I bought one of these for my son for his first bike, and he loves it. He's put about 5000 miles on it since we got it early in 2024, and I've ridden it quite a bit too. I really like it. My commuter bike right now is an SCL500, which I also love, but I think the Eliminator is a little more fun to ride and seems to have a lot more pep than my SCL500. The bike, in my opinion, looks much better in person than in pictures. The stock seat on the Eliminator is very comfortable, and the suspension, even with limited travel, is tuned well and rarely bottoms out when I've ridden it, though I'm pretty light at 150 pounds. I adapted a Vance and Hines exhaust from a Honda Rebel to fit it, and it sounds really good with the exhaust. This is a great bike (so is the SCL500).
Tough to say! Two different approaches to the same class. The other commenter has some good points about both. Glad you're growing to like the SCL a bit
For some people like my wife who is 5 foot 1 this may be the only way to get a sporty feeling bike that has a short enough seat height. It would look way better with the three spoke wheels the 80s Eliminators had though. It is good to have options! We had EL-250 for a while and that bike was a freaking blast!
I totally understand the character aspect. That’s why I’m going for a ninja 500 SE ABS and using an LV Corsa exhaust. Way more character to it and I love sporty
Buying 1 today.. wanted the orange and black. But couldn't find close. So.im gettingnthe white abs. First bike since 2010. Except my navi and grom. Lol Had a deal worked out for a rebel 500 abs. They sent me a out the door price. And of course i show up and its 1100 more. So i walked out. Lol Honesty means more to me then a couple hundy.
Thank you for the honest detailed review. I've been lusting after this bike but was afraid to sell my 2018 Ninja 400. The new 400s have a more level and less angled-forward seat now - which makes it even more ideal considering it's the same 451cc engine. Now I'm convinced I'd get bored with the Eliminator. They should've went more dirt tracker-cruiser. There has to be a mod to raise those pegs a bit (or will be). Already read where owners are using shorter pegs from a Ninja (?) or similar to enable lean, successfully avoiding scrape.
I'm looking at getting a white one this week (non-ABS because 1. that's all they have and 2. after 56 years of riding I have never felt I need to pay the extra money for ABS). However, not everyone looking at a cruiser thinks they'll look "cool," and I don't find that to be the reason for buying this bike. First of all, it looks different enough from other cruisers (this isn't really a cruiser but a cruiser with a sport bike attitude). Cruisers usually have forward mounted controls so this puts this bike in the middle of cruiser and standard bike. However, after many years of riding the big cruisers and the big touring bikes, I dropped to Adventure bikes for the last 10 years (first bike was KLR650 before they had coined the term "Adventure Bike."). But now I'm tired of the standard cruiser with forward controls and I'm tired of adventure bikes, so I'm doing it because I want something different. However, on the same note I still love adventure bikes and a KTM 390 Duke will probably be added to the stable yet this years also.
I recognize the Rebel is the more direct competitor, but 1. I haven't ridden one, although I have ridden the SCL and 2. I think the Rebel would also lack character compared to the Shadow Phantom, so I consider the Shadow to be a better choice than the Rebel or the Eliminator
I bought one of these for my son for his first bike, and he loves it. He's put about 5000 miles on it since we got it early in 2024, and I've ridden it quite a bit too. I really like it. My commuter bike right now is an SCL500, which I also love, but I think the Eliminator is a little more fun to ride and seems to have a lot more pep than my SCL500. The bike, in my opinion, looks much better in person than in pictures. The stock seat on the Eliminator is very comfortable, and the suspension, even with limited travel, is tuned well and rarely bottoms out when I've ridden it, though I'm pretty light at 150 pounds. I adapted a Vance and Hines exhaust from a Honda Rebel to fit it, and it sounds really good with the exhaust. This is a great bike (so is the SCL500).
Eliminator over SCL500?
how it performs off road or bumpy country side roads .....Kindly share your experience.....
For me that I just want a cool looking 2 wheel vehicle for my daily commute the Eliminator is perfect.
Riding the Rival Honda SCL500 today... I think that's the better choice over the Kawie Eliminator.
You two should do comparo videos together. I often watch both your channels. Ride safe.
Tough to say! Two different approaches to the same class. The other commenter has some good points about both. Glad you're growing to like the SCL a bit
For some people like my wife who is 5 foot 1 this may be the only way to get a sporty feeling bike that has a short enough seat height. It would look way better with the three spoke wheels the 80s Eliminators had though. It is good to have options! We had EL-250 for a while and that bike was a freaking blast!
I totally understand the character aspect. That’s why I’m going for a ninja 500 SE ABS and using an LV Corsa exhaust. Way more character to it and I love sporty
Buying 1 today.. wanted the orange and black. But couldn't find close. So.im gettingnthe white abs. First bike since 2010. Except my navi and grom. Lol
Had a deal worked out for a rebel 500 abs. They sent me a out the door price. And of course i show up and its 1100 more. So i walked out. Lol
Honesty means more to me then a couple hundy.
That last line is a great point!
Thank you for the honest detailed review. I've been lusting after this bike but was afraid to sell my 2018 Ninja 400.
The new 400s have a more level and less angled-forward seat now - which makes it even more ideal considering it's the same 451cc engine.
Now I'm convinced I'd get bored with the Eliminator. They should've went more dirt tracker-cruiser. There has to be a mod to raise those pegs a bit (or will be). Already read where owners are using shorter pegs from a Ninja (?) or similar to enable lean, successfully avoiding scrape.
What do you mean by dirt tracker-cruiser? Can you please share an example of a similar bike?
I'm looking at getting a white one this week (non-ABS because 1. that's all they have and 2. after 56 years of riding I have never felt I need to pay the extra money for ABS). However, not everyone looking at a cruiser thinks they'll look "cool," and I don't find that to be the reason for buying this bike. First of all, it looks different enough from other cruisers (this isn't really a cruiser but a cruiser with a sport bike attitude). Cruisers usually have forward mounted controls so this puts this bike in the middle of cruiser and standard bike. However, after many years of riding the big cruisers and the big touring bikes, I dropped to Adventure bikes for the last 10 years (first bike was KLR650 before they had coined the term "Adventure Bike."). But now I'm tired of the standard cruiser with forward controls and I'm tired of adventure bikes, so I'm doing it because I want something different. However, on the same note I still love adventure bikes and a KTM 390 Duke will probably be added to the stable yet this years also.
how do you do different handlebar adjustments? I can't find any information on that Ergo-fit.
How it performs on bumpy country roads???
buy an airbag jacket but ride with kemimoto gloves Anyways. just 2 minutes in, let me keep watching ahhaah
Lmao! Hey, there are things to cheap out on and things not to
You compared this to the Honda Shadow. But did you mean Honda Rebel?
He mentioned the Shadow two different times as being the typical Japanese sport cruiser that he prefers so I think that’s what he meant. Lol
I recognize the Rebel is the more direct competitor, but 1. I haven't ridden one, although I have ridden the SCL and 2. I think the Rebel would also lack character compared to the Shadow Phantom, so I consider the Shadow to be a better choice than the Rebel or the Eliminator