Kawasaki Eliminator 500
In fact, these days only two of them, Honda and Kawasaki, do any form of cruiser: Honda the CMX500 and 1100 Rebels, and Kawasaki the Vulcan S 650 (which is, apparently, one of its biggest selling bikes in the UK). There was, therefore, as you can imagine, a fair amount of excitement in the biking world when it was announced last year that, for 2024, Kawasaki was going to be bringing out a new one: the Eliminator 500.
The A2 licence-compliant Eliminator takes its cues from the Eliminators of the 1980s, the ZL900s and 1000s and, later, the 600s, too, and there are some very definite styling cues in the rear mudguard, back light, and fuel tank to the new bike's drag-strip inspired predecessors, but the 500 is an all-new bike with a purpose-designed steel trellis-type frame based on that of the exquisitely handling Ninja 400, and a 451cc parallel twin engine developed from the Ninja, the Z500 retuned, of course, for low and mid-range grunt 'cos cruisers don't need power at high revs, do they? It puts out 45PS (44.8 horsepower), which makes it suitable for those who've just passed their test and are on an A2 licence and, thanks to a class-leading low weight of just 176 kilos, feels faster through the gears than perhaps a bike with just 44-and-a-bit hp would do normally (Honda's Rebel 500, its main rival, tips the scales at 191kg - some 15 kilos heavier). Incidentally, if you're struggling to get your head what PS figures are, and how they relate to horsepower, basically, PS is the metric form, named after the German word for horsepower, Pferdestärke, while horsepower is an imperial form. PS is, without a load of complicated maths, a metric 98.6% of an imperial mechanical horsepower. Got that? Good, there'll be questions later.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
