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Kawasaki hinted its future range of motorcycles will include a hybrid model. It's busily developing one of the industry's first gasoline-electric two-wheelers, and it released a video to explain how the technology works.

Pay no attention to the sci-fi three-wheeler leaning into a turn at the beginning of the film; the hybrid bike won't look anything like it, for better or worse. We haven't seen its full design yet, but the firm explained it's being developed to switch among gasoline, electric and hybrid power. It relies on an armada of sensors to identify the type of road it's traveling on and adjust its powertrain accordingly. For example, the software charges the battery pack while the bike is traveling on the highway, shuts off the gasoline engine when it rides through a city core, and leverages both power sources on a twisty road. Hybrid cars have been doing this for years.

A key Japanese member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, has expressed joy at the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons reaching the required 50 ratifications to go into effect.

ICAN International Steering Group member Kawasaki Akira looked back on the path he took with many atomic bomb survivors during an online news conference.

Kawasaki is working on a unique open-air three-wheeler with a rolling body that can lean into turns, according to a patent application published by the European Patent Office and discovered by Motorcycle.com. 

Like the three-wheeled Polaris Slingshot — which just got an update including a more powerful engine — it seats two people in a side-by-side layout, but it has some key differences. Most notable is the ability to tilt inward into the turning direction, which the applicant says makes it "possible to realize a favorable driving feeling similar to that of a motorcycle or the like." And that's the whole point: to counteract the centrifugal forces that normally push the driver away from the cornering side.

Kawasaki confirmed its upcoming entry into the blossoming electric motorcycle segment will offer a manual transmission. Called Endeavor, the model is being developed with track use in mind, so engagement is key.

The Japanese company is in the process of teasing the battery-powered model on its official YouTube channel. The latest installment in the 10-episode series shows a prototype bike whirring away on a race track as the rider uses the foot-operated lever to go through the gears. "The manual transmission not only allows a greater speed range, it also allows the rider to have greater input when operating the bike," the company said.