Saving Face
Kawasaki Unveils its 2010 Line-Up
Text by Kevin Shaw
Photography courtesy Kawasaki Motor Corp

In the swirling aftermath of some pretty nasty layoffs and in light of some soured sentiments coming out of the dealerships, Kawasaki has put on a brave face and recently unveiled its 2010 JetSki line-up. While nothing really has changed, at least in the way of bells and whistles, performance additives, or even the universally lambasted fuel and boost gauges on the Ultra 260s, Kawasaki has shuffled up its color schemes to offer a brazen, sharply designed color scheme. (That’s the long way of saying Bold New Graphics, or BNG).

All three versions of the Ultra -- the performance-bred 260X, the *cough, cough* luxury-optioned 260LX, and naturally aspirated Ultra LX as well as the STX line, the low-end performer, naturally-aspirated STX-15F and the super rental friendly STX enjoy new colors and decal arrangements, the untouched-since-its-reinvention-in-2003 SX-R – to us – looks to be the winner in this all but ho-hum year for the Big K.

With these new graphics and colors, Kawasaki released the pricing, setting the top-end Ultra 260LX at $13,199, the stealthy 260X at $12,899 and the LX at $10,699. The STX line-up remains conservative at $8,999 for the STX-15F and $8,499 for the stripped-down STX. The SX-R is surprisingly up to $7,299, a considerable jump from last year’s $6,699. Remaining at the lower end of the technology curve that Sea-Doo seems intent on pushing to the very limits, Kawasaki still hold true to its KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy, of which, we really can’t blame ‘em.

2010 Jet Ski Ultra 260X

Pushing out 260 horsepower from a 1.5-liter four-cylinder, the Ultra 260X and 260LX still use the same roots-style supercharger to produce its performance.

2010 Kawasaki JetSki Ultra 260LX

2010 Kawasaki JetSki Ultra 260LX

2010 Kawasaki JetSki SX-R

2010 Kawasaki JetSki STX-15F