Any new machine, from any manufacturer is a plus should be looked at closely and appreciated as a barometer for the health of our sport. This is particularly true of Kawasaki who desperately needs to inject new life into sagging sales, a 650 twin would certainly do just that. I do think the quote of the sport market comprising just 15% of total sales would ring differently if there were any new offerings in the last decade. We all know that the widely quoted manufacturer's claims that the market just wasn't there rings quite hollow-particularly in the face of demand outstripping supply on Raptors and DS 650's. I am a sport rider/racer myself and though I appreciate the big 4x4's and even enjoy swinging a leg over one from time to time I would much rather have had new sport offerings recently rather than looking for that "perfect" used 250R for the last ten years. Of course the untility market will still be larger but there are many sport riders out here with our money burning a hole in our pockets-waiting for one of the manufacturers to come collect it.

 

On the sport side of the house the November issue of Dirt Wheels reports that Kawasaki commissioned the construction of a prototype sport machine powered by the motor in the EX500/Ninja 500. The bike was depicted with stock Mojave plastic but appeared to stand taller. It will be featured in the December issue in full. I have imagined what fun a quad powered by a four stroke twin in this displacement range would be-this seems much more likely to be produced than any 250 2-stroke fantasy. Could this be the machine that William Yokley was in California testing recently? bpace?

 

Its Alive! Its Alive!

 

wow!!!!

 

ArmyMan
you are brilliant

 

I'm glad to see the competition. I think Kawasaki has a winner. Will Polaris be next with the 700 Twin? Any idea on the weight of this monster?

 

The article quotes a Kawasaki source as stating that weight will be in line with the current 500 offerings from other manufacturers.

 

That's a pretty wide range... 600 to 800 pounds.

 

Now that I have a sport quad a utility would be nice. I can't stand those gutless ES's. A big twin is definitely an option now.

 

I agree its nice reading commentary from someone who has a clue.