Atthe start of March, we told you about social media rumblings that seemed to indicate Kawasaki was about to unveil a new Versys-X 400 at the Osaka motorcycle show. Well, as of today (March 20, 2023), that hasn’t happened. Kawi did expand the 400 lineup, though, with the new Eliminator 400 cruiser.
器400借一个名字从Kawi的过去. Team Green used this for a series of cruisers from the 1980s all the way up through the early 2000s. The line included machines all the way from a 125 to some serious four-cylinders, including a 600 anda 1000.
While looks of Japanese cruisers are often polarizing, we haven’t heard the immediate chorus of “Bleccchhhh!” that followed the most recent Honda Rebel launch (somewhat unfairly). Photo: Kawasaki
The new 400 fits between the beginner-friendly 125 and the superbike-derived 1000 Eliminators. It’s based on the same liquid-cooled parallel engine as the Ninja 400, and makes roughly the same horsepower and torque (about 45 hp, 27 lb-ft). We have not seen any diagrams of power output curves, but we would not be surprised to see the bike was tuned for more torque through low- and mid-range, just as Honda did with the Rebel 500 (which is this machine’s closest and most obvious competitor).
The new Eliminator has an 18-inch front hoop and 16-inch rear, with single disc brake front and back as well. There’s a 3.2 gallon gas tank, and seat height is a low, low 28.9 inches. With accessory seat, you can go even lower, to 28.1 inches, or raise it to 30.1 inches. Curb weight is a claimed 388 pounds.
There’s also an SE version that has a headlight fairing, satnav and front-and-rear facing video cameras, which are an option that’s been introduced on some Chinese manufacturers’ machines lately. It appears Japan is now actually following in the footsteps of some competition from China, which is something we wouldn’t have expected a decade ago.
Pricing is roughly around the Rebel 500’s Japanese MSRP, and we would expect this bike to also carry a similar MSRP if it came to North America ($6,449 in the US). At this point, that hasn’t been confirmed; it seems highly likely we will see it someday, though. It’s already been teased for other Asian markets after all. Speaking of which…
Actually, with a set of saddlebags, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Ride Reports of inmates in Southeast Asia aboard these machines in the near future, on fly-and-ride rentals. These bikes would be relatively powerful compared to the underbones in those markets. Photo: Kawasaki
The wait for the Versys-X 400
The wait for the Versys-X 400 continues, and with no major motorcycle shows scheduled until fall now, it does not seem likely we will see such a machine announced as a 2023 model.
Having said that—Kawasaki’s Thai subsidiary certainly seemed to show a new Versys-X in what looked like an official photo, and then quickly deleted it (but not before it was screencapped forever). Maybe we got it all wrong, and Kawi will never build the lightweight ADV that we all want to see. But that seems unlikely. In the words of famed economic pessimist Michael Burry, we and the other motojournos who picked up on this might have been early, but we aren’t wrong.
At least, we don’t think so. All this latest delay means is, now you have more time to save up.
