Kawasaki Ninja H2R | By Trevor Hedge
Kawasaki are currently pulling the wraps off their new Kawasaki Ninja H2R flagship machine in Europe and we have the first official details of the machine. We understand that the Kawasaki Ninja H2R is the track version of the machine, while a road going variant will be unveiled in late October.
Due to lots of lead-up video teasers and detail snippets the fact that Kawasaki were about to come out with a supercharged motorcycle was beyond doubt, but apart from that detail everything has been left to speculation.
We can now confirm that the new Kawasaki Ninja H2R is in fact a 998cc in-line four-cylinder engine with a supercharger nestled behind the forward slanted cylinder block and above the gearbox. Kawasaki are saying the design of this new supercharger is a collaborative product between the motorcycle and gas turbine divisions of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and is unlike any supercharger before it.
The air is pulled from ducts at the front of the bike through a long and voluminous inlet tract routed towards the air inlet of the supercharger via the left side of the machine. From the scant details on hand thus far it seems as though supercharger is driven via an enclosed chain drive
The bodywork is almost all carbon-fibre and has been the product of collaboration between Kawasaki Motorcycles and the Kawasaki Aerospace Division.
Brembo are supplying the large radial stoppers, the first time the Italian company has supplied their brakes to Team Green.
The tubular design of the frame will raise some eyebrows on such a powerful machine but perhaps this has made it easier to provide the air duct plumbing to the rear mounted supercharger, and also perhaps to allow that supercharger to be part of the visual appeal of the machine. Likewise the single sided swingarm is clearly another nod to aesthetics and shows off the very trick looking rims.
As to actual power outputs the word coming through indicates an official horsepower rating of 296hp, although in street trim that is likely to be pegged back somewhat in the interests of sanity…
In regards to availability, local sources suggest that this will be a limited edition flagship model of which there will only be one production run. Â Thus the asking price is likely to be well north of any other previous Kawasaki motorcycle but our advice is that if you think this is the machine to make your dreams come true, put your deposit down now, as there might not be another chance to secure a machine. We believe there will be two variants of the machine, the Kawasaki Ninja H2R as pictured below, and a road going variant that drops the R suffix to be dubbed the Kawasaki Ninja H2 that will be unveiled in late October. While the road going H2 will still command a considerable premium over and above Kawasaki’s more mainstream sportsbikes, the H2 is expected to be considerably cheaper than the all out H2R.
One might question why in fact Kawasaki have made the track version of the machine, apart from of course the face that they can and we love them for going that little bit mental, but the real answer lies in the accord signed by Japanese manufacturers years ago to limit their road going production motorcycles to 300km/h. Of course the track variant H2R will not need to comply with this rule.
The full details of both machines will not be revealed until early November.
Kawasaki Ninja H2R Official Video
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