Despite finally entering the scooter->ke2256 market in 2013 with the launch of the J300, there are still pockets of people who believe that Kawasaki->ke299 isn’t planning to dive into the scooter market just yet.

After all, the J300 was pretty much a rebranded Kymco Downtown 300i that pretty much used Kymco’s own parts and technology. But with recent reports that Kawasaki has filed trademarks for the names “J500” and “J125,” it begs the question: is Kawasaki finally willing to invest its own research and development into developing its own scooters?

I don’t know what the answer to that is, but if you were to ask me, I wouldn’t count on it, at least not yet.

See, Kymco, in addition to having a partnership with Kawasaki that gave birth to the J300, has a lot of scooters in its lineup, so much so that it’s basically one of the company’s calling cards. The trademark of the J125 and J500 names is also curious because Kymco actually has its own models - the G-Dink 125i and the Xciting 500 Ri - that can be rebadged as Kawasaki models. 125? 500? Seems like a fit, doesn’t it?

Again, neither Kymco nor Kawasaki have confirmed any plans of partnering for two more scooters. But you know what they say, if there’s smoke, there must be fire.

Click "continue reading" to read more about Kawasaki's perceived scooter plans.

Why it matters

This kind of thing matters if you think it’s a better idea for Kawasaki to just build its own scooter line instead of relying on Kymco to basically supply its scooters.

I’m of the belief that Kawasaki should do exactly that. I understand that it took the company some time to realize the potential of scooters and even when it did, it simply agreed with Kymco to let the latter supply the scooters. I get it, especially if Kawasaki wants to argue that it didn’t want to dive into deep waters with its initial foray into the world of scooters.

But Kawasaki has already gotten its feet wet in this regard. It might be a good idea for the company to develop its own scooter technology instead of relying on Kymco to rebadge their other scooter models. Clearly, it’s not lacking in finances and resources to do that. All it needs now is to commit to this segment and

This isn’t a shot at Kymco at all. I personally like its scooters myself, but if I wanted to buy a Kawasaki scooter, I’d want to buy one that the company developed on its own. Otherwise, what would be the major differences between a Kymco and a Kawasaki?