Kawasaki is revving up its EV business with not one but two new electric two-wheelers making their debut this month.
At Europe’s Intermot bike show, Kawasaki offered a tempting glimpse of its electric future by revealing a pre-production prototype of its rumored electric motorcycle.
Managing Director of Kawasaki Motors Europe, Mr Masaya Tsuruno, stressed throughout the event that, while this particular bike was “just a concept,” its design would form the basis of an actual future production machine.
And that production machine? If it’s anything like the prototype electric motorcycle Kawasaki showed off in 2020 at the storied Suzuka race track in Japan, it will be a serious machine for serious riders. What’s more, it will have a manual transmission. You can check that out for yourself, below.
2020 Kawasaki EV Endeavor Manual Transmission
On the less serious side of the spectrum, the company has launched the Elektrode, an electric balance bike for kids that’s aimed squarely at machines like the retro-styled Razor Rambler 16 and similarly off-road-biased Harley-Davidson Stacyc 16eDRIVE.
That off-road bias is, of course, meant to build brand enthusiasm for the Kawasaki brand as the little guys become – well, bigger guys and graduate into road bikes. And, to their credit, Kawi isn’t subtle about this. “Little rippers can now start their journey on two wheels as early as three years old,” reads the company website. “Meaning, the path to the podium now starts earlier than ever. It’s an official welcome to world-class, high-performance, iconic Kawasaki vehicles when young riders get started on the Elektrode.”
The Elektrode models start at $1099, which is right in line with the Stacyc-built Harley and enough above the Razor to filter out the casuals. Check out the photo gallery, below, then let us know what you think of these new, “green” green machines in the comments.
Kawasaki Elektrode Balance Bike
SOURCE | IMAGES: KAWASAKI.
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