‘Tis the silly season once again, when the media fall desperately upon trivial news items to fill the spaces in their publications left by the holiday absence of the villains, murderers, con-men and politicians who usually keep us entertained. There’s not much happening in terms of motorsport at the moment either, but we won’t feed you with all that dross about kids getting ponies for Christmas and politicians saving the environment by riding bicycles to orphans’ homes so they can kiss babies. Instead we’ll have a look at some entertaining Kawasaki video clips on YouTube.
Let’s start with a batch of commercials. Kawasaki has over the years run a number of very entertaining ads, and Bike Sport Live has spliced a few together HERE
Then there’s the Kawasaki USA advertisement for the 2011 Ninja bringing whole new meaning to our views on medical practitioners.
Back in 2013, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Kawasaki revealed the futuristic J Concept electric vehicle, an extraordinary demonstration of evolving technology that turns everything we thought we knew about future motorcycles on its head. The J Concept adapts itself physically to suit changing requirements, with the rider deciding whether he wants it to be a sports machine, a cruiser, an urban tricycle or a dual-purpose machine. The suspension can change its track (the distance between the two – yes, two – front wheels), as well as its wheelbase, all on the fly. The J Concept is unlikely to see light of day as a production machine in its present form, but the technology developed for its highly sophisticated chassis and drivetrain will hopefully find a niche in the marketplace. You can see an animated video of the J Concept in action HERE.
From the future you can now retreat into the past, and take a gander at our own four-time World Champion Kork Ballington’s 1982 Kawasaki KR500 two-stroke Grand Prix motorcycle. Kork, now resident in Brisbane, Australia, was given the bike by the factory after they and he retired from Grand Prix racing at the end of that year. You can nip across to his Brisbane home for a personal viewing of the bike – and the champ – HERE.
And finally, you can watch a fascinating video about, well, the making of a video. Back in 2013 Kawasaki made a promotional video for the ZX-6R on the Isle of Man TT course, with TT hero James Hillier in the saddle and hard-pressed cameraman Tom Moran struggling to keep up on the tracking bike. Watch it HERE – it’s great fun and it’ll give you some idea of how much effort goes into the making of a top-class television documentary.
And for the finished product, take a look HERE.
by Gavin Foster.