Yahoo Autos Kawasaki launches hybrid Ninja and Z motorcycles
Kawasaki has one of the most interesting powertrain lineups in the motorcycle world right now. At the top of the range are supercharged four-cylinder bikes with the H2 line. And slotting elsewhere in the lineup are the electric Ninja and Z E-1 models and the tiny screaming 400-cc four-cylinder Ninja ZX-4R. This year, Kawasaki is adding its first production hybrid motorcycles, the Ninja 7 and the Z7. And Kawasaki claims they offer between 650-cc and 1,000-cc bike performance from just a 451-cc parallel twin with an electric motor.
The engine is, as we just mentioned, a two-cylinder displacing 451 cc, but it also features both a traction motor and a combination starter-generator. The traction motor regularly outputs 7 kW, or just over 9 horsepower, but can also briefly put out a maximum of 9 kW, or 12 horsepower. That motor is supplied with electricity via a 28.6-pound lithium-ion battery under the seat. It stays charged from engine power and from regenerative braking. The starter-generator combo also frees up a bit of space and enables start-stop. The bike can actually run in full-electric mode briefly in gears one through four, and that's available in EV mode. The standard Eco-Hybrid mode picks between electric and gas engine modes as needed, and the Sport-Hybrid mode keeps the engine on always for maximum power. An E-Boost button that's active in Sport-Hybrid mode will get 5 seconds of that peak output from the electric mode for the most power. Both the electric motor and engine are liquid cooled, and there's an oil cooler on top of the regular liquid cooling.
Kawasaki only provides torque, but that comes in at 44.2 pound-feet of torque. That's just 4 shy of what the Z650 puts out while being down 200-cc of displacement. Kawasaki also says that, from a standstill with E-Boost active, the hybrid models can even get the jump on 1,000-cc bikes, though it provides no specific numbers, and obviously that wouldn't last long.
