“You know, most British bikers would rather you were releasing a new two-stroke triple 750 than this bike,” I say to the smiling Kawasaki PR man. He knows. He's heard it all before. He actually owns several 1970s Kawasakis and is a confirmed petrolhead, but he's here to tell me all about something very different. That something is another world first for Kawasaki: a hybridpowered motorbike, the new 2024 Ninja 7. And we're in Barcelona to ride it for a day and a half round the city, out on the coastal motorway, and on the mountain roads up towards the Catalunya circuit at Montmelo. But first things first: what the hell is a hybrid motorcycle? And where is my two-stroke triple?
I can answer one of those questions. Hybrid technology has been around in the car world for decades now – indeed, you've probably poured into a hybrid Toyota taxi after a night in the pub at some point in the past… cab drivers love a Prius for their fuel consumption round town, and they've been compulsory for some city taxi firms for years. Basically, you add an electric motor and a generator to the transmission of a petrol engine. When the car is coasting, braking, or slowing down, the generator takes that wasted energy and charges the battery with it. When you speed up again, the battery powers the electric motor, which accelerates the car, saving fuel. The powertrain mixes
