Kawasaki India will reportedly discontinue its 500cc lineup in the country. These models include the Kawasaki Eliminator and the Kawasaki Ninja 500. The Eliminator is expected to take off soon and is expected to follow in the footsteps of the Ninja 500. There are some similarities between these two 500cc motorcycles.
For starters, both of these are brought into the country via the CBU route (Completely Built Units) and not the CKD route (Completely Knocked Down). The other common elements between both the motorcycles is that they are not huge hits as far as sales are concerned and both of them are not compatible with E20 fuel blend (20% ethanol).
Two 500cc Kawasaki bikes will say goodbye to India
According to a recent report, Kawasaki India is discontinuing the Eliminator and Ninja 500 in the country. This is because both these vehicles are not compatible with E20 fuel, which has now been standardized in the country. Both the Eliminator and Ninja 500 are priced higher as they are imported into the country via the CBU route.
Due to premium pricing, both these 500cc motorcycles do not perform well in terms of sales, especially compared to the 650cc motorcycles. These 650cc motorcycles include the Ninja 650, Vulcan S and Versus 650, which are brought into the country via the CKD route and are locally assembled at Kawasaki’s facility in Chakan, Pune.
It is to be noted that these locally assembled 650cc motorcycles were updated to the E20 fuel standard in December 2025 and performed well in terms of sales compared to the 500cc offering. Due to lack of sales, Kawasaki is unlikely to launch E20 fuel compatible versions of the Eliminator and Ninja 500.
What next?
Hence, both these motorcycles will be discontinued soon, starting with the Eliminator followed by the Ninja 500. The Eliminator and Ninja 500 are likely to be offered at dealers till stocks last. After that, both the Eliminator and Ninja 500 may be pulled from the shelves by Kawasaki India instead of making them compatible with domestic E20 fuel.
The same 451cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled engine powers the Eliminator and Ninja 500. In the Ninja 500, this engine is tuned to deliver a maximum power of 45.4 PS at 9,000 RPM and a peak torque of 42.6 Nm at 6,000 RPM, whereas in the Eliminator, this engine is tuned to deliver 45 PS at 9,000 RPM and 42.6 Nm at 6,000 RPM. At 7,500 rpm. In both cases it is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
