KawasakiTrax Community
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: mswyka on December 30, 2019, 04:50:52 PM
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I am curious if anyone else saw the current edition of Supertrax Magazine. And, I was a bit surprised at their representation that the Invader was one of 10 all time misses. I am curious where that particular author got their information.
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While the author is entitled to their opinion, I am starting to think a polite letter to the editor might be in order.
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I have not seen that, need to look into it.
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Sounds political to me. When the invader came out it was so far ahead of all the other models. Yes it had some problems at first, but this sled was just beginning. They got out too early In my view. By 1980 the invader had a better suspension and by 1982 the interceptor was the one bad ass sled. Just think if they would of kept going. They had a proto type ifs front suspension and the ski stance was wider. In a couple more years that interceptor probably would of had a 750 cc motor. Kawasaki is a billion dollar business and if they really wanted to they could come back anytime.
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Back when I was dealing with their legal department I suggested they should get back into the game. Response wasn't too good. Perhaps now they would consider it if enough interest was shown.
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I sent in a comment today. We will see if there is any response.
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440 Invaders sold like hot cakes! Miss I don't think so!
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Maybe we should get a petition going and then send it in to Kawasaki Heavy Industries. :D
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I suspect that there are a number of questions on the table. The first was whether or not Supertrax appropriately characterized the 78 Invader as one of the top ten all time misses. And of course, my answer is no. If they are saying that it could have been better, then that is true too. But to say that a sled that changed the industry was a miss is woefully off target.
This past year we met a fellow out by the lake passing by on his viper. He stopped. To this day Invaders make people stop. I don't care who it is, they all stop. This tells me that there has to be something about these sleds that speaks to everyone whether they own one or ride one - but just about everybody knew someone who had one and wishes that they did too. Oh, and when we ride the pink one, you see people do a double take, rub their eyes, and consider whether or not they should give up drinking.
Another question on the table is whether or not Kawasaki, or anyone for that matter, could revolutionize the industry again. I have to believe that Kawasaki's entry into the field was very calculated. Buying SnoJet was the first step. Of the people I knew who had SnoJets, they were as devoted to those sleds as we are to Kawasaki. And then someone said to the engineers, probably in Japanese so the translation here might be a little off, but something like: "take this sled and make it better - not just a little better, but something that will make heads turn for the next 40 or 50 years!" And they did. But at that time, there was plenty of room for improvement. And now with upgrades to engines, electronics, suspensions, geometry, what would you say, the industry has advanced by 4 or 5 generations of sleds? And now with the world paradigm shift to electrics, who knows?
But, to come out of the box now with an industry changing design is a big push. Almost as if we were to make a list of everything that needed to improve and package all of that into a single sled. So, if I was going to start that list I would say that modern sleds are just too dog gone heavy. Give me a sled that weighs no more than 300 pounds. But now, since I only own Kawasaki sleds, I don't know anything about modern sleds I have to leave the rest of the list to others.
I will however close this monolog with a last thought. Before this winter my wife and I had a serious sled discussion. My wife is a very wise woman and I rely on her to provide insight in places of potential confusion. We have a fairly large collection of running Kawasakis. Yes, Mad Kaw was quite rampant for the past 15 years or so. And we have an even larger collection of parts sleds. So we discussed whether or not we should continue to run the 40 year old sleds or trade them all in for a pair of new sleds. Insightfully she advised to run what we had until they got to be more of a burden then a recreation. If our trips to the north country are all spoiled by breakdowns that didn't allow us to enjoy the day, then it would be time for new sleds. Seemed like good advice to me. Now we just need some snow.
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If you sell I'll take the green on. ;D ;D
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I wrestled with whether or not to update to newer machines in the past. My son and I spent a couple years riding only Invaders, as he got a little older he wanted a newer machine. He updated to a 2002 MXZ600, and while my old 440 would give it a run for it's money in a straight, smooth line it was exhausting riding at a faster pace on a longer trail ride. So I updated as well. BUT I did not get rid of all of my Kawasakis, just a couple to help fund (and make space for) a newer sled. One of the best decisions of my life. I love tinkering and riding the Kaws, but for trail riding the new stuff is where it's at. I can ride 200 miles in a day and wake up the next day like nothing happened. If I put anywhere near that kind of daily mileage on a Kaw, I would have a hard time walking the next day!
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I too have considered getting a new sled but I would keep most of my current sleds. Like you said, a 200 mile ride on any vintage sled is a very long day.
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I remember in my younger days that riding my 69 Sno Prince for 20 miles was a miracle in itself !!
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I remember in my younger days that riding my 69 Sno Prince for 20 miles was a miracle in itself !!
LOL, well said!!
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Kawasaki might be a hard riding trail sled, but they set the standard back in the day. When I take my two kawasakis to shows everyone is in awe. Some don't even know Kawasaki made sleds. They are the most beautiful sleds ever made. None of these newer sleds will ever have the same following as vintage. Kawasaki Rules. :D
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Kawasaki might be a hard riding trail sled, but they set the standard back in the day. When I take my two kawasakis to shows everyone is in awe. Some don't even know Kawasaki made sleds. They are the most beautiful sleds ever made. None of these newer sleds will ever have the same following as vintage. Kawasaki Rules. :D
Absolutely. They are only a hard riding trail sled when compared to new technology. Back in the day they were top notch, and they certainly have more character than the new grasshoppers.
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Amen.
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I just read that article. The writer actually said lots of good things about the Invader. Stated, it had lots of innovative features as well as being the best looking sled on the market. Only negative thing said was that it was not as fast as it looked. Back in the day I had an 81 440 Invader and I always thought it was real fast!!