Kawasaki has unveiled two all-new middle-weight motorcycles at EICMA 2023. They are the Ninja 500 and Z 500. Both motorcycles share the same underpinnings and will be sold in two variants – Standard and SE. As of now, the manufacturer has not officially announced whether the new 500 cc motorcycles will make their way to the Indian market or not.
Powering both motorcycles is a 451 cc, parallel-twin, liquid-cooled engine whose power and torque outputs have not been unveiled. However, this is the same engine that is doing duty on the Eliminator 500. In the cruiser, the engine puts out a max power output of 45.4 bhp at 9,000 rpm and a peak torque output of 42.6 Nm at 6,000 rpm. It comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox with a slip-and-assist clutch.
Kawasaki uses a trellis frame for both motorcycles that is suspended by telescopic forks in the front and a monoshock at the rear. Braking duties are performed by disc brake in the front as well as at the rear. There is a dual-channel anti-lock braking system on offer.
The motorcycles are equipped with an LCD instrument cluster as standard. The SE variant which is a higher-spec version comes with a USB Type C charging port and Bluetooth connectivity using Kawasaki Rideology App.
Depending on the market, the SE version might also come with a smoke-style instrument panel cover, radiator screen, crash sliders, pillion seat cover, tank pad plus knee grip pads. In terms of genuine accessories, Kawasaki will offer a large windshield (in clear or smoke), tank bag, wheel rim tape and an accessory seat with a 30 mm taller height.
The Ninja 500 also gets a special edition that comes with a special edition that gets unique colour graphic treatment, the SE includes KIPASS keyless ignition as standard plus a TFT meter and USB-C outlet.
First Published Date: 08 Nov 2023, 17:08 PM IST
