Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Richard230]

Kawasaki adds a "Z" version to their HEV lineup. Maybe it will be slightly cheaper than the Ninja model: https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/new-model-preview/2024-kawasaki-z-7-hybrid-first-look-44596354

[Richard230]

Here is the latest news regarding the new Kawasaki Ninja 7 hybrids. Oddly, both the Ninja 7 and Z7 models will be the same price in the U.S., even though the Ninja has more plastic on it. Both models are priced at $12,500, so it seems to me as if Kawasaki isn't planning on selling very many of them here:  https://www.motorcycle.com/bikes/new-model-preview/kawasaki-ninja-7-hybrid-and-z7-hybrid-are-coming-to-america-for-2024-44598106

[Fran K]

Is that 48 volts nominal or peak.  Kind of low voltage I would think considering the price which out the door price may differ to the higher.

Maybe they will follow KTM with importing 1000 of their freeride exc models and then dropping the price with no extra fees until they find out what the price is to sell them all.

[Stonewolf]

Is that 48 volts nominal or peak.  Kind of low voltage I would think considering the price which out the door price may differ to the higher.

I expect nominal. The voltage is likely because the motor is shared with their removable battery bikes which have to be engineered to match the specs of the battery pack.

[flynnstig82r]

48v has a number of benefits. You don't need special shielding and it's easy to step down to 12v for accessories. It's a very common voltage in the solar and e-bike space so there are lots of standardized components at commodity prices. Most nominal 48v packs peak at 54.6 volts IIRC.

Pricing is about where I would have expected. It will be a very hard sell in North America, of course, but I'd still love to see other attempts at this type of drivetrain. Just like electric cars, it's a much better fit for the luxury end of the market than the cheap end, but OEMs in the early days just wanted to confirm their biases with $40k penalty boxes that competed with $14k economy cars. A hybrid Goldwing could be a very interesting proposition, but who knows when someone with the resources to do it right will be willing to take the risk?

[Fran K]

I see elsewhere a nominal voltage of 50.4 and a nominal power of 27.2 amp hours.  Multiply those for 1.37 kwh.  Rated hp of 7.0 and max hp of 9.0 and that is motor not rear wheel.

Using Don's 7 miles per kwh which I think would be good for a 502.7 pound (add an extra 2.2 pounds if it has to have evaporative fuel apparatus) that is about 10 miles on the battery.  If 48v is so common maybe one could hack in socket for a plug in charger?

[TheRan]

I think I saw in one review they said they would get around 12 miles on the battery, so yeah you're pretty close. It's certainly a usable range if you just have to pop somewhere nearby quickly and don't want to wait for the engine to warm up, but it's just a shame that while doing so you'll be riding a bike that gets out performed by even the weakest 125 scooters.

[Specter]

and even worse, with the ninja name on it, when that name used to mean something.
It's almost like that cheech and chong movie where they put the Rolls Royce grill on a volkswagon or some other beater car.

Aaron