Kawasaki's Neon Green Trike Is an Absurd Anime Bike Brought to Life | Autopia | Wired.com

Dec 2, 2013

From wired magazine:

We absolutely adore the wacky shit that comes out of Japan. But we’re torn on the Kawasaki J concept. It’s either inspired or idiotic.

A Monster Energy Drink-green half-breed of every anime bike you’ve ever seen, the J manages to make the future look both uncomfortable and absurd. And then adds a shark fin. There’s a massive set of wheels out back that have been superglued together, and Kawasaki nixed the handlebars for a pair of levers attached to the two front wheels. Power? No idea. Kawasaki says it’s electric and that the glowing tube mounted in the middle is a “Gigacell” battery of the nickel-metal hydride variety, but it may as well be a nuclear reactor frying the rider’s manly bits.

The pseudo-cycle is too wide to split lanes and too spartan to carry anything more than a pack of gum, but its two-mode riding position is at least interesting. In speed mode, the J hunkers down to lay the rider into a sport bike position, while comfort mode raises the seat and dual handlebars into a more relaxing, urban cruiser setup. Still, aside from showing its engineering chops and proving that psychedelics are regularly passed around the Kawasaki design studio, we’re at a loss with the J. And so is Kawasaki, which apparently couldn’t even pick a cooler letter — let alone a full name — for this thing.