“We heard you,” says Kawasaki in its latest teaser, which features the sound of a single-cylinder, two-stroke engine revving in the background. This marks the first time Kawasaki will introduce a full-size two-stroke dirt bike in almost two decades. For reference, the last full-size two-stroker Kawasaki sold was the KX250 in 2007.
This new two-stroker is more likely to be a motocross bike. It seems more practical for Kawasaki, which already has a lineup of high-performance KX dirt bikes. Maybe it’s time to put a two-stroke engine in one of those KX bikes! But if we’re optimistic, it may also turn out to be an entirely new platform.
On the enduro side, it wouldn’t really make sense. In the US, Kawasaki trail bikes have to pass CARB emissions, which a two-stroke engine won’t. But there’s a chance Kawasaki might bring out some two-stroke enduro competition bikes, rivaling competition models from KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas, and Yamaha.
Kawasaki also filed a patent for a modern two-stroke engine with fuel injection and a turbocharger. If Kawasaki does plonk this engine in a motorcycle, it might meet emission norms and be road-legal. However, it’s more likely that this new engine will be used in stationary aviation applications. We don’t expect the upcoming Kawasaki two-stroke to be based on this patent.
While we drool over the thought of a brand-spanking-new two-stroke dirt bike, if you’re in India, that’s all you can do. Japanese manufacturers are already notoriously lazy at bringing world-class bikes to our shores, let alone a two-stroke. Instead, we’ll likely get yet another sticker job on the ancient Ninja 300!
