What's new for 2024?

[KungFooBob]

Me touring some Fronch hills in my expensive adventure kit...

Smelling of piss.

Who took photo. ?

It was was a guy parked up on a hairpin with a banner out on the way up to the top of the Col de l'Iseran from the Val-d'Isère side.

[mboy]

Me touring some Fronch hills in my expensive adventure kit...

Smelling of piss.

Just before I sold mine... I definitely stank of piss that day (hottest day of 2022, 36deg C even on the Northumberland coastline)...

Fortunately my GF is used to that!

[ChrisW]

Me touring some Fronch hills in my expensive adventure kit...

Smelling of piss.

Who took photo. ?

It was was a guy parked up on a hairpin with a banner out on the way up to the top of the Col de l'Iseran from the Val-d'Isère side.

Did he have vertigo?

[Count Steer]

Me touring some Fronch hills in my expensive adventure kit...

Smelling of piss.

Just before I sold mine... I definitely stank of piss that day (hottest day of 2022, 36deg C even on the Northumberland coastline)...

Fortunately my GF is used to that!

Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. YOU are doing nothing to feed the stereotypes. Your helmets don't match, your jackets don't match and your GF's shoes are quite funky. I imagine they repossessed the GS because you weren't conforming.

[Noggin]

Who took photo. ?

It was was a guy parked up on a hairpin with a banner out on the way up to the top of the Col de l'Iseran from the Val-d'Isère side.

Did he have vertigo?

He was most likely pissed - only way I'd spend all day sat on a corner on that road!!

[KungFooBob]

To properly conform to the stereotype you need a GSA. The rules are quite flexible for the prole version.

[KungFooBob]

Nothing exciting for '24? Pah - the Suzuki T-Strom is now available with cast wheels so it can sneak under the £10k barrier!

Jeez, that just looks cheap...

[ChrisW]

Nothing exciting for '24? Pah - the Suzuki T-Strom is now available with cast wheels so it can sneak under the £10k barrier!

Jeez, that just looks cheap...

Makes the BMW 310 look premium.

[Skub]

According to farcebake,Kawasaki is about to unleash a hybrid motorcycle. So far only dopey cropped pics which tell you precisely nothing.

I remain relatively unexcited.

[The Spin Doctor]

According to farcebake,Kawasaki is about to unleash a hybrid motorcycle. So far only dopey cropped pics which tell you precisely nothing.

I remain relatively unexcited.

The prototype was talked about in 2021 then shown off at Suzuka last year at the GP. Likely to be seen at next autumn shows in a production ready form.

It's thought to be a 400 Ninja twin with a e-motor that can be used on its own for short distances or to give the ICE a power boost. Should have acceleration of something like the 650 twin, if not the straight line performance. Sounds quite fun to me.

[Skub]

According to farcebake,Kawasaki is about to unleash a hybrid motorcycle. So far only dopey cropped pics which tell you precisely nothing.

I remain relatively unexcited.

The prototype was talked about in 2021 then shown off at Suzuka last year at the GP. Likely to be seen at next autumn shows in a production ready form.

It's thought to be a 400 Ninja twin with a e-motor that can be used on its own for short distances or to give the ICE a power boost. Should have acceleration of something like the 650 twin, if not the straight line performance. Sounds quite fun to me.

I was hoping for a hybrid like my H1. One that burns both oil and petrol.

[The Spin Doctor]

I was hoping for a hybrid like my H1. One that burns both oil and petrol.

Ha... very good

It looks like Kawasaki shot out a press release today since VD now have a feature on the new bike which says 'coming next year'.

Linky... https://www.visordown.com/news/industry ... powertrain

[mboy]

Should have acceleration of something like the 650 twin, if not the straight line performance. Sounds quite fun to me.

Have you seen the pics of it...?

Ignoring the questionable Kawasaki styling, the wheelbase would make the Y2K turbine bike blush!

Obviously packaging an engine, fuel tank, motor and battery into a bike, even if all those components are relatively compact, isn't going to result in a dynamic package sadly... Cars have the added advantage of more places to store these things in the first place without ruining the dynamics of the vehicle.

The problem with getting the UK motorcycle buying public to accept a hybrid or an electric motorbike is that it will need to be dynamic and fun. Which a bike with its wheels in different postcodes is going to struggle to achieve!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Hybrid and leccy "big bikes" are a ways off IMO, for a few reasons.

Really big one...developing the tech is expensive! You see v. pricey electric bikes already of course. You also see leccy bikes down at the other end of the scale, scooteresque type stuff basically. You can either have £££ or you can have 15bhp. Developing the tech to make an electric/hybrid bike akin to something like a traditional 600cc probably won't pay dividends to a manufacturer...they'll struggle to recoup their costs.

Secondly, most people don't buy bikes on their fuel consumption. If you're worried about running costs you buy a scooter or similar, see above. If you pull the heart strings then you just buy what you "want" and you DGAS about the fuel consumption etc.

So now we're just in a place where manufacturer's have no real incentive to make middle ground electric or hybrid bikes and we'll probably remain their for some time yet.

Plenty of exotic stuff to come soon though

[The Spin Doctor]

Have you seen the pics of it...?

Ignoring the questionable Kawasaki styling, the wheelbase would make the Y2K turbine bike blush!

Obviously packaging an engine, fuel tank, motor and battery into a bike, even if all those components are relatively compact, isn't going to result in a dynamic package sadly... Cars have the added advantage of more places to store these things in the first place without ruining the dynamics of the vehicle.

The problem with getting the UK motorcycle buying public to accept a hybrid or an electric motorbike is that it will need to be dynamic and fun. Which a bike with its wheels in different postcodes is going to struggle to achieve!

Looks quite acceptable to me, compared with the current trend for a cross between a Praying Mantis and a Transformer. It looks like a faired motorcycle.

I've not seen the specs so I can't comment on the wheelbase. There's nothing here on the Kawasaki news page:
https://www.kawasaki.co.uk/en/news/Kawa ... inja_7_HEV

I assume that they have filled the space over the gearbox and under the seat - hence the 80s style side panels sweeping back into the tail section - it's not a big motor and it won't be a big battery.

The trouble the manufacturers have is reversing forty years of marketing which has persuaded bikers that what's needed for fun are 1000cc plus bikes producing 150 hp. Whatever happened to fun on the back wheel of a 30hp 250?

[Bustaspoke]

I've got a triple black edition GS, I'm boring as fuck and I stink of piss.

It might be me!

Sounds like you'll fit in well with the GS riders that I know!
When my mate P/Xed his last GS for his current one,to keep his wife happy he also sold his RE Interceptor & his RE WW II Flying Flea replica thing,he loved that single cylinder Enfield.It seems to be a bit of a trend amongst GS riders?

[KungFooBob]

Dodgy and myself both have an LC GS and single cylinder Enfield's.

We are the bleeding edge of motorcycle fashion.

[Dodgy69]

Very true..

Now folks...form an orderly queue, no fighting.

[Dodgy69]

and if life wasn't excited enough...

[KungFooBob]

and if life wasn't excited enough...

Now that I can approve of.

I've always fancied a street scrambler, the Trumpet ones are a bit too much money, I also looked at 70's Honda CL's imported from California, but apparently they're not very reliable and they're pretty uninspiring to ride.

If Enfield get it right I imagine it will be a good seller.