If you’re anything like any of us here at The Watercraft Journal, you’re probably a little confounded by the recent moves made by Kawasaki USA and the Kawasaki Motors group altogether. These last couple of weeks might’ve felt like somebody hit the “shuffle” button within the Big K’s marketing department when it comes to unveiling new products for the 2025 model line.
Earlier this year, Kawasaki unveiled its impressive Angler JetSki – an Ultra 160LX-S outfitted with some seriously impressive fishing gear – earmarked for the 2025 model line. Fair enough. And for the most part, that was all we in the media heard for 2025. Nothing else newsworthy was to come…right? Well, as it would seem, not so.
Just two weeks ago, Kawasaki issued a release of the fixed-steering standup, the XS-S 160. Although reminiscent of the X-2, it retained the SX-R’s open tray, making it a mix of a standup ski and the X-2. Yet, mingled in that announcement was the quiet reveal that the STX model line was getting a redesigned hood, shroud and latch for 2025, making for a sportier look.
Shouldn’t that news have come out back in October? Technically, yes. But more confusing was that Kawasaki’s Japanese brass not only failed to alert the media at all but thought it a smart strategy to reveal the 2025 production units in the shadow of the XS-S – a 2026 unit! Then to really shake things up, Kawasaki pulled the cover off of a set of 2026 STX models with a whole new top deck!
Needless to say, all of us at The Watercraft Journal were entirely baffled by this – as was our friend, Joshua Dowling of Watercraft Zone in Australia. Together, these two outlets broke the news on the modest redesign of the 2025 STX, the wild redesign and re-equipped 2026 model STX lineup, and the 2026 XS-S 160.
Then, in an effort to suss out all of this mess, Joshua joined WCJ‘s Kevin Shaw during The Watercraft Journal IRL podcast to break down all of the changes, the sequence of events and to see what might resonate with the general public. If you haven’t already, watch the podcast linked below:
