Bike India

Best Bikes in India | No.1 Two Wheeler Magazine

  • Home
  • News
    • Upcoming Launches
    • Latest News
    • New Bike Launches
  • Reviews
    • First Ride
    • Road Test
    • Comparison
  • Features
  • Our Bikes
  • Videos
  • Subscribe
  • NG Auto
    • AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA
    • CAR INDIA
    • COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
  • Brands

Thrill, Supercharged: Kawasaki Ninja H2 and H2R

May 27, 2015 by Team Bike India Leave a Comment

That was the spirit that forged Kawasaki’s reputation, and which the firm wanted to re-create with the modern Ninja H2 and H2R. They certainly made a good start with the styling, which is stunning — combining an array of dramatic, distinctive shapes with a quality of finish rarely seen on a production bike. The H2R is unique in that its carbon-fibre half-fairing is equipped with pairs of aerodynamic fins on either side, shaped to provide downforce at high speed.

Ka_NiH2_006 web

The H2 doesn’t have those but its mirrors were carefully shaped by the Aerospace division. And the standard model’s plastic bodywork shares a literally brilliant finish from mirror-like paintwork that contains genuine silver, is applied by hand and is unique in the automotive industry. The road-going Ninja also shares a host of other neat details, from its LED lights and neatly machined top yoke to the sculpted tail-piece.

Ka_NiH2R_033 web

Of course, the powerplant, almost all of which is common to both models, is special too: a 998-cc, 16-valve four like that of the ZX-10R, but an all-new design created to be boosted by a supercharger, which was also purpose-designed and produced in-house by Kawasaki. It’s the firm’s proud boast that the Ninjas were created to showcase the giant corporation’s numerous divisions, including Aerospace, and that no other firm could have built them — and it’s hard to argue with that.

Ka_NiH2_152 web

Even the chassis is like nothing Kawasaki have ever built before, based on a tubular steel trellis frame that would be Ducati-like if it weren’t painted metal-flake green instead of red, and didn’t employ a four-cylinder engine as a stress-bearing member to locate the single-sided aluminium swing-arm. Both bikes have KYB suspension at front and rear, with the 43-mm forks’ adjusters set into the green tops that poke through the immaculately machined top yoke.

Ka_NiH2_132 web

The standard H2’s maximum output of 200 PS at 11,000 revolutions per minute (without ram-air) puts it on a par with the latest crop of super-sports bikes, but its torque output before that point far exceeds that of conventional engines, and the Ninjas aren’t intended to be sports bikes. Their riding position is more relaxed than the ZX-10R’s, with handlebars 10 millimetres higher and wider, footrests further forward by a similar amount, and a more roomy and generously padded seat, which has 15 mm of forward/back adjustability and is shaped to give support under hard acceleration.

bikeonline@nextgenpublishing.net'

Team Bike India – who has written 849 posts on Bike India.


Email

Related posts:

KTM 390 Duke 2023 Review – The Duke We Needed
TVS Ronin Long Term Review
Royal Enfield Bullet 350 Road Test Review
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Filed Under: First Ride, Review Tagged With: 2015, bike, fastest, H2, H2R, India, kawasaki, motorcycle, naked, ninja, power, Production, speed, streetbike, supercharged, Track

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AlphaOmega Captcha Classica  –  Enter Security Code
 ⟲    ➴
 


LATEST ISSUE

Bike India - India's no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

18TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Bike India - India's no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

Triumph Street Triple 765 R and RS Review | The Best Street Triple Yet

Ducati Diavel V4 Review | Devil of the Mountain

Royal Enfield Hunter 350 first ride | Aspi Bhathena

SPECIAL Featured Story

Yamaha Track Day, Chennai – Blue Called, We Answered

Yamaha Track Day, Chennai – Blue Called, We Answered

Actually, we were not the only ones. Many Yamaha enthusiasts answered the “Call of the Blue” and showed up for a day at the racetrack.

More about this.

Recent Posts

  • Honda Gold Wing Tour Launched; Bookings Open
  • TVS Apache RTE Marks the Arrival of One-make Electric Racing
  • KTM 390 Duke 2023 Review – The Duke We Needed
  • 2023 Honda CB200X Launched At Rs 1.47 Lakh

Car India

Car India Magazine - Get your Digital Subscription

Latest News

Honda Gold Wing Tour Launched; Bookings Open

2023 Honda CB200X Launched At Rs 1.47 Lakh

Third-Gen KTM 250 and 390 Duke Launched In India

2023 Honda CB300F Launched At Rs 1.70 Lakh

Subscribe to Car India

Subscribe to our Car India Magazine

Bike India: India’s no. 1 two-wheeler magazine

BIKE India covers the two-wheeler industry in its entirety, both from the local and the international perspective. Also delivers the most definitive verdict on machinery and performance by explaining the hows, whys, and whats on every new bike in a lucid and user-friendly manner. BIKE India is the India’s most authoritative two-wheeler publication, a magazine for people with a passion for bikes and everything to do with their history and heritage.
SiteMap

Copyright © 2023 · BIKE INDIA INDIA’S NO. 1 TWO WHEELER MAGAZINE, BY FAR! ·