Kawasaki and supercharged bikes are nothing new, and rumors of a hybrid motorcycle have been swirling for a while, but now it seems Kawasaki will marry the two.
The company trademarked “E-BOOST” for various uses including hybrid and electric motorcycles. Now, electric bikes wouldn’t need a supercharger, but a hybrid bike could utilize an electric supercharger.
The world is getting weirder, and Kawasaki is on the cutting edge. I love the idea of a hybrid bike with a supercharger.
A Kawasaki Supercharged Hybrid Motorcycle?
You bet. So, there is a downside to this setup. It’s rather complex. I mean, you’d have the gasoline engine, the electric powertrain, the battery, and the electric supercharger.
According to Motorcycle.com, electric superchargers tend to require more parts than traditional superchargers.
With all this in mind, you’re looking at a complex and likely heavy machine, but I’d be willing to bet that machine will be stupid fast. If the H2 supercharged motorcycles Kawasaki has been putting out are any indication of what’s coming, then you’d better believe this bike is going to be a high-performance speed demon.
Of course, there’s always the chance that this will never make production. Just because something gets trademarked doesn’t mean it will get greenlit for production or even a concept.
With the level of complexity that I imagine is at work here, I expect the cost of production would be quite high. That doesn’t bode well for the possibility of a production supercharged hybrid motorcycle.
The motorcycle world is moving towards electrification, though, and the cost of electric powertrains and EV technology are coming down. Kawasaki may be able to make this work. I’ll be watching this closely. It’s an interesting possibility.
