I walk right past a lot of good motorcycles on my way to Kawasaki at EICMA 2026 in Milan, and I feel a little guilty about it. But some things just outshine everything else. I get a front-row spot straight away, right in front of the new Versys 900, and behind it there’s an adventure bike I’ve been praying for, the return of the supercharged Ninja, a robot on four legs and a two-stroke that pretty much finishes me off.

What gets me most is the range. Kawasaki used to be the racing brand. Now it covers everything from the street to the dirt like hardly anyone else.

The Versys 900 is going to fly out the door

The Versys 900 is built around the Z900’s four-cylinder, an engine with a legendary reputation. Kawasaki quotes 120 hp and 72 lb-ft from the 948 cc inline-four, and it sits in an all-new steel trellis frame. You don’t need a crystal ball to see this thing becoming a hit. My worry is that Kawasaki dealers will play it safe on orders again and sell out instantly, just like when the new Z900 landed. Sure, it’s different from other sport-tourers: the base was a naked bike, and there’s an inline-four in the frame. Don’t let that scare you off, Kawasaki changed a lot. It’s supposed to be stable and composed and still easy to throw around. At 900 cc it sits in the upper middleweight class, pretty much knocking on the liter-bike door.

Radar, and a jab at the Versys 1100

The electronics are what make it special. It’s reportedly the first Versys with radar: adaptive cruise, forward collision warning and blind spot detection are all in the package. There’s a full control center on the bars to set the following distance and scroll through the menus, and heated grips come along too. One thing I want to be clear about: the adaptive cruise holds your speed and adjusts to the car ahead, but it won’t do an emergency stop for you. Right next to it stands the fully loaded Versys 1100 SE, and honestly, the 900 takes a big bite out of its big sister. At the stand it’s there in red and green, as an SE with more touring gear, and with hard cases from the accessory catalog. My bet: this one’s a volume seller. The order books are going to smoke.

Kawasaki Versys 900 and Versys 900 SE in a manufacturer press photo

The KLE650 answers my prayers

Then the moment I’ve been waiting for: the KLE650. The familiar 649 cc parallel twin now lives in a proper adventure bike with a 21” front wheel, and the SE gets tubeless tires. I get to climb onto a white KLE650, and the wide bar feels like a conductor’s baton in your hands. It reportedly makes 70 hp, and that’s plenty to get things moving. Spring preload is adjustable, the trellis frame looks tough, and I can easily see this bike gobbling up a gravel road or two. Cruise control is standard. I went looking for the KLE500 SE Smartride too, but couldn’t find it on the stand. Its centrifugal clutch handles pulling away and stopping without the lever, and you still shift by hand. To me the KLE650 is the big win here. A real travel bike at a sane size!

At EICMA 2026 in Milan, the presenter tries out the seating position on the white Kawasaki KLE650 at the Kawasaki stand.

A robot dog and the supercharged Ninja

Then I’m briefly speechless. Kawasaki has CORLEO on the stand, a robotic four-legged vehicle where a 150 cc hydrogen engine works as a generator, according to Kawasaki. It’s a concept, with production readiness targeted around 2035. Everybody’s lining up to climb on and I can’t get near it. I still want a test ride, no question. As a guard dog in the yard, nobody would get past it. My own dog, Akira, hides under the bathroom cabinet with her stuffed toy in her mouth when the house alarm goes off. If I bring this robot home, she’ll pass out.

Right next to it is the real supercharged machine: the Ninja H2 is street-legal in Europe again. It makes a little less than before, but with ram air it’s still 206 hp at 525 lbs ready to ride.

The Kawasaki Ninja H2 is displayed head-on on its pedestal at the Kawasaki stand at EICMA 2026 in Milan.

A new Ninja 650 and a very wide lineup

My cheat sheet earns its keep, because the Ninja 650 is on it too. It gets a 37 mm Showa upside-down fork, radial-mount four-piston calipers and a new 4.3-inch TFT. It instantly looks sharper. The ZX-4R, whose little four-cylinder already started an avalanche, is somewhere on the stand, but I can’t find it. Overall I’m blown away by the variety. If you still think of Kawasaki as the pure racing brand, you’ll be rubbing your eyes: road-focused Versys models with an upright seat, plus the KLE500 and KLE650 adventure bikes that go straight to your heart. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Kawasaki has clawed its way up the registration charts in the last few years, simply with great engines. I love seeing them push this hard.

Kawasaki Ninja 650 in a manufacturer press photo

The KX327X is the sleeper of the show

I almost forgot why I’d been so wired all day. Behind a barrier sits one of my highlights of the show: the KX327X, a brand-new two-stroke from Kawasaki. It’s reportedly Kawasaki’s first two-stroke above 250 cc in more than 20 years, displacing 327 cc. Kawasaki lists fuel injection, electric start and an exhaust valve. The KX327 is the motocross version, the KX327X the cross-country model. Frame, swingarm, engine, all of it looks fantastic. And this isn’t a motocrosser with a few bits bolted on: more flywheel, the right gearing, built for the woods. It’s aimed mainly at America and Australia, but anyone racing cross-country in Austria or Germany, say in the German Cross Country Championship, can buy one too. Everybody keeps saying combustion is dead, and Kawasaki shows up with a whole new engine generation. I’m sure it’ll sell like crazy. A lot of us have always loved riding two-strokes.

The new Kawasaki KX327X two-stroke, the brand’s first new two-stroke in 20 years, on display at EICMA 2026 in Milan.

What it costs in the US

Good news first: most of this stand is headed your way. Kawasaki USA sells the Versys 900 only as the fully loaded Versys 900 SE LT ABS, reportedly at $13,599, arriving in March 2027. The KLE650 ABS is listed at $8,799 and the KLE650 SE ABS at $9,999, both due in February. The KLE500 SE Smartride ABS comes in at $7,999, and the 2027 Ninja 650 starts at $8,099. The two-strokes are priced at $9,099 for the KX327 and $9,699 for the KX327X, with dealers getting them in late 2026. The one open question is the Ninja H2: US pricing for the 2027 model hasn’t been announced. In Germany it costs €33,050 including delivery, and the 2026 US model reportedly listed at $34,400, so treat that as a ballpark. CORLEO is a concept, not a product.

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