- Kawasaki Eliminator 500 details announced
- Comes with a 451cc, parallel-twin engine
- No word about its India launch
Kawasaki has finally announced the details of the Eliminator 500 that was unveiled a few months back in June. The motorcycle will be sold in global markets and is set to compete against the Honda Rebel 500 as well as the Royal Enfield Interceptor and Super Meteor 650 internationally.
The Eliminator shares a chunk of its components with the Ninja 400. It comes with a 451cc, parallel-twin engine that is likely to produce 49bhp and around 38Nm. The engine features downdraft intakes that are present to provide a shorter path for the intaken air to the cylinders. That said, the Kawasaki Eliminator 500 uses a steel trellis frame derived from the NInja 400 that offers a 1520mm wheelbase. Suspension duties are taken care of by conventional forks and twin shocks at the rear. The seat height is adjustable too; set at 735mm as standard, it can be lowered to 715mm or raised to 765mm to suit a variety of rider preferences.
Along with these revelations, we know that the Kawasaki Eliminator 500 gets full-LED lighting, and LCD screen with Kawasaki Rideology access as well. The Japanese manufacturer also has a special ‘SE’ version that comes with a special graphic on the headlamp cowl, different stitching on the seat, rubber fork gaiters and a USB-C port.
Styled like a modern retro cruiser motorcycle, the Kawasaki Eliminator 500 with the Ninja 400-derived engine is a promising and seemingly exciting proposition. While it will be launched internationally soon, the chances of it being sold in India anytime soon are slim. This would be due to the fact that the price gap between the Ninja 400 (Rs 5.24 lakh) and Vulcan S (Rs 7.10 lakh) is not much and slotting the Eliminator 500 competitively would be a challenge.
