Kawasaki J Concept: a look into the future

The Tokyo Motor Show was awash with both the weird and the wonderful from the automobile world, and no other vehicle fit that description better than Kawasaki’s insane J Concept. This bike (and I use the term loosely), looks like an amalgamation of the bat-pod from The Dark Knight series, the bike from Tron, and something out of the old Johnny Quest cartoons.

Dubbed by Kawasaki as a ‘personal mobility vehicle’, it looks highly unlikely that this concept will ever morph into something more than that, a topic that was touched upon by Yasushi Kawakami, Managing Director, Kawaski Motors Europe, he said, “While this remains a concept vehicle it is certainly a tempting insight into way that diverse technologies currently under development at Kawasaki Heavy Industries could work in a harmonised and complimentary way. Like all Kawasaki fans around the world, we look forward with great interest to see the next steps from our imaginative development engineers at KHI.”

what’s truly amazing about this totally unparalleled design is that the bike can be transformed from an aerodynamic, racing stance, to a more easy-going city posture with a flick of button. In city mode, the front wheel splits up into two for more stability, and a handle bar pops up for a more comfortable riding position. As Shigehiko Kiyama, President of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine Company, elucidated at the Tokyo unveil, “J is a personal mobility system of the future that adapts to the type of travel required, from city mobility to fun sport riding, it’s sharp, aggressive styling – like that of Kawasaki motorcycles – is one of its distinguishing characteristics.”

At the heart of the J Concept is Kawasaki’s GIGACELL battery. Developed from ground zero by the Japanese titans, this battery is capable of storing huge amounts of power thanks to its composition – a high-capacity nickel-metal hybrid, as opposed to your run-of-the-mill lithium-ion. This outlandish concept captured the imagination of the masses at the Tokyo Motor Show, and we’ll follow its development with great intrigue as well.

Story: Harket Suchde