EICMA 2015: Kawasaki teases small supercharged naked

The big news from Kawasaki’s stand at the EICMA show in Milan came in the form of a pencil drawing revealing a naked small-capacity supercharged concept tipped to eventually join the firm’s H2 family.

Dubbed the SC-02 Soul Charger, the drawing comes just weeks after the firm revealed the SC-01 Spirit Charger concept at the Tokyo Motor Show, with the brand saying the concepts prove the forced induction technology in scalable and variable in its application.

Kawasaki also used the international show to highlight its entire 2016 model line-up, opting to release special editions and minor updates to its existing range, with the only never-before-seen model coming in the form of a 125cc scooter created in collaboration with Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco.

The Z800, Z1000, ZX-10R and ZX-14R models will all be available in a special edition variant for 2016. The nakedbike will both be given the Sugomi Edition treatment which is mainly aesthetic changes with graphics and anodising, as well as the addition of Akrapovic silencers.

Celebrating the marque’s recent Superbike World Championship, the ZX-10R will be available in a 'Winter Edition'. Representing the livery which appear on the bikes during the winter testing phase of the championship, the Winter Edition ZX-10R will be available in a matte black and white colour scheme and will bear the KRT snowflake and fuyu (meaning winter) logos. Like the naked bikes, the ZX-10R winter edition will come fitted with a road-legal Akrapovic silencer.

The ZX-14R will be available in a Performance Sport option for next year in a bid to give the hypersport machine’s componentry a freshen-up without the outlay of research and development costs. The Performance Sport version will boast an Ohlins TTX39 rear shock, Brembo M50 monobloc calipers combined with 310mm discs, braided lines and a Brembo radial master cylinder. A higher screen and twin road-legal Akrapovic silencers complete the package.