Kawasaki brings Prius-like hybridization to motorcycles.

Electrification, if you haven’t noticed, hasn’t been nearly as successful in motorcycling as it has been for the automotive industry. Oh, scooters and small city bikes have seen some moderate success with battery power. And there’s a good chance that motocrossers will follow suit, what with their need for instantaneous torque and fairly short duty cycles. Big road-going motorcycles, however, have proven much more difficult to electrify. Zero is virtually the only success story, and even its numbers are paltry.

That said, there’s little question that motorcycles, like other forms of mobility, must reduce their carbon footprint. All motorcycle manufacturers are looking for ways to reduce tailpipe emissions, be it with bio-fuels, synthetic fuels made from sequestered CO2 or swappable batteries. One of the manufacturers at the forefront of these alternatives is Kawasaki which, along with battery-powered models, is working on hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines and, the subject of this review, gas/electric hybrids. 

THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

The individual components that make up the new Ninja 7 Hybrid’s powertrain are not auspicious. The gas-fed part of the equation, for instance, is a little 451-cc parallel twin liberated from the lowly — at least for something wearing such sporting bodywork — Eliminator cruiser. Oh, it’s been pumped up a bit with modified intake and exhaust systems, but it’s still only good for 58-horsepower (at just 10,500 rpm). Peak torque is a likewise measly 32 lb.-ft. at 7,500 rpm. Neither number is scintillating.

The electric motor is not any more inspiring. In fact, it boasts but seven kilowatts. That’s just 9.4 horsepower. There is 9-kw available for short bursts, but that’s still only about 12 horses. Either way, the Ninja 7 hardly boasts ZX-10R-threatening numbers. 

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PACKAGING

If the numbers aren’t all that impressive, the packaging of the disparate powertrains is. To maintain as much weight close to the centre of mass as possible, the electric motor, for instance, is mounted right behind the ICE’s cylinders. The area that traditionally would house a set of carburetor or throttle bodies is now filled with a liquid-cooled, permanent-magnet electric motor. 

And right behind it, cleverly stuffed between the rear frame rails of the trellis frame is the 50.4 volt, 1.4-kW-hour lithium-ion battery — about the same size as used in hybrid cars — again maintaining the Ninja’s slim proportions while retaining that tight centre of mass I mentioned. This first-of-its-kind Kawi has some compromises — more on them in a moment — but innovative packaging…