Kawasaki unveils upgraded machines at AIME

Kawasaki is showing off several upgraded bikes at the AIME show in Orlando this weekend. The Vulcan S cruiser is now available in cafe racer styling and the ZX-14 superbikeis getting updates for 2016, as well as the Ninja 1000 and Z1000.

First off, the Vulcan S Cafe. This is simply your standard Vulcan S cruiser with the addition of a bikini fairing. It will be available in a special paint scheme unique to the cafe model, but if you want to achieve the cafe racer look for yourself, Vulcan S owners can purchase the windscreen and mounting bracket and retro-fit them to existing bikes.

The Vulcan S Cafe is not on Canada’s Kawasaki website yet, and we have no Canadian MSRP.

The ZX-14 also gets some minor upgrades for 2016. This year, the standard ZX-14 gets a new LCD instrument cluster. That’s hardly a major mechanical update, but there will also be a special edition of the bike that gets brake upgrades (Brembo Monobloc calipers, stainless steel lines).

The Ninja 1000 and Z1000 also get minor upgrades for 2016. Both bikes receive a new slipper clutch, which also has trick internal cams to reduce clutch pull.

GALLERY

Check out all the pics that go with this story! Click on the main sized pic to transition to the next or just press play to show in a slideshow.

The new clutch in the Ninja 1000 and Z1000 has an easier pull, as well as slipper clutch capability.

The new bikini fairing for the Vulcan S is also available to retro-fit to existing standard models.

Some manufacturers, particularly in Japan, never had the same restrictions the Euro and Chinese plants did. But if you’re dependent on parts made in China or Italy, a shutdown there still disrupts production, and that certainly happened in 2020.

The ZX-14’s new LCD dash.

The Vulcan S Cafe is really just a Vulcan S with a nice windscreen.