Just like clockwork, we can always rely on somebody to leak the yet-to-be-publicly-released images of next year’s Kawasakis. No really, for the past three years, whoever is running the social media accounts for these companies has been notoriously bad at breaking the non-disclosure agreements and leaking out images of the newest machines.
Last year, a Swedish dealer leaked the images. In 2016, a New Zealand dealer let slip a whole bunch of images. Well, earlier today, Australia’s own Everything Watercraft pulled back the cover – mere days before the country’s biggest boat show, the Sydney International Boat Show.
Now, don’t get us wrong. We like leaking stuff early as much as the next guy, but when The Watercraft Journal chooses to, it’s typically because we’ve got something backing up the claim. And with quite a few of the images being very obviously Photoshopped rehashes of previous product photography, we were clearly dubious. Just take a gander at this:
So Everything Watercraft was merely trolling us all, right? Nope. It turns out that the Australian retailer was 100-percent justified in sharing the post, because Kawasaki’s own European division was the leaker! That’s right, all of the images (even the poorly Photoshopped ones) are official imagery for 2019 and can be found plastered all over the official Kawasaki Europe website.
Honestly, we couldn’t believe it. But then again, all that is “new” for 2019 is what to be expected: BNG (Bold New Graphics). Official market reporting has Kawasaki losing more market share in 2018, down to 5.5 percent of the total personal watercraft market. Add to that less interest in the SX-R 1500 than Kawasaki had hoped for, and the likelihood for the manufacturer to unleash a whole new PWC lineup isn’t too bright.
The models (at least those shown for the European market) include: 2019 SX-R JetSki in Ebony/Lime Green; 2019 Ultra 310LX in Ebony/Candy Lime Green; 2019 Ultra 310R in Ebony/Lime Green; 2019 Ultra 310X in Ebony/Sunbeam Red; 2019 Ultra LX in Ebony/Metallic Tungsten Grey; 2019 STX-15F in Ebony/Lime Green. In what we can presume is a shared press release, Everything Watercraft’s post read:
“Perfection is the child of time and love. 2019 Kawasaki JetSki range has been revealed. Humans have an urge to improve things, but with that urge comes that pang of regret we have probably all felt after spoiling something by adding that one last unnecessary final touch. Can you really improve on this platform? 310hp, comfortable, stylish, exceptionally well built and the best after sales support in the industry.
“You buy a Kawasaki and you buy peace of mind, trust in it’s heritage and trust in its proven race winning ability. Reliability, Reliability, Reliability. Whats new? Colours, bolder graphics. Tried and trued flawless performance and rough water prowess. AND hands down nothing beats the sound of a twin vortices supercharger whining under your ass. Don’t be a sheep, BE THE WOLF.”