Tests published in Watercraft World magazine's March 2003 issue proved this "speed king's" worth as the Ultra 150 set the fastest top speed in the magazine's musclecraft class shootout. In the same issue, Watercraft World stated, "Kawasaki's Ultra 150 has been a machine that defies simple explanation. At its best, it's a pint-sized rocketship, able to reach the upper echelons of the radar scale and slice a buoy to ribbons with surgeon-like expertise."