Kawasaki Reveals Supercharged Inline-Four Engine
Kawasaki announced it is developing what it calls the world’s first supercharger developed by a motorcycle manufacturer. The giant Japanese company called on its extensive experience in working with turbine engines, and distilled the technology for motorcycle applications, showing a supercharged Inline-Four engine at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.
No details were given on the size of the sample engine, though diagrams included in Kawasaki’s patent applications for motorcycle superchargers include one image that looks vaguely similar to the Ninja ZX-14R. The new engine may likely be used for the 14R’s future replacement, and a supercharger would allow for similar performance at a smaller displacement.
And below is the 2014 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R for comparison.
Here’s what Kawasaki has to say about its new engine:
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. also has a long history of developing technologies for turbine engines. The lifeblood of these turbines is their blades, which need to be able to cope with extreme heat and vibration while spinning at high speeds. Know-how from years of designing turbine engine blades was instilled in the first supercharger developed by a motorcycle manufacturer. And of course, designing a motorcycle-use supercharged engine in-house means that maximum efficiency could be pursued.
[Source: Kawasaki]
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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