Their original patent application was filed with Japan’s patent office in December 2017 and again a year later in the US Patent Office.

It shows a motorcycle equipped with an electric motor and internal combustion engine.

So instead of being a two-wheeled version of the hybrid Toyota Prius it was more like the now-defunct Chevrolet Volt.

The Prius and most other hybrids alternate between internal combustion engine and electric motor to drive the wheels.

The Volt had an electric motor to drive the wheels and used a two-stroke engine only to power the battery.

However, the new patent shows another variant of the hybrid set-up with a small electric motor providing a performance boost in power, economy and emissions.

The patent shows a throttle with two extra controls, a four-way switchblock and a boost button which “is operated to issue a command to change the torque output characteristic so as to increase the output torque of the hybrid power source”.

It’s sort of alike a turbo boost that you manually activate.

Perhaps it would be handy for overtaking without having to drop a gear and twist the throttle.

The whole Kawasaki hybrid development seems very confusing and contradictory, but it certainly does seem they are pursuing the technology.

The Japanese manufacturer is not alone with plans for hybrid technology as a step toward a full-electric future.