Kawasaki To Launch 4 New Bikes Next Month

Kawasaki to launch the new Ninja 650, Z650 and Z900 and the W800 next month

We already witnessed the upcoming W800 being showcased at Kawasaki dealerships. Confirmed sources indicate that Kawasaki is keen on expanding its portfolio in India and they intend to replace the ER-6N, Ninja 650 and Z800 with the new Z650, Ninja 650 and Z900 sometime next month.

The Ninja 650 was showcased at Intermot this October. The new bike now has a sharper design closer to the lines of the ZX-10R. It has a new steel-trellis frame, new forks and new swingarm but carries forward the same 649 parallel-twin engine. The motor has been tweaked and gets a new air box, new camshafts and larger 36mm throttle bodies. The motor is said to deliver better mid-range grunt. The bike now weighs 19 kilos less than its predecessor so improved performance and dynamics is a given. It also gets slipper clutch to keep the rear wheel in check.

The Z650 was showcased later at EICMA in November and will be a replacement to the ER-6N. The new Z650 is styled quite different to the ER-6N with the design closer to the Sugomi style that is the baseline for all of Kawasaki’s Z model range. It shares the same underpinnings and motor as the new Ninja 650. The bike now gets a slipper clutch along with the ABS, while the brakes are from Tokico. 

The 2017 Kawasaki Z900 is a big change over the existing Z800 and the capacity hike signals its intent to compete with the bigger super-nakeds. It gets an all-new steel trellis frame and a new 948cc engine. The new 125PS motor has been derived from the bigger Kawasaki Z1000 which the new Z900 now looks closer to. The new bike is more accessible with a reduced 794 mm seat height and an overall weight of 210kg weight that is 20 kilos lighter than its predecessor. The bike will offer a slightly aggressive riding posture and will get slipper clutch and ABS as standard. The inverted front forks also get rebound damping and pre-load adjustability while the rear monoshock gets preload adjustability only. Also new are alloys, dual 300mm front discs with four-piston Nissin calipers. 

When launched next year, expect the bikes to receive a slight price hike.