New Kawasaki electric bikes

Ash

Ash

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Two new Ninja/Z electric bikes from Kawasaki, but it looks like Canada only gets the Ninja version.

Modest specs and performance put these firmly in the '125cc city bike' category:
- 88km/hr, with short bursts of up to 105km/hr in 'boost' mode
- 67km range
- 309 pound curb weight
- two removable batteries, each charging with 120V in under 4 hours from completely dead
- the bike can function with only one battery installed in a reduced power 'Eco' mode
- $9500 CAD

The two easily removable batteries are the most interesting feature, since they could allow for a battery swapping service. I'm assuming that these are the same batteries that the Japanese manufacturers have been collaborating on.

www.kawasaki.ca

Kawasaki Ninja e-1 | Lightweight EV Commuter | Zero-Emission Motorcycle Fun

The Ninja e-1 gives you a chance to experience the joy that Kawasaki motorcycles deliver and transform your daily commute from a grind into something to look forward to.
www.kawasaki.ca www.kawasaki.ca

www.kawasaki.ca

Kawasaki Z e-1 | Lightweight EV Commuter | Zero-Emission Motorcycle Fun

The Z e-1 gives you a chance to experience the joy that Kawasaki motorcycles deliver and transform your daily commute from a grind into something to look forward to.
www.kawasaki.ca www.kawasaki.ca
 
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Ash said:
Two new Ninja/Z electric bikes from Kawasaki, but it looks like Canada only gets the Ninja version.

Modest specs and performance put these firmly in the '125cc city bike' category:
- 88km/hr, with short bursts of up to 105km/hr in 'boost' mode
- 67km range
- 309 pound curb weight
- two removable batteries, each charging with 120V in under 4 hours from completely dead
- the bike can function with only one battery installed in a reduced power 'Eco' mode
- $9500 CAD

The two easily removable batteries are the most interesting feature, since they could allow for a battery swapping service. I'm assuming that these are the same batteries that the Japanese manufacturers have been collaborating on.

www.kawasaki.ca

Kawasaki Ninja e-1 | Lightweight EV Commuter | Zero-Emission Motorcycle Fun

The Ninja e-1 gives you a chance to experience the joy that Kawasaki motorcycles deliver and transform your daily commute from a grind into something to look forward to.
www.kawasaki.ca www.kawasaki.ca
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Dead in the water here imo. It's a slow, uber low range turd that needs expensive insurance (as all motor vehicle insurance is expensive here). It's really hard to find a use case where this makes more sense than an ebike. If you need faster than 32 km/h, you will be many thousands ahead with an ICE engine. The only reason to go battery at that price is if you were forced to by regulation.
 
GreyGhost said:
Dead in the water here imo. It's a slow, uber low range turd that needs expensive insurance (as all motor vehicle insurance is expensive here). It's really hard to find a use case where this makes more sense than an ebike. If you need faster than 32 km/h, you will be many thousands ahead with an ICE engine. The only reason to go battery is if you were forced to by regulation.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, while always nice to see progress I think these will not be a popular choice for riders in Canada.
 
The whole battery-swap thing is going to be a dud outside of dense cities where commuting by motorcycle is the norm (and that's certainly not anywhere in North America). Limiting the battery to something that can be carried by a normal person severely limits its capacity which severely limits the performance and range of the bike (see performance specs for this model ...), and limits the shape and configuration of the motorcycle (because the battery has to be located such that it can easily be removed and installed with the bike designed around it).
 
Outside of the price that would work for my current commute.

55km each way. Leave a battery to charge in my absence in each office and good to go.

Also can ride to work, battery out, charge at work, and then reinstall at end of charge.

EDIT: 2 batteries simultaneously…never mind. It would still work for my case, but not much further than that.
 
mimico_polak said:
Outside of the price that would work for my current commute.

55km each way. Leave a battery to charge in my absence in each office and good to go.

Also can ride to work, battery out, charge at work, and then reinstall at end of charge.
Click to expand...
I would not trust a rated 67 km range to make a 55 km trip. Anything over 50 km would be playing with fire I suspect. While it is rated at 67 km and 88 km/h, if you are at a steady 88, I expect range closer to 40.
 
GreyGhost said:
I would not trust a rated 67 km range to make a 55 km trip. Anything over 50 km would be playing with fire I suspect. While it is rated at 67 km and 88 km/h, if you are at a steady 88, I expect range closer to 40.
Click to expand...
When’s the last time you drove on the 401? My average speed on the way to work is 70-80kph and on the way home is 30-40.

With short bursts in between.

They should include additional battery capacity where the rear luggage racks would go. 4 batteries total.
 
mimico_polak said:
When’s the last time you drove on the 401? My average speed on the way to work is 70-80kph and on the way home is 30-40.

With short bursts in between.

They should include additional battery capacity where the rear luggage racks would go. 4 batteries total.
Click to expand...
Batteries are a lot of the money. Would you pay another 4K for that? Pushes the economics even further to buying an ICE bike.
 
Relax said:
I would have expected Kawasaki to come out with something at least comparable to a Zero.
Click to expand...
This seems engineered for a very specific use case. Look for a government dumping a ton of money into these in the near future (eg Japan may be looking to subsidize EV's for city use with a further subsidy for swappable batteries so they don't need to build charge infrastructure at every parking spot).
 
GreyGhost said:
This seems engineered for a very specific use case. Look for a government dumping a ton of money into these in the near future (eg Japan may be looking to subsidize EV's for city use with a further subsidy for swappable batteries so they don't need to build charge infrastructure at every parking spot).
Click to expand...

I recall an article where a bunch of Japanese manufacturers were thinking of agreeing to a swappable battery standard for "gas" stations. I wonder if this is the first.
 
I had assumed that the batteries came out of that collaboration, but the form factor is completely different. There were other, more recent articles that indicated that the collaboration might have fallen apart and everyone was starting to do their own thing.

I think I'm more interested in the electric goat:
electrek.co

Ahead of an electric motorcycle, Kawasaki shows off an electric goat robot with a human rider

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Kawasaki was doing everything it could to delay giving the world a new...
electrek.co electrek.co
 
Relax said:
Oh, looks like it was just for scooters.

electrek.co

Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki roll out swappable electric motorcycle batteries, but it's really just a Gogoro competitor

Japan’s heavyweight motorcycle manufacturers known as the Big Four have unveiled a new electric motorbike battery swapping program called Gachaco....
electrek.co electrek.co
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Different form factor than the ninja. The ninja batteries are just a box though so they could be used in multiple brands.

8971e633-ab5a-4b63-a91f-531d6d9c73ed.jpg
 
Ash said:
I had assumed that the batteries came out of that collaboration, but the form factor is completely different. There were other, more recent articles that indicated that the collaboration might have fallen apart and everyone was starting to do their own thing.

I think I'm more interested in the electric goat:
electrek.co

Ahead of an electric motorcycle, Kawasaki shows off an electric goat robot with a human rider

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Kawasaki was doing everything it could to delay giving the world a new...
electrek.co electrek.co
Click to expand...

LOL at her petting it before getting on!
 
This seems like a first pass study to me. Making it production to test out all the logistics top to bottom. Will get some play in motorcycle collections & museums, "the first production Japanese electric motorcycle". I'd be curious to read the service manual for it.

What's interesting is that it is in the roughly same performance & range neighbourhood as the SONDORS MetaCycle. Close enough to cross shop the two (assuming that money can still buy a MetaCycle today - caveat emptor lol). I think most people would go for the SONDORS
 
TwistedKestrel said:
This seems like a first pass study to me. Making it production to test out all the logistics top to bottom. Will get some play in motorcycle collections & museums, "the first production Japanese electric motorcycle". I'd be curious to read the service manual for it.

What's interesting is that it is in the roughly same performance & range neighbourhood as the SONDORS MetaCycle. Close enough to cross shop the two (assuming that money can still buy a MetaCycle today - caveat emptor lol). I think most people would go for the SONDORS
Click to expand...
Sondors is gone but the metacycle was half the money (4-5K USD), double the range (80 miles) and up to 80 mph. Half the money would make a big difference in the viability. Even if the ninja was 5K, it would still be a tough sell in Canada. Might as well make it expensive as the early adopter fanbois are going to buy it at almost any price.

EDIT:
Apparently the marketing for Sondors was 80 mile range but real world was 30-45 tops. Boo.
 
GreyGhost said:
Sondors is gone but the metacycle was half the money (4-5K USD), double the range (80 miles) and up to 80 mph. Half the money would make a big difference in the viability. Even if the ninja was 5K, it would still be a tough sell in Canada. Might as well make it expensive as the early adopter fanbois are going to buy it at almost any price.
Click to expand...
They're not dead dead yet - they will still take your money. Think carefully about giving it to them though!

sondorsx.com

SONDORS Metacycle - $6,500

A motorbike without barriers, engineered to be an extension of you, the rider. Freedom from noise, vibration, and distraction. Built for a new transportation experience that makes the ordinary journey extraordinary again.
sondorsx.com sondorsx.com

Edit: The MetaCycle as delivered did not have 80 miles of range, it was a smidgen under half that. You could take it on the highway though!
 
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