THE BRADLEY REPORT
THE BRADLEY REPORT
Kawasaki Eliminator is back By Ben Purvis
The ' Eliminator ' name was inextricably tied to Kawasaki ' s cruiser models from the mid-1980s until the turn of the century and now it ' s made a return - initially appearing on the new Eliminator 400 for the Japanese market , but with an enlarged Eliminator 450 for western markets due to be released in June . The Japanese-market version takes its 399 cc parallel twin engine , with 48 hp , from the Z400 and Ninja 400 , and is offered in base and ' SE ' variants . The
export version is expected to be visually and mechanically identical , but with a 451 cc version of the same engine giving it a better shot at its most obvious rival , the 471 cc Honda Rebel 500 . Like the Rebel , the Eliminator uses a steel tube frame with a twin-shock rear end , but Kawasaki ' s bike gets a slightly more traditional stance and style thanks to an 18-inch front and 16-inch rear wheel . It also avoids the hump-backed fuel tank shape of the Honda , with a more sweeping line from the front of the tank through the low , 735 mm seat and into a rear fender that ends in a sharp point above the taillight . In keeping with Kawasaki ' s other parallel twin models , it ' s a surprisingly lightweight machine , coming in at 176 kg wet , or 178 kg in ' SE ' form . Midmount footpegs mean the riding
position isn ' t as extreme as the bike ' s silhouette might suggest , instead offering a comfortable rider triangle that ' s slightly more upright than that of the Z400 , and clearly intended to suit shorter riders . The ' SE ' model adds some cosmetic upgrades , including fork gaiters and a small nose cowl , as well as a GPS system and USB-C socket , but more surprisingly it features front and rear ride-recorder cameras with the ability to download footage to your phone or a computer . These cameras are getting increasingly popular in China , where several bikes come with them as standard , and they ' re treated like dashcams - either to provide evidence of fault in the event of an accident or simply to share footage of rides online . The Kawasaki is the first Japanese bike to adopt the same idea . The 451 cc version that ' s heading to western markets hadn ' t been officially announced at the time of writing , but Kawasaki ' s U . S . website teased a launch date of 6th June , and typeapproval filings have confirmed several specs . Most important is the engine , which is likely to have a similar power output to the 399 cc model - in Europe especially , the 48 hp mark is important due to A2 licence rules - but with more torque and a wider spread of performance . Kawasaki ' s teaser also confirms that the company is to launch an updated ZX-6R for the U . S . market on the same day . Again , the bike has been typeapproved in the States , revealing a slight power decrease compared to the 2023 , with 122 hp compared to 127 hp for today ' s version . That performance drop comes thanks to a 500 rpm lower peak , at 13,000 rpm instead of 13,500 rpm , and could indicate the ZX-6R ' s return to the European market where it ' s been unavailable since the introduction of Euro 5 emissions limits .
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - JUNE / JULY 2023 29