How Much HP Does A Kawasaki FR600V Have & How Many Hours Does The Warranty Cover?

Since Shozo Kawasaki founded a shipbuilding enterprise in 1878, the company that bears his surname has expanded to produce submarines, locomotives, airplanes, and automobiles. The company is probably known to most modern-day folks as a motorcycle manufacturer, and ranked third on our list of the world's best major motorcycle brands. Kawasaki's most iconic 1970s motorcycles include the unique Z1 and Z1-R, while the Ninja brought racetrack performance to street bikes in the 1980s, becoming one of the most famous motorcycles ever made.

Kawasaki doesn't just make high-horsepower engines for motorcycles, though. The company produces two-stroke diesel motors for marine and industrial use, and a line of four-stroke engines primarily used to power lawn mowers and small tractors. Among them is the FR600V, a 90-degree V-twin that produces 18 horsepower and 32.3 pound-feet of torque. 

Like Kawasaki's other four-stroke engines, the FR600V is covered by a three-year warranty with no limit in terms of hours of use. This warranty applies to customers in North, South, and Central America; the Caribbean islands; Australia; New Zealand; and all territories belonging to the United States.

The FR600V is the least powerful of Kawasaki's three 600-series engines, which carry that label based on their shared displacement of 603 cubic centimeters. The FS600V makes 18.5 horsepower, while the FX600V cranks out 19 ponies. Despite being not quite as strong as its mates in Kawasaki's 603cc lineup, the FR600V has a pretty robust set of design features. It has overhead-valve architecture, electronic ignition, a Bendix starter, and cast-iron linings inside the two cylinders. 

An air filter and spinning grass screen help keep the engine internals clean from yard debris, and the recommended 10W-40 oil does not have to be mixed with fuel. It has a manual choke for easy starting in various conditions, and will run on slopes of up to 25 degrees. Kawasaki recommends changing the oil every year or 100 hours of operation, and the 100-hour interval also applies to spark-plug replacement and gap adjustment. You should install a new air and oil filter every 200 hours, and clean the engine's chambers every 300 hours. At that point, Kawasaki also recommends a valve adjustment and seat cleaning, all of which will help you get lots of life out of your FR600V.