KAWASAKI REVEALS HYBRID POWERTRAIN

On Mar 25, 2021

Kawasaki recently revealed that it is developing a hybrid

motorcycle powertrain in a recent Youtube video Kawasaki Reveals Hybrid Powertrain

electric power practical for motorcycles would also open the door for a

similar system for UTVs.

Hybrid power is common for cars, but weight, space and cost are

much more serious concerns on motorcycles and UTVs. Kawasaki

doesn’t explain how it will deal with those issues in the video, but it

does show interesting features of the system including its four modes,

and that power from both sources pass through a transmission. The

first mode runs the engine and the motor simultaneously for maximum

power. The second keeps the engine on while turning the motor into a

generator that feeds power to the battery pack. The third makes the

engine a range extender, while the fourth turns the engine off

completely and powers the vehicle solely on electricity. A boost feature

which delivers brief bursts of extra electric power is also available.

Kawasaki also has an electric motorcycle in the works, so it will

be interesting to see which system finds its way to a Kawasaki UTV

first.