Green has always played an important role at Kawasaki. Patent applications from 2019 showed that Kawasaki is also concerned with “green” electric drives. A first prototype was then at the EICMA. Now there is a new model name: EV Endeavor.
Patent application is never a guarantee that the patented technology will eventually come into series production. At the very least, such patents offer room for speculation, as in the case of Kawasaki, which has been protected by a battery replacement system, as a patent first revealed in April 2019 shows.
This patent specification showed a motorcycle in the format of the Ninja 300/400 with a lattice tube frame that can be opened to the side in order to be able to replace the complete battery unit. For this purpose, the left-sided frame part has been designed in such a way that it can be completely removed between the steering head and the swinging bearing. The complete battery pack can then be docked and lifted with a special sled, which is pushed under the motorcycle. The electric motor itself sits underneath and remains in the vehicle.
The battery pack is lifted out of the vehicle and replaced by a charged package in the same way. Derived from this concept, Kawasaki seems to be thinking about a changeable battery system when it comes to electric motorcycles, which can bring relaxation when it comes to charging times. However, the built-in battery package can also be charged in the built-in form.
Ram-Air for cooling
In order to achieve their optimum performance, drives need a certain temperature working window, as electric and internal combustion engines are similar. The temperature balance can be regulated particularly well by a liquid cooling system. This is where the Kawasaki patent starts.
The patent shows a conventionally drawn motorcycle that picks up battery packs under a tank dummy and between the main frame tubes. The electric motor sits underneath with a transmission unit.
While the Kawasaki patent provides for air cooling for the batteries, which provides the energy storage via a kind of Ram-Air loop past the steering head cooling wind, the engine-gear unit is washed over by cooling oil. A correspondingly large size oil cooler sits in front of the unit.
Prototype at EICMA 2019
The Kawasaki electric motorcycle became more concrete at EICMA 2019, where the Japanese exhibited a prototype. But this happened without much Tam-Tam. The prototype of a rolling chassis, titled EV Project, was on the stand without further information. At the time, however, the Japanese emphasized that the prototype, which has been in development since 2000, is fully capable of driving and has already completed several tests on racetracks and public roads in Japan – videos subsequently published confirmed these statements. The installed electric motor is intended to offer a continuous power of 10 kW and a peak power of 20 kW. Kawasaki puts the range at around 100 kilometres. However, they do not want to pull out detailed information.
However, some features can be clearly seen on the prototype. The final drive is carried out via a conventional chain. A four-speed transmission is upstream. Above the motor sits the battery pack, directly behind it the CHAdeMO charging socket as well as other sockets for other systems. Another noticeable is a thumb brake at the left end of the handlebars with which the recuperation can be influenced. The cockpit is a large LCD display.
Model designation EV Endeavor
At the end of April 2020, Kawasaki confirmed the new model designation. The electric motorcycle of the Greens listens to the name EV Endeavor. However, it is unclear whether this is the final name of a potential production model. Apart from that, Kawasaki publishes new short videos about the new electric kawa on the official YouTube channel from time to time. There are currently five short videos on the YouTube channel that we have cut together for you. Five more will follow, probably every month.
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