Kawasaki gives the faithful old ag bike an upgrade so we thought we'd grab the Kawasaki Stockman and stick it in our long term test fleet for all the farmers out there.
Agricultural bikes (Ag bikes) mean different things to many people. Designed for life on a farm or private property, these bikes are simple, utilitarian like tractors and require no registration. They are not designed for ripping up single track at pace within forests, hence have softer suspension, bulletproof motors and plenty of racks for options to cart gear around a farm (think bales of hay, bringing your cattle dog or collecting the eggs). The Kawasaki Stockman has been a decent farm hand for years and now they’ve upgraded it.
From a design brief, most ag bikes are decades old and little has changed. They have small motors, are heavy, handle like boats and have ugly looking mudflaps hanging off them.
Enter the Kawasaki Stockman. A modern interpretation of the Ag bike, it’s one of the few on the market which sports up to date styling and a fuel injection system with an old school air-cooled motor. No more stuffing around with the choke – just press the button and go!
Mitch and I undertook a photoshoot on his farm last month with the brand new bike. It proved somewhat contentious as we deliberately had him wearing the Akrubra hat vs a helmet. The photos came up great, but the powers that be were not enthused. Reality is these bikes are rarely out of 2nd or 3rd gear as they potter around boggy paddocks following walking cows or sheep.
After the shoot, Mitch proclaimed the bike was mine to take and give it a long term review! Sweet! I have a small bush block (very steep) that I currently run a few small kids bikes around. Kids have grown out of them, so I’ve multi purposed them as general farm hacks. (TTR125 and KLX140)
Good little bikes – but the issue is the size. I’m 6’2” and they are too small for my frame and drag boots through the tussocks. So I was pretty chuffed at the concept of scoring the Stockman and giving it a good rundown.
Visually I think the bike looks great. I was immediately enamoured to the racks and found the motor to be plenty strong and willing. Size wise it was much more comfortable for belting around the paddocks, while the only caveat with the stock bike was the tall gearing. It has a 6 speed box, so it will fly along the fire roads, but the tall gearing means it won’t pull much above 110km/h with a tailwind. For me I think I’ll change the sprockets as the first to do item. Other than that, I’m having a blast racking up the miles on it. I’m very impressed. I have lots of ideas for rigging up load hauling devices like panniers and hitches – stay tuned for updates
Kawasaki Stockman
RRP
$6562
WARRANTY
Six months
DISTRIBUTOR
Kawasaki Motors Australia
INTERNET
SO FAR
12 hours
MODS THIS MONTH
Milk crate on the back
MODS NEXT MONTH
Chainsaw rack
Words & Photos | Bernie den Hertog
