With a style that will turn heads and a colour scheme that stands out from the crowd, the 2024 Kawasaki Eliminator SE is a good looking bike. There’s a lot to like, especially when you throw in the fact it’s comfortable to ride and learner approved.
That last one’s important, because this writer is indeed a learner, in sunny NSW and all. Now back to the bike. The Eliminator SE is powered by a 451cc 4-stroke parallel twin engine, delivering 33.4kW of power and 42.6Nm of torque.
Its liquid-cooled powerplant, which is the same one found in the Z500, is paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox. Shift assist and a slipper clutch make for easy gear changes, in a combination that offers a genuinely smooth riding experience.
Good grunt at the bottom end makes the Eliminator easy to ride, although it is a little rev-happy north of 5,000rpm at highway speeds. There’s some mild vibration up there too. That said, the Kawasaki never feels like it struggles and holds its own against bigger bikes.
An 11.3:1 compression ratio and some well chosen gearing ensures solid power delivery, particularly in the mid-range. The bike sports a 13-litre fuel tank, which is pretty small, but is good for around 4.2-litres/100km.
That translates to somewhere between 260km and 300km, depending on how you ride. On the road, this bright and colourful cruiser is nimble and agile through corners. It feels light, and is reasonably so at 171kg wet.
The Eliminator is easily manoeuvrable, and never lets you think it’s unstable or skittish, even if you ride it a little hard. Wind buffeting is impressively minimal too. The suspension package features a 41mm telescopic fork with no adjustment.
Twin shocks, which have pre-load tweaks only, can be found at the rear. As a heftier rider, it would have been nice to be able to tweak the front, or beef the rear end up a little to suit this rider’s weight and height. That said, it does do a reasonable job of absorbing pot holes.
Front wheel travel is 120mm, with the back end offering 90mm. Lean angles are 35-degrees on both sides, allowing for a little bit of bravery. We put that to the test through some serious high and low-speed twisties.
Up and down Mt Ettalong at South Umina and in the downhill run into the Central Coast town of Patonga, the Eliminator ate up what we threw at it, happily leaning deep into the corners for a grin-inducing ride.
Stopping power comes from a 310mm single front disc with a dual piston calliper, with the same setup on the rear, tied to a 240mm single disc. ABS features on both. Standard seat height is a quite low 735mm, which suits average height riders.
The 2024 Kawasaki Eliminator SE comes with what the bike maker calls Ergo-Fit, which supports a low and high height seat (with the latter at 765mm). That’s good for taller riders like yours truly.
It includes the option to adjust the handlebars to create the perfect rider triangle. Leaner approved, it comes with a distinctive headlight cowl that gives a proper retro feel, and features a long and low design.
Its round LED headlight keeps the theme going, and the 18-inch front and 16-inch rear wheels suit the look too. Built on a lightweight trellis frame, the Eliminator’s special edition variety tested here comes in two colour schemes.
Ours was the Candy Steel Furnace Orange and Ebony version, but you can also opt for a non-shiny Metallic Matte Carbon Gray and Flat Ebony. Its all-digital instrumentation provides a decent amount of information, albeit with a fairly basic look.
In reality, that’s keeping with the style of the bike, and you do get a tacho and gear position indicator. The SE comes with a USB-C port mounted to the handlebar for full smartphone connectivity (handy for navigation).
Depending on the State you live in, that’s either convenient, or not quite legal to utilise, but this is a bike you could happily stay on post your Ls and Ps, so there’s that. We imagine its narrow frame would make it awesome for lane-splitting too (once you’re allowed).
Kawasaki backs the 2024 Eliminator SE LAMS bike with a 2-year unlimited kilometre warranty. If you’re after a cruiser that will stand out from the crowd, is easy to ride, handles well and looks the goods, this could be the bike for you.
If you’re tall, we’d definitely recommend taking advantage of the Ergo-Fit setup and upping the seat height and moving the bars. Likewise, for short riders, there’s options for you too. You can find out more from their website, or by talking to your local dealership.
Our test bike was supplied by Kawasaki Motorcycles Australia for independent review purposes. Images courtesy of bikereview.com.au.
