Become a Member: Get Ad-Free Access to 3,000+ Reviews, Guides, & More

Kawasaki Is Working on a Leaning Slingshot Competitor

kawasaki pantent

Polaris Could Have Some Competition

The Polaris Slingshot is a unique three-wheeled vehicle, but I’m not sure it really qualifies as a motorcycle. Still, it’s an extreme machine and without a doubt a lot of fun. Now it seems Polaris may have some competition coming from Kawasaki. In a report by Motorcycle.com, patents were revealed to show a Slingshot-like three-wheeler from Kawasaki, but with one major difference: it leans.

The Polaris Slingshot corners flat like a car. Kawasaki’s new vehicle design would lean, kind of like how the Yamaha Niken leans, but the Kawasaki reverse trike would have two seats—side-by-side—and what looks like a steering wheel instead of handlebars. The two front wheels will remain verticle, and the rest of the vehicle will lean—everything from the front two wheels back.

This is different from the Yamaha Niken or the Piaggio MP3 scooter. If you look closely at the design patents, the front two wheels have a more squared-off, car-like shape to them. According to Motorcycle.com, this is even expressed in the accompanying documentation.

All this is to say that Kawasaki is working on one weird and wild machine. While in many respects it’s more car-like than motorcycle-like, it’s still extremely interesting. Who knows if Kawasaki will bring this to production.