Italian website Insella has spy shots of what appears to be a Kawasaki scooter. Well, sort of.
But wait! Why is that big news? Well, while Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki all have long-established scooters in their lineup, Team Green has shied away from the step-through market for a long time, at least in developed markets. This move could signal a huge change in direction for a company best known for cutting edge sportbikes and budget adventure bikes. We live in an age where affordable machines for emerging markets seem to be the future, and this scooter could fit into that trend.
Anyway, the scooter itself looks like it wears Kawasaki livery, but is it actually their machine? Looking at it, it appears to simply be a rebadged Kymco Downtown 300i, like the one I rode through this year’s Mad Bastard Scooter Rally. Sure, there are a few minor differences, but it appears to be the same machine.
Like all the other Japanese manufacturers, Kawasaki has ties to factories in other Asian countries, and this machine could be the result of that sort of collaboration. Or maybe, Kymco has just abandoned their normal paint schemes and decided to try out some Kawasaki-style colouring? We’ll probably know after EICMA.
[…] Yesterday, we told you Kawasaki was reportedly working on a new scooter, possibly in conjunction with Kymco. Now, Team Green has confirmed that rumour. […]
“New J300 Scooter announced by Kawasaki for Europe. Mr Fukumoto, head of KHI’s Styling Department said: “It was of great importance that our first step into the European scooter market should be with a machine that embodied Kawasaki’s cutting edge design, we are happy that we have achieved this with the styling features of the new J300”.
Looks like its official, Kawasaki UK just spilled the beans.
Its going to be called the J300.