Kawasaki V-Twin Engines: Which F-Series Model Has The Most Horsepower?

Kawasaki was originally founded as a shipyard in Tokyo, Japan in 1878, built its first motorcycle engine, the KE-1, in 1953, and followed it up four years later with the company's first general purpose engine, the KF4. Kawasaki produced its first motorcycle, the B7, in 1961. Since then, Kawasaki motorcycles have featured some crazy powerful engines.

Today, in addition to the company's other motorized endeavors, Kawasaki Engines power several zero-turn mower brands and a variety of lawn care equipment. The smallest Kawasaki Engines' lineup is the 1.90-horsepower 45.4cc TJ-series horizontal-shaft two-stroke, and the largest offerings come from the vertical-shaft 90-degree V-twin F-series engine lineup.

The most powerful F-series engines include models from Kawasaki's FS and FX engine lineup. However, the honor of the F-series model with the most horsepower goes to the FX1000V EFI with 32.9 horsepower at 3,600 rpm. Let's dive deeper into what makes the FX1000V EFI so powerful.

In addition to its 32.9 horsepower output, the air-cooled Kawasaki FX1000V EFI produces 52.1 lb-ft of torque at 2,400 rpm from its 999cc displacement. Kawasaki promotes its EFI, multiport sequential fuel injection, for its ability to manage precise fuel delivery based on feedback received from the advanced electronic control unit while monitoring a variety of engine conditions.

Kawasaki reports that the EFI and ECU systems work together to maximize fuel efficiency and power. The results are hard to deny when comparing the FX1000V EFI to the similar, though less powerful (31.4 hp) non-EFI FX1000V.

The Kawasaki FX1000V EFI V-twin weighs 154 pounds without oil and occupies roughly 7.3 cubic feet of space with its 23.9-inch length, 21.5-inch width, and 24.5-inch height according to measurements supplied by Kawasaki. The big V-twin features cast-iron cylinder liners, pressurized internal lubrication, a heavy-duty shift-type starter, variable spark timing, a 30-amp charge coil, and magnetic engine covers.

The Kawasaki FX820V EVO EFI (available to US OEMs only for now) comes close to matching the power output of the FX1000V EFI with 32.4 horsepower. The best part is it does so in a lighter (140 pounds) and more compact ( 6 cubic feet) package.

The FX820V EVO EFI is the first of its kind from Kawasaki. The company introduced the EVO engine, billed as "the next evolution for Kawasaki Engines," in October of 2022 at the Equip Exposition 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

At the heart of the EVO's success is a new cylinder head design "developed for high-powered performance." While the new cylinder head features a three-valve-per-cylinder design common to other Kawasaki engines, the new pent-roof combustion chamber design allows larger-diameter intake and exhaust valves than previous designs.

Kawasaki says the EVO design features improved combustion characteristics which create more power with lower emissions and improved fuel efficiency. Since other Kawasaki lawn mower engines are made in the USA, it's expected the company will continue to make the FX820V EVO EFI at the Kawasaki Engines facility in Marysville, Missouri.