EICMA: Kawasaki goes even greener

Kawasaki has used the stage of this year’s EICMA motorcycle show to show three of the 10 zero-emissions motorcycles it has vowed to deliver by 2025.

First spotted in ‘ride-bys’ performed at the iconic Suzuka 8 Hours race in Japan, the two electric options based around the Z400 and Ninja 400 platforms, as well as the larger hybrid touring model, have now been unveiled in what appears to be near-production form.

Sticking as close to conventional styling as possible, the two all-electric models use a chain final drive and both bikes are set to come with removable batteries with capacities of up to 3kWh.

More details have also emerged of the firm’s hybrid machine, which employs both a hydrogen-based supercharged combustion engine – again based on the Ninja 400 parallel-twin – as well as an electric motor. These two power units can be used in combination with each other or independently, depending on the rider’s performance requirements or the conditions.

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The hydrogen itself is stored in canisters within one of the integrated panniers while the emissions produced from the exhaust are primarily water vapour. This makes the hydrogen combustion engine a realistic alternative to electric power, which is still very much in its infancy in terms of development.

While the two all-electric bikes are slated to go on sale as early as next year, we likely won’t see the hybrid bike in showrooms before 2024, not least because the limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

While the outward appearance of all three machines looked more complete than we’ve seen until now, the Japanese firm is still remaining relatively tight-lipped on performance and range figures.