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Kawasaki Reviews

2010 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager – Road Test Review

Riding the 892-pound Kawasaki Voyager around town is a little like taking a Carnival Cruise ship across a pond. Once on the open...

2009 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad 1700 – Road Test Review

Story and photography by Rich Cox Bike testing for me is most pleasurable in small doses. For touring bikes, my favorite venue is the weekend...

2010 Kawasaki Z1000 – Road Test Review

photography by Adam Campbell and Kinney Jones Contemporary high-end sportbikes typically offer all of the best stuff in a single package. Trick fully adjustable suspension,...

2010 Kawasaki Concours 14 – Road Test Review

photography by Rich Cox Comparing a fast motorcycle to a rocket ship is a common metaphor. Rockets conjure images of the eyeball-flattening acceleration and yahoo...

2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom SE and Classic LT | Road Test Review

by Lance Oliver; photography by Alfonse Palaima A demo ride on the new Voyager was the hardest ticket to get at the Kawasaki tent at...

2009 Kawasaki ER-6n | Road Test Review

photography by Kevin Wing The first question that popped into my head when I heard the name of Kawasaki’s newest Candy Plasma Blue sportbike is,...

2009 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager 1700 | Road Test Review

Head out on the highway, and this new Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager 1700 will take you to the ends of the continent, fully equipped to...

2009 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R – Road Test Review

As time passes, people tend to get slower and heavier, and their mass becomes less centralized. In contrast, sportbikes slim down, firm up and...

2009 Kawasaki Ninja 650R – Road Test Review

photography by Scott Hirko Test motorcycles come and go here frequently, except certain models we have trouble letting go. Our shop will only hold so...

2008 Kawasaki Z1000, Triumph Speed Triple and Yamaha FZ1 – Comparison Review

In my past life I was a scientist-specifically, a demographer who studied trends in human mortality (depressing, I know). Although my number-crunching days are...

2008 Motorcycle Fuel Economy Comparison Review

Photography by Kevin Wing Motorcycles included in this review (2008 model year): Honda Nighthawk, Kawasaki Ninja 250R, Star V Star 250, Suzuki GZ250, Honda 750...

Rider's 250-class Dual-Sport Motorcycle Comparison Review

photography by the author, James Norris, Roger Eggers and Kail Wathne "Let's get small." With gas nudging five bucks a gallon, the tag line from...

2009 Kawasaki KLX250S | Road Test Review

Have plate, will travel--that's dual-sporting in a nutshell, and nowhere is that description more appropriate than in Death Valley National Park in California and...

2008 V-twin Touring Cruiser Motorcycle Comparison

Cruisers are known as unruffled, laid-back bikes with slow-revving engines and a certain presence. And the greater engine displacement they have, the more laid-back...

2008 Kawasaki Ninja 250R – Road Test Review

Motorcycles are amazing. Can you imagine, in the highly competitive world of automobiles, that a company could bring out a particular model and continue...

2008 Honda VTX1300T, Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT, Suzuki Boulevard C50T, Star V Star 1100 Silverado | Comparison Test Review

You're a cruiser rider, and you like to travel, too, right? So your choice in bikes is a touring cruiser, one with a windscreen,...

2008 Kawasaki KLR650 | Road Test Review

I don't know what you've been doing for the past 21 years, but over at Kawasaki they've been listening, and making lists. The company's...

2008 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R – Road Test Review

If there's one thing Kawasaki isn't suffering from, it's an identity crisis, especially in the sportbike segment. But that wasn't always the case. A...

Rider Magazine’s 2008 Motorcycle of the Year and Best of Class

The new bikes for the 2008 model year have all been revealed, and it's time once again to name our three Best-of-Class winners. From...

Retrospective: Kawasaki KE175: 1976-1982

(This Retrospective article was published in the March 2008 issue of Rider.) STORY AND PHOTOS BY CLEMENT SALVADORI This little woodser was a tribute to good...

2008 Suzuki Hayabusa vs. Kawasaki ZX-14 – Comparison Review

You're riding along on one of these new 2008 supersports, and suddenly slow down to contemplate the moment you've been waiting for. The road...

2008 Kawasaki Versys 650 – Road Test Review

Many psychologists contend that nagging is counterproductive. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with Kawasaki, as the flood of e-mails requesting that it bring its...

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS – Road Test Review

It's finally here! Twenty-one years since its introduction in 1986, Kawasaki has finally seen fit to reinvent the venerable Concours. Sure, it made a...

2007 Kawasaki Z1000 – Road Test Review

When you look at all the bikes on the road today, it's pretty easy to identify their respective categories. You've got your cruisers, tourers,...

2007 Honda XR650L, Kawasaki KLR650 and Suzuki DR650S | Comparison Review

A lot of riders look at these three motorcycles, scratch their heads, and wonder just what they're meant for. Anybody who desires a good...

2006 Kawasaki ZX-14 – Road Test Review

Kawasaki and Suzuki have been engaged in, shall we say, friendly fire for the past four years, battling it out for the title of...

2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic LT | Road Test Review

Many years ago, the watchword in the gentleman's clubs was, "What the world needs is a good five-cent cigar." Today, in the bike hangouts,...

2006 Honda 599, Kawasaki Ninja 650R, Suzuki SV650S and Yamaha FZ6 – Comparison Review

Photography by Rich Cox/Slide Action Look at the middleweight motorcycle class and you'll find a bunch of very serious sportbikes, adventure tourers, dual-sports, cruisers‚ and...

2006 Kawasaki ZZR600 – Road Test Review

It's a phenomenon of the sportbike category that as the high-end models become ever more racetrack oriented, their predecessors begin to seem a bit...

2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R – Road Test Review

Pity the poor motorcycle designer who has to come up with an entry-level or beginner's motorcycle. Make it too big, powerful or heavy and...

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