Kawasaki is rolling out its new fleet of alt-energy motorcycles at a fast pace! With itsNinja e-1 and Z e-1confirmed for North America last week, we now see the new Ninja 7 Hybrid is a go for the European market.

Best of both worlds?

Kawi has been teasing its hybrid motorcycle project for years now, but even when the bike wasunveiled at the EICMA showin Milan last November, we weren’t really told much about it. No deets on the engine, no deets on the motor—and no news since. When the e-1 series was announced last week, the specs on those battery bikes were definitely aimed at low-speed commuting, so you would have been justified to perhaps expect the same from the new hybrid bike as well.

However, it seems Kawasaki is going a different route with the Ninja 7 Hybrid. The name itself is a hint that it’s aimed at performance similar to the middleweight sport category, even if it doesn’t actually have a 700-class engine.

Instead, the Ninja 7 Hybrid has a 450 cc liquid-cooled parallel twin engine that looks an awful lot like the same powerplant that Kawasaki put in theEliminator cruiser, with some minor changes. According to Kawasaki, the Hybrid’s engine makes 58 hp. Kawi’s EU-region press release makes no mention of the internal combustion engine’s max torque, but it does say that when you use the electric motor’s e-boost function, that’s added to the internal combustion engine’s output, combining for about 68 hp. And, you get “instant acceleration to rival that of a 1,000cc-class supersport model from a standing start.”

The electric motor acts as a sort of booster to the gasoline engine, but it also functions as a standalone power source. Kawasaki says the bike can run on battery power alone, but it doesn’t give many details as to its EV capabilities. The press release only says “The Ninja 7 Hybrid’s EV Mode may be helpful for certain situations where quiet riding is appropriate, such as in residential areas or in parking garages. Speed and range are limited.” The PR doesn’t tell us the capacity or recharge time of the 48V battery, but we would not expect range rivaling a Zero or Energica at this point.

Along with EV Mode, the new Kawi also has SPORT-HYBRID and ECO-HYBRID mode. Obviously, the sport mode is made for power and the eco mode is for saving gas; Kawasaki says the new bike has fuel economy on par with a 250.

As you can see in the video above, there’s no clutch lever. Riders change gears with a paddle shifter on the handlebar, although the bike can also auto-shift. The gas engine has a stop-start function that saves gas, and a new Automatic Launch Position Finder. Kawasaki says this will auto-select first gear when you’re pulling away from a standstill. There’s also a walk mode on this bike, just like the e-1 line, which propels the bike at slow speed so you don’t have to strain while pushing the bike forward and backward in a parking spot.

Of course, cellphone connectivity is possible through Kawasaki’s Rideology app.

Big questions

It appears Kawasaki is about to release this bike in Europe, but as we wait for that to happen, we still have several important questions not addressed in the PR so far.

• What will the machine weigh?Doubling up, with an electric motor and gasoline engine, not to mention a battery, is going to come at a weight penalty. What is it?
• What about MSRP?The e-1 motorcycles have a price tag well above Kawasaki’s entry-level gasoline machines, with performance lagging behind machines like the Z400. The added complexity of the hybrid powertrain won’t just add weight; it’ll add expense. How much is it all going to cost us?
• What’s the capability of the EV powertrain?With government-mandated decarbonization coming quickly, a bike that can dodge emissions taxes in the city while still retaining usable power in rural areas could be very attractive. But will the Ninja 7 Hybrid actually have enough battery power to function as an in-the-city commuter? We don’t know.
• 什么时候来北美?Kawasaki’s PR says they hope to have this bike in showrooms by January of 2024… but that’s an EU-market press release. What about the US?

No doubt more details will come soon, and we’ll share them with you when that happens. Even without Intermot and well before EICMA launches, we’ve certainly had a busy fall of new bike info, and we expect that there’s lots more to come.