Kawasaki Finance

Here's how to use Kawasaki finance to buy a motorcycle, jet ski, side-by-side or ATV from the famous Japanese company.

How can you finance a Kawasaki?

Want to borrow money to buy a Kawasaki? These are some of your Kawasaki finance options:

• Secured loan. A secured loan will leverage the value of the Kawasaki you purchase as security (or collateral) against the loan. That means there's a reduced risk for the lender because if you default on payments, it can reclaim the bike or ATV and sell it to recoup its losses. That means it will generally pass on a more favourable interest rate to you. On the flip side, you're generally more limited on what you can spend the loan funds on.
• Unsecured personal loan. An unsecured personal loan is an option for when you don't want to use your Kawasaki as security for the loan. Your interest rates and comparison rates may be higher as there's more risk to the lender, but there are fewer conditions attached to the Kawasaki finance and how you spend your money.
• Kawasaki finance. Kawasaki offers finance that allows you to buy a range of its products through its Kawasaki Motors Finance arm.
• Chattel mortgage. This option is ideal for business vehicles as you have the potential to claim deductions come tax time. The financier takes out a mortgage on the vehicle when you purchase it which acts as security, but you own the vehicle. Once you've paid off the mortgage the lender no longer has an interest in it.

How to decide which Kawasaki finance to go for

Some features that will help you decide between lenders include:

• The interest rate. The interest rate is a key deciding factor. Keep an eye on the comparison rate as this helps show the true cost of the loan, including fees.
• Repayment flexibility. Lenders offer weekly, fortnightly and monthly repayment options so you can tailor these to your wage schedule. Some lenders also offer early repayments, but this might come with a fee.
• Upfront and ongoing fees. Application fees, monthly charges, direct debit dishonour fees and early repayment fees are all ones to keep an eye on when comparing Kawasaki finance. They can really add up over the term of your loan.
• Balloon repayments. This is where your lender deducts an amount from your principal at the beginning of the loan (thus reducing the amount of ongoing repayments) which must be paid in a large lump sum at the end of the loan term. This payment can be thousands of dollars.

Kawasaki history

Kawasaki is part of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd corporation. The company was founded in 1896 by Shozo Kawasaki. Kawasaki was concerned by ship sinking incidents, so he set up a shipbuilding yard with a focus on modern ship designs. Later, Kawasaki diversified into railway carriages, locomotives, submarines, airplanes, buses, helicopters and robots.

Of course, Kawasaki has also created a name for itself in the personal transport segment, producing motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-side vehicles and jet skis.

Kawasaki Australia motorcycle range

Here's a list of Kawasaki's 2023/2024 model line-up.

Kawasaki Australia ATV range

Kawasaki's ATV range includes the Brute Force 750 and Brute Force 300, which are both listed as agricultural ATVs. They also produce some smaller ATVs for kids, including the KFX90 and KFX50.

Kawasaki Australia side-by-side range

Side-by-sides are practical passenger-carrying vehicles that make a lot of sense for farmers, but also enthusiasts and owners of large properties.

You can get diesel or petrol models. Some variants can carry up to 6, with towing capacities of 903kg! Models vary from the Mule SX, a petrol 2WD side-by-side, to the Mule Pro-DXT, a 6-seater with 4WD.

For those who want to have some fun with side-by-sides, Kawasaki builds recreational utility vehicles. These include the Teryx KRX 1000, which has super-long-travel suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, a powerful 1.0-litre engine and beefy 31-inch bead-lock tyres and rims. This thing will go almost anywhere you want!

Kawasaki Australia jet ski range

Did you know that the term jet ski is actually a trademark owned by Kawasaki? It has come to be used generically to describe a personal watercraft. Other examples where this has happened include Hovercraft, Sellotape and Allen key.

Frequently asked questions about Kawasaki finance

• Should I get a new or used Kawasaki?

  This is up to you. If you want a brand new Kawasaki vehicle and it's in your budget, go for it. But if you're not worried about someone having owned it before and you want to save some cash, a used bike might be better for you.

• Which Kawasaki bike is best for me?

  Again, this is a personal preference. What might be good for your friend who loves going into the bush won't always be ideal for you, if you want to zip through city traffic. Ask the team at Kawasaki to help you out. Kawasaki produces many different types of motorcycles, including tourers, off-road bikes, motocross and sports bikes.

• How do I see the fees that a lender is charging?

  Most lenders will have fees listed in the "features" or "fees and charges" sections of their websites. However, some lenders make it tricky to find. This can be sorted out with a simple email.

Picture: Supplied