Cheers Mike, down to earth review. I admire Kawasaki for opening up this area for bikes, (usually its Honda) obviously early days so no doubt lots of areas to improve on.
As a first time hybrid bike, it does ''alright'' - it's essentially a toyota prius on two wheels, the first model of the prius came out in 1997 in japan, and evolved over the years to be better. i'm not saying the prius is a great car, but the technology involved in it has improved a lot. it's the same here, this bike is the forefather of many things to come, its not exciting, but it's doing something. Give it a year, 3 years, 5 years, and this type of bike will evolve into something that we can't yet imagine.
I have a Renault hybrid without a CVT gearbox and love the way it drives. We shouldn't need to wait 3 to 5 years. The tech is already refined, yet Kawasaki seem to have implemented a 20 year old implementation. The software exists to make this so much better.
I did but not in the video. It did add some boost but was more of a gimmick than something I thought use full. I'd much rather have seen better integration/switching of modes on the fly and automatic switching from petrol to electric as all car hybrids do.
It's a first attempt. I think there will be more. It removes range anxiety and allows full EV operation for a reasonable distance. The smoothness of EV delivery is addictive away from all the political and green claims.
Hybrid motorbikes are like hybrid cars, but to switch the battery mode to petrol mode you have to stop first before you can start the motorbike, almost the same as a car, the main advantages are fuel economy, as well as a full charge of the hybrid battery, emission free, and a smooth sound from the exhaust, no the only noise is the sound of the tires when they hit the asphalt
Cheers Mike, down to earth review. I admire Kawasaki for opening up this area for bikes, (usually its Honda) obviously early days so no doubt lots of areas to improve on.
Thanks. It's a shame the tech on the bike is so far behind the car world. Surely the software and know how was there to be copied?
As a first time hybrid bike, it does ''alright'' - it's essentially a toyota prius on two wheels, the first model of the prius came out in 1997 in japan, and evolved over the years to be better. i'm not saying the prius is a great car, but the technology involved in it has improved a lot. it's the same here, this bike is the forefather of many things to come, its not exciting, but it's doing something. Give it a year, 3 years, 5 years, and this type of bike will evolve into something that we can't yet imagine.
I have a Renault hybrid without a CVT gearbox and love the way it drives. We shouldn't need to wait 3 to 5 years. The tech is already refined, yet Kawasaki seem to have implemented a 20 year old implementation. The software exists to make this so much better.
Did you even try the E-boost feature one time during the test? If you did, I somehow missed it.
I did but not in the video. It did add some boost but was more of a gimmick than something I thought use full. I'd much rather have seen better integration/switching of modes on the fly and automatic switching from petrol to electric as all car hybrids do.
The first and hopefully the last - totally unnecessary application of EV technology.
Thanks for the comment. I guess we will see more of this as further restrictions are put in place for the sale of pure petrol engined vehicles.
Might suit some but it’s absolutely dreadful in my opinion. Got to respect the technology but it’s dull , has no sole and boring. No thanks.
It's a first attempt. I think there will be more. It removes range anxiety and allows full EV operation for a reasonable distance. The smoothness of EV delivery is addictive away from all the political and green claims.
Hybrid motorbikes are like hybrid cars, but to switch the battery mode to petrol mode you have to stop first before you can start the motorbike, almost the same as a car, the main advantages are fuel economy, as well as a full charge of the hybrid battery, emission free, and a smooth sound from the exhaust, no the only noise is the sound of the tires when they hit the asphalt
My car switches between petrol, EV and combined smoothly and automatically without the need to stop. This is what i was expecting the Kawasaki to do.
Better than an all out battery powered bike, but, still a turd, a polished one.
Ha ha. It's not as good as it could/should be. Hopefully Kawasaki will take on board the feedback.
Boring commentary. Gone elswhere
Takes a lot to get my speech animated/excited. 😀