It was only a matter of time. While hybrids are now common in cars and have been for several years, translating the technology to motorcycles, notably Kawasaki’s Ninja 7 Hybrid and the Z7 Hybrid, is a remarkable engineering feat.
As stated in (MCN) Motor Cycle News on January 22, 2024, a “strong hybrid” means that the bikes can operate in pure electric mode, rather than simply adding an occasional boost like some hybrid systems.” In essence, this allows the ICE (internal combustion engine) to be disengaged and re-engaged at will.
The Ninja 7 Hybrid boasts 57.2 bhp from its 451cc parallel twin mated to a six-speed gearbox. However, it has the addition of a 9kW (11.8 bhp) electric motor connected to a chain drive, effectively increasing the power to 67.6 bhp, with both ICE and electric motor engaged.
An automatic clutch, controlled by the ECU, disengages the engine from the transmission when in electric mode. The gearshift is automated and controlled again by the ECU, yet allows for a manual mode with shift buttons on the bars of the bike. While the transmission is conventional, it is operated by an electric motor utilizing several reduction gears.
Being an automatic transmission, fuel economy is improved as the ECU shifts prioritize efficiency. Like most hybrid cars ECO-Hybrid mode further improves efficiency and gas mileage. If riders prefer to shift gears, they can do so utilizing the buttons on the bars.
Both the electric motor and the engine drive the input shaft to the transmission. Switching between the two is seamless.
The bike utilizes a 48V lithium-ion battery that is mounted under the seat, which is then wired to a converter to drop the voltage to 12V used by the bike’s standard electrical components. Both the ECU uses and the inverter converts DC output to AC for the motor.
Kawasaki’s purely electrical motorcycles for 2024, the Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 are the same as that in the Ninja 7 Hybrid in that they use a synchronous AC motor which also serves to generate and harvest electricity during deceleration.
Rather than a normal starter, the engine is fitted with a starter generator. It runs continuously and is permanently engaged, thereby starting the engine seamlessly. The generator continuously tops up the power of the 48V battery while the engine is running.
Interestingly, mainly due to the motorcycle’s size, the range of both the mechanical variant and the hybrid are the same. Where economies are likely to be found, is among Kawasaki’s future larger offerings, in particular 4 cylinder engined motorcycles.
Riding modes are somewhat different than on a conventional motorcycle. ECO-hybrid mode allows for the selection of automatic or manual transmission using switches on the bars. In this mode, like conventional four-wheel vehicles, the bike moves initially on electric power, with the ICE starting once on the move.
Sport-Hybrid requires the rider to shift gears via switches on the handlebar. In this mode, the engine is always running in full-power mode. E-boost is then available at the press of a button, but only for 5 seconds.
EV mode uses pure electric power. It only works between first and fourth gear at slow speeds and requires the motorcycle to be traveling at less than 15 mph to engage.
This year will see the advent of some new electric motorcycles to the North American market. While many will bemoan the change from ICE to electric or hydrogen, it was always going to occur. Now that BMW will be building vehicles using Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Kawasaki will be creating engines that burn Hydrogen, rather than using fuel cells, the future looks to be interesting.
How these new technologies fare in the future will depend on how well today’s motorcycle culture adapts to the change. I’m looking forward to actually riding all three future technologies, that being the continued ICE designs, Hybrid designs, and Fuel Cell or ICE Hydrogen engines.
Time will tell which technology becomes predominant in the motorcycle industry.
Ciao…
Leave a Reply