Kawasaki is reportedly set to launch a mystery small-capacity machine in December. An invitation to the launch says details cannot yet be confirmed, but one thing for sure "it will be an all new small-capacity machine"... Interestingly, the firm says it’s not the Z125 - A mini Zed that's gunning for the success Honda has enjoyed with its successful MSX125, AKA the Grom. Which only seems to leave the also-rumoured Versys 250 / 300.
Small capacity adventure bikes are witnessing a steady increase in demand and local and international bike manufacturers alike are developing smaller models to get into these relatively unoccupied parts of the market. The latest to join the fray is Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, which is reportedly developing an adventure sports bike based on the Ninja 250 / 300 street bike. The new model will likely be called the Kawasaki Versys 250 / 300, which is built around the engine from the Ninja 250 / 300 Twin cylinder - Like the bigger "brother" Kawasaki Versys 650 which is built from same platform as ER-6N / Ninja 650.
Kawasaki Versys 250 / 300 will be based on the Kawasaki Ninja 250-300 and will share its Diamond frame with the Z250-Z300. The rumour also indicates that the Versys 250 may come equipped with a upside down suspension at the front. But we believe that Kawasaki may want to keep the prices competitive by introducing the run-of-the-mill telescopic suspension. Braking duties, if the rendered image above is something to go by, would be performed by ventilated petal discs from Nissin. The motorcycle, similar to its larger displacement siblings, is likely to receive an underbelly suspension for a lower centre of gravity.
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| 2015 Kawasaki Versys 650 |
Powering the Versys 250 / 300 will be the same engine found in the Kawasaki Ninja 250 - 300. That means a 249 cc, 8-Valve, Liquid-Cooled, Fuel-Injected, twin-cylinder engine will propel the motorcycle. Power figures will be close to the naked bike, which develops around 31 HP - 21 N.m (250s) and 39 HP - 27 N.m of torque (300s). The engine will transfer the power to the tarmac via a 6-speed manual gearbox. But we hope The Japanese firms would change the charasteristic of Versys 250 / 300's mid-range power, which feels a little awkward and juddery at town speeds in our test a little while ago. The All new small-capacity bikes is set to be launched on December 11-12 in Spain.
So what is it? The new Ninja 300 that Asian bike titles believe is coming ? Meh ! That’s supposedly an update rather than an all-new model. We believe Kawasaki Versys 250 / 300 would not be such a bad idea for Kawasaki to consider one. Mind you ?