the form of its “all-new” KLX140G.

“You guys never say anything bad about the bikes you test.”

After a complete redesign in 2016, the big KX impressed us with its new, slim chassis, strong mid-range power and much-improved handling, but we felt that there were other issues that kept it from living up to its potential. Kawasaki has addressed those very concerns for 2017, and these refinements pay off in big way, edging the KX closer to the top of the 450cc motocross class.

In my First Ride Review of the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro I mentioned, “the Kawasaki, and its oversquare Single, feels like it has more bottom-end grunt compared to the Honda.” Of course, the Honda in question here is none other than the Grom.

Kawasaki’s KLX110 has long been a great little dirtbike for the munchkins, and with the addition of the KLX110L, even the bigger kids (aka, parents) can join in on the fun. Both models are still in Kawasaki’s lineup, only $200 more than they were in 2010, when MO’s Alfonse Palaima got to ride them at Fox’s backyard dirt track. How did a grown child like Fonsie take to the little Kawi? Read on to find out. And for more pics, be sure to click the photo gallery.

Ostensibly, this is a review of the 2004 Kawasaki KX250F. But read a little more into the story and you start to see this is just the old-school MO crew having fun on a new dirtbike, getting themselves wholly out of their comfort zone and being genuine MOrons the entire time. This was MO‘s humble beginnings, folks – Ride bikes, make mistakes and bad decisions, then write about it in a fun and irreverent manner. I mean, check out that lead image above. I didn’t add those effects. That’s just the goofy MOron crew at work. Anyway, enjoy the “review” and see the rest of the pics in the photo gallery.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Honda should feel pretty special. According to Kawasaki’s sales data, collected from data provided by the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), the Grom is number two on the list of best-selling motorcycles in the category Kawasaki calls “Small Street,” which includes dual-purpose motorcycles up to 350cc, scooters between 50cc – 400cc, and street motorcycles below 400cc. Number one is Kawasaki’s own Ninja 300, but there’s no ignoring the meteoric success the Honda Grom has become, which has spurred the creation of this: the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro.

Army veteran Brandon Jenkins was just minding his own business, waiting for the lights to change when a man ran up from behind and tried to pull him off of his Suzuki GSX-R600. He didn’t know at the time, but the man was fleeing from police for an alleged hit-and-run. Jenkins quickly assessed the situation and fought back as his assailant tried to steal his bike.

It’s a question we’re asked all the time: “What’s the best motorcycle for a new rider?” It’d be great if we could give the same answer every time, but in reality the answer depends on many factors – rider size, competency, wants, needs, and desires among them. Small displacement bikes are generally a good place to start, but read enough forum commenters and before long you’ll find someone who shares their tale of how they started on a literbike and lived to tell the tale.

While it may not have won our recent comparison test against the Aprilia RSV4 RR, that’s no reason to dismiss the bike. The completely revamped 2016 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is an impressive motorcycle. Kawasaki’s engineering staff had a tough task on its hands when taking the previous generation ZX-10R – which had just finished capturing a World Superbike championship – and making it better, but it’s undeniable that Team Green has done just that. So, for this week’s Top 10, I’m going to highlight 10 of my favorite features of the new ZX-10R.

By now we’ll assume you’ve read our comparison test of the 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RR and Kawasaki ZX-10R. If not, read it here (and shame on you for not reading it yet!) Both machines pack a wallop of performance for less than $17,000, and even though the ZX-10R didn’t come out the winner in our comparison test, it’s by no means a boring bike to ride. Kawasaki stepped up big time when updating the new 10R – which was a pretty good performer in its own right considering it won the 2015 World Superbike championship – and the 2016 model bests its predecessor in almost every category.