The recipe used to make this bike excites me. My first bike was a Kawasaki VN Eliminator 250. 2001 V-Twin I believe. Great torque for a 250, and they built it so well. Very durable. What a fantastic bike that was and what great memories. The best most engaging engine and gearbox for the public streets I owned is a ninja 400. Having owned the Boulevard M109r and many ninja’s including zx14r, zx10 and now 1000sx the little 400 engine was more fun. The Eliminator was probably one of the most comfortable bikes. I must admit, cycling through all the different capacities, as I’ve grown older I’ve learnt to appreciate the smaller bikes more so than the larger.
Very cool, it'd be interesting to see how your original Eliminator would compare to the new version. There's definitely a lot to be said for the small machines!
Thank you for a really nice review on thr Eliminator. I've owned motorcycles since 1967 but sold my last one last Falll, a Harley Tri-gile which I paid $37,000 for and it broke down four times within the first year. I sold it for $28,000 and glad to be rid of it. I will NEVER own another Harley. I've been looking at several bikes, Triumph Speed Twin 900, Speed 400, Vulcan S, and the Eliminator. I'm afraid the Speed 400 with its singe cylinder will feel too much like a dual sport and I wouldn't like it. The Speed Twin cost twice as much for what I can buy an Eliminator, and the Vulcan S which cost more doesn't come with a passenger seat or passenger foot pegs. So I am leaning more and more toward the Eliminator. The Eliminator does every thing I want, a great around town bike, a great back road bike, and can cruise at 65 mph when I wan to. So I ask mtdelf, "Why pay more?" I have cossen to go with the SE because of the bright color and I plan to go to my nearest Kawasaki dealer today to bring one home. WIsh me luck. Ride safe and enjoy every journey.
I think there are vibration pads available to dampen the impact on the fingers. That’s something I would look into. Gorgeous bike. Not a fan of cowl on the light. But I like the splash of orange. Frankly I like so much about this bike. I’m trying to convince my wife I’m old enough to have a motorcycle! 😜 I’m only 56 going on 11, so it’s not a given….great review. I really appreciate the sizing up you demonstrated. I’m 5’7” (not r 165-170 cm in French) which I sorted out to be two inches of extra foot reach compared to you. My arms and legs would be slightly less bent compared to you. That’s it. Love it. Thanks for posting this.
Vibrations are much more noticeable on the Eliminator in that mid-range section, elsewhere I didn't find them a concern to be honest. But you'll probably spend a fair bit of time in that particular section of the rev range.
The recipe used to make this bike excites me. My first bike was a Kawasaki VN Eliminator 250. 2001 V-Twin I believe. Great torque for a 250, and they built it so well. Very durable. What a fantastic bike that was and what great memories. The best most engaging engine and gearbox for the public streets I owned is a ninja 400. Having owned the Boulevard M109r and many ninja’s including zx14r, zx10 and now 1000sx the little 400 engine was more fun. The Eliminator was probably one of the most comfortable bikes. I must admit, cycling through all the different capacities, as I’ve grown older I’ve learnt to appreciate the smaller bikes more so than the larger.
Very cool, it'd be interesting to see how your original Eliminator would compare to the new version. There's definitely a lot to be said for the small machines!
Thank you for a really nice review on thr Eliminator. I've owned motorcycles since 1967 but sold my last one last Falll, a Harley Tri-gile which I paid $37,000 for and it broke down four times within the first year. I sold it for $28,000 and glad to be rid of it. I will NEVER own another Harley.
I've been looking at several bikes, Triumph Speed Twin 900, Speed 400, Vulcan S, and the Eliminator. I'm afraid the Speed 400 with its singe cylinder will feel too much like a dual sport and I wouldn't like it. The Speed Twin cost twice as much for what I can buy an Eliminator, and the Vulcan S which cost more doesn't come with a passenger seat or passenger foot pegs.
So I am leaning more and more toward the Eliminator. The Eliminator does every thing I want, a great around town bike, a great back road bike, and can cruise at 65 mph when I wan to. So I ask mtdelf, "Why pay more?"
I have cossen to go with the SE because of the bright color and I plan to go to my nearest Kawasaki dealer today to bring one home. WIsh me luck.
Ride safe and enjoy every journey.
If I was gonna get another cruiser this would be it, I like mid pegs only.
I think there are vibration pads available to dampen the impact on the fingers. That’s something I would look into. Gorgeous bike. Not a fan of cowl on the light. But I like the splash of orange. Frankly I like so much about this bike. I’m trying to convince my wife I’m old enough to have a motorcycle! 😜 I’m only 56 going on 11, so it’s not a given….great review. I really appreciate the sizing up you demonstrated. I’m 5’7” (not r 165-170 cm in French) which I sorted out to be two inches of extra foot reach compared to you. My arms and legs would be slightly less bent compared to you. That’s it. Love it. Thanks for posting this.
Nice bike. Cheap bars and fitments for them. Nice bike, though. Better than the Rebel.
How is the engine vibration compared to Rebel?
Vibrations are much more noticeable on the Eliminator in that mid-range section, elsewhere I didn't find them a concern to be honest. But you'll probably spend a fair bit of time in that particular section of the rev range.