Motorcycle specifications KawasakiNinja e-1 2024 Watts away from the heart

A new Ninja has arrived in the Kawasaki catalog, with new features for the brand. For most motorcyclists, this name suggests a certain violence and performance vigor for green bikes. For the Ninja e-1, the dimension is quite different. Here's a truly green motorcycle (in the ecological sense) that's not going to make a fuss, no pun intended. Because this model is electric!

Accompanied by the Z e-1 roadster, the little Ninja has the honor but also the heavy responsibility of inaugurating electric motorization within the Akashi range. The car market is booming, but motorcycle excursions are much more tentative. Can Kawa provide the impetus that will unlock the market? Will this electro-sport bike shake up the sector?

It wants to start by pleasing it. The Ninja vein is there, with sporty lines - exactly in line with those of the 400 Ninja. Face, fairing, bodywork: it's an authentic copy-paste, but it's not at all the same sauce when it comes to the gears, which are subject to the rules of voltage. But since 50 volts won't tell us much, let's talk in watts instead. This electric bike delivers... 5 Kw of pulling power.

There are no typos. This Ninja doesn't live up to its name. The rider will only have 6.8 hp at hand. Sometimes 12 hp with the 15-second boost. But anyone who thought they'd get their arms stretched out at the handlebars of an electric Kawa won't get their money's worth. There's nothing scary about the thruster, whatever mode you select.
After all, there are many ways to ride this E-1. Kawa has combined several laws in the system to "give several faces" to its e-moto:
- In ECO mode, the Ninja E-1 tops out at 62 km/h / with e-boost: 72 km/h
- In ROAD mode, top speed is increased to 85 km/h / with e-boost: 99 km/h*
- With the WALK function, speed is 5 km/h forward and 3 km/h reverse.
However, it's best not to use the e-boost too much, otherwise the 72 km range will melt away like snow in the sun.

this is the same performance as the Z e-1. Logical, since the two machines share the same platform. But while this kind of performance is understandable on an urban roadster, it will be bitterly frustrating on a machine with a committed, dynamic silhouette.
Of course, an electric motor is more consistent at "low and medium revs" than its internal combustion counterpart. But then... this model is the least powerful in the Ninja range, while being advertised at a higher price than the 650.

Based on the 400 Ninja, the e-1 "sport" relies on a steel trellis frame, which holds a 41 mm fork, a preload-adjustable shock absorber, small 100 and 130 mm tires on 17" rims, one brake disc per wheel and a bonus in the back: in place of the engine and airbox, two (removable) batteries of 30Ah each take their place, freeing up a little space above to offer 5 liters of trunk space.
With one less exhaust line and a much simpler, more compact engine, the bike loses a lot of weight. It's a pity that the batteries push the needle to the side of the scale. Still, the Ninja e-1 is the lightest of its siblings at 140 kg. That's a gain of 28 kg since the 400, but in the final analysis, it's only 8 kg lighter thana 125. To which it won't be able to vacuum.

With the Ninja e-1, the curious can discover a new way of combining motorcycling, ecology, silence and frustration. The nicely sporty riding position and much more pronounced design will have the left hand crackling.... who will have to be satisfied with very modest performance.
It's worth noting that the machine is equipped with a handsome color TFT screen with Bluetooth communication, a brake regeneration system, that it takes just under 4 hours to fully charge the batteries, and that the e-1 offers what no Kawasaki has offered before: no pollution, no fuel on your fingers, no clutch, no selector, no gears. A cocktail, however, that's hard to pass up for a price tag of 8,763 euros, which rises to 8,999 euros with the charger.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos

* 99 km/h? Why not more? Because Kawasaki e-1s are limited to this speed for the European market.