Kawasaki India has teased an all-new bike on its social media channels.
With only part of the front wheel visible, the silhouette of the rest of the bike, which is under a red satin cover, seems to match that of the Eliminator 450. The Kawasaki Eliminator 450 was unveiled in the US back in June, and if the hashtags on the Instagram post are anything to go by, we could potentially see a full launch at the India Bike Week scheduled for this weekend.
The Eliminator name was one that was used back in the day in India, under a hyphenated brand. Essentially a 174cc motorcycle, the Kawasaki-Bajaj Eliminator was the company’s first cruiser that eventually went on to become the Avenger after the partnership ended. Now, Kawasaki is bringing the moniker back with a more powerful engine and some radical restyling.
Speaking of design, the Eliminator 450 is a fairly modern take on cruiser bikes. While the styling inspiration does come from the brand’s bigger cruiser, the Vulcan S, the Eliminator is closer to what the Honda Rebel in international markets looks like. The trellis frame chassis on the bike is all new and the big tank sweeps upwards towards the front.
The round headlamp is LED powered and the instrument cluster behind is an all-digital unit complete with smartphone connectivity via the Rideology app. Of course, the bike rides low and also comes with Kawasaki’s ergo-fit chassis management system. This allows riders to tailor the handlebar and foot pegs to their specific height and requirements.
They are, however, set to relaxed riding position so the pegs are set forward, the handlebar is wide and the seat height is measured at just 735 mm. The Eliminator is light, too, weighing in at just 176 kg.
Powering the Eliminator 450 is a 451cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin engine based on the new Ninja 500. The whole package is fairly unique considering most manufacturers who build cruisers like going the air-cooled route to maintain the retro status of the bike. The new liquid-cooled engine on the Eliminatory means higher revs per minute and more power. It generates a healthy 44.7 hp of maximum power at 9,000 rpm and 42.6 Nm of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. The engine has been tuned to start producing more torque and peak at a lower revs to heighten the cruiser nature of the bike.
Transmission is a standard 6-speed manual gearbox complete with a slip-and-assist clutch. Handling suspension duties is a 41 mm telescopic front fork and dual rear shock absorbers. The Eliminator uses an 18-inch/16-inch front/rear tyre setup which is similar to the Vulcan, but the latter uses a 17-inch rear. Stopping power comes from a single 310 mm front disc brake and a 240 mm rear disc. Dual-channel ABS is, of course, standard.
In the UK and some other markets, the Eliminator 500 (which is the same 450) gets an SE variant with two additionalcolour options—Metallic Matte Carbon Gray and Flat Ebony—alongside a few added features such as a USB port beside the right side switchgear. The standard Eliminator comes in two paint scheme options, Pearl Robotic White and Pearl Storm Grey in the US and Metallic Flat Spark Black in the UK.
As far as pricing goes, we can expect something around the Rs 5.60-lakh mark. This is based on the fact that the Kawasaki Ninja 400 currently starts at Rs 5.24 lakh despite similarly powered motorcycles being available for cheaper, like the KTM 390 series bikes or even the BMW G 310 series of bikes. It will be interesting to see which moniker between the 450 and the 500 Kawasaki India will decide to go with, but either way, upon launch, the Eliminator will go up against the Royal Enfield Super Meteor, at least in terms of price, while its closest competition will come from the Keeway V302C.
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