Kawasaki

KAWASAKI

PREVIEW '85

New from the folks who brought you the 900 Ninja: a baby Ninja, a half-a-Ninja, and a V-Twin cruiserbike that is no Ninja at all

The celebrated arrival of the 900 Ninja last year signaled an emphatic victory for Kawasaki. For over 11 years, Kawasaki had relied almost exclusively on its air-cooled, two-valve-per-cylinder engine technology; and while many of these engines produced remarkable horsepower, some fresh new designs from other corners of the Orient had begun to relegate Kawasaki’s motors to middle-of-the-road design status. And we all know what happens when you sit in the middle of the road too long: You get run over.

But since its introduction, the Ninja has been doing the steamrolling. The 900 is little changed for ’85, but Kawasaki has expanded on that four-valve-per-cylinder, liquid-cooling Ninja theme.

Witness the 600 Ninja, a liquid-cooled, inline-Four, 16-valve middleweight weapon with 16-inch wheels at both ends and a frame that obviously reflects GP racing influence. The 600 Ninja is further proof that Kawasaki is capable and, more importantly, willing, to build narrowly focused, cut-and-thrust sporting machines.

Kawasaki has also realized the impact of V-type powerplants on the marketplace, and has responded with its first V-Twin model. Called the Vulcan, this 699cc, 55-degree V-Twin cruiserbike features liquid-cooling and four-valve, twin-plug heads, and it promises low maintenance through hydraulic valve adjusters and shaft final drive. And yet another new streetster is called the 454, a liquid-cooled, eight-valve, belt-driven, parallelTwin cruiser that displaces—you guessed it—454cc.

This ’85 model-line signifies a giant step for Kawasaki, one that has leaped over the median divider and landed the company directly in the fast lane.