Counter counterpoint…Why not both?

Have you seen me ride? Every trackday is a potential new leathers trackday. Why ride a new bike when I can get any number of older sportbikes for pennies on the dollar?  I’ll be stripping it down anyway.

Counterpoint, this would be better served on a bagger. Better mileage, weight isn’t an issue, and easy reverse for a 900 pound bike. 

This seems very promising, but I would be far more interested in the tech if it were in a large comfortable two person hauling,  125-250cc commuter scooter with a super low COG.

Kawasaki did not explain anything. I was handed the keys, taught how to switch modes, and sent on my way. I was riding alone for four days, not on a press event with other riders or a prescribed route. 

I do not think it will be a hit.

Part of the issue with electric bikes is they solve a problem a lot of riders aren’t looking to solve. Bikes are generally better on gas than cars and a lot of the domestic market here in Canada is people wanting something either inexpensive or exciting as a hobby. Is this bike aimed more at new/returning riders who…

It definitely seems like an early adopter type vehicle, as that price is putting you in fast bike territory. No plug-charging feels like a miss, but maybe the complexity wasn’t worth it on their first attempt? Did Kawasaki explain that decision? I know it’s a short range, but for short jaunts to a store or something…

Yeah, Sur Rons are all over the place in Ohio. Technically it’s illegal to ride them on the street over like 15 mph, but that doesn’t stop goons from ripping down sidewalks at 25 mph.

Bradley - I’ve been seeing folks all over on those Sur Ron knockoff electric MX bikes (Talaria Sting etc.) out west - have you seen them around Ohio?  Since they’ll do 40 MPH or so, people use them as unlicensed motorcycles on bike lanes, surface streets and minor highways, or go pretend they’re Twelve O’Clock Boys.

The gas engine sounds exactly like you’d expect a gasoline 450 twin to sound. The electric motor is totally drowned out when the gas engine is on throttle. The electric motor alone was pretty quiet compared to my Livewire, but you could hear it a little bit over the sound of the drive chain. 

“It’s a nice mode to have, but unless your morning commute is under a dozen miles and all surface streets, you won’t be using it often.”

I had a 97 Dodge Stratus 2.0 5-speed, base model, crank windows, etc. It was not a terrible car but it has a reputation as such. I had some excellent attributes. It’s a minor thing but I always thought the layout of the dash and controls was perfect, and overall excellent visibility and ergonomics. A/C was…

Here is an off the wall one. My old SAAB 9-3SS would automatically turn the recirc on when you used the windshield washer. This prevented the smell of washer fluid from entering the cabin. Sounds pointless until you have a car that doesn’t do that and you get a whiff of who knows how old washer fluid when you go to…

A lot of GM stalks push forward to turn the high beams on it return to the normal position. It also has the benefit of defaulting to low beams on the next key cycle so people can’t forget they had their high beams on the last time the used their headlights (dash lights are for losers). The lights also default to auto…

As much as I hate to give the many credit, I do like how Tesla’s watch themselves when parked and have that Dog mode so you can leave your pooch in there for a few minutes. However, I’d still never buy one of those swasticars, new or used. 

The glovebox beer cooler fridge (aka the DUI compartment) found in late-00s Dodge products. Definitely not a “perfect” feature or really even a good one, but hilarious that the cars with the highest DUI rate came with a chilled cupholder you could use to keep your beer cold (and hidden from police) while drinking and…

Jesus, it was a working CyberTruck; two decades and change before the non-working one!

I had a base model, poverty spec, first gen Kia Sorento. We’re talking stick shift, steel wheel model. It was not a terrible car, but it was far from great, and it slowly fell apart over the years.

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