Kawasaki has patented the designs for both the Ninja 7 Hybrid and the Z e-1 electric bike in India and this leads us to believe that the company has plans to launch both these models in our market.
- Ninja 7 Hybrid peak power is 60hp, weighs 227kg
- Z e-1 powered by a swappable battery pack
Kawasaki Ninja Hybrid, Z e-1: power, features, range
The Ninja 7 Hybrid is the first of its kind from an established company and it gets the same 451cc parallel-twin that powers the Eliminator 500 and Ninja 500, both of which are on sale here. However, there is also an electric motor here, and combined peak output stands at 60hp.
That’s not the only quirky thing here as the Ninja 7 Hybrid also does away with a traditional clutch-gear shifter combination to change gears, in favour of shift paddles on the left-hand side switch cluster, similar to Honda’s DCT-gearbox bikes. While it is quite an innovative machine, it is also a rather heavy one at 227kg, although a low 795mm seat height should help most riders plant their feet comfortably on the ground. To read more about the Ninja 7 HEV, you can tap here.
While the Ninja 7 Hybrid is a very new idea to the world of motorcycles, the Z e-1 electric bike is relatively conventional. It is powered by two removable lithium-ion battery packs, each with a capacity of 1.5kWh. The battery packs send power to a motor that makes 9kW of peak power and 5kW continuous power. In the top Road riding mode, the Z e-1’s top speed is ‘approximately 49mph’ (79kph), while in the range-maximising Eco mode, top speed stands at ‘approximately 35mph’ (56kph).
Claimed range in Eco mode is only 72km, which might seem low, but this has been tested in European conditions, where the average speed is much higher than our environment. Charging time for each pack is a rather slow 3.7hrs, which means total charging time is 7.4hrs. You can, however, charge both individually with separate chargers. To read more about the Z e-1 and its sibling, the Ninja e-1, you can tap here.
The Ninja 7 Hybrid is priced higher than even the ZX-6R supersport in overseas markets and we expect similar pricing when it does launch here. In a similar vein, even the Z e-1’s price is very close to the Ninja 650 in international markets and if that turns out to be the case in India, it will struggle to compete with rivals like the Tork Kratos R and Matter Aera.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
