Photo: Kenan Sofuoglu
The Kawasaki Ninja H2R tied its name to the history of motorcycling once more, after Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu took it to a whopping speed of 400 km/h (248.6 mph). There may be some fellows who would argue that the reading on the bike's speed cannot be taken for granted and we're fine with that.
However, Kenan's performance cannot be downplayed with such arguments. The very fact that the dash of a production motorcycle read 400 km/h is, per se, a fantastic achievement that stands taller than any other details.
Indeed, Kenan benefitted from several aspects devised specifically for this attempt, but the bike remains stock, with no race kits or other similar add-ons installed. Pirelli developed a special formula rubber for the tires, allowing Sofuoglu to lay the hammer down as hard as possible knowing that he has around 30 seconds of astonishing grip until reaching 400 km/h.
Rev'It devised a special one-piece leather suit with enhanced aerodynamics, while Elf supplied the race-grade fuel that would grant the H2R some extra horsies, and there's nothing extraordinary about this. After all, the H2R is a track-only beast so using top-drawer items is perfectly recommendable.
Even though Kenan's goal was to reach 400 km/h in 30 seconds, his run along the Ozman Gazi bridge took him to that speed in just 26 seconds. Obviously, the thing we are looking forward is seeing Kenan and Kawasaki rigging up another run, but a Guinness Book-sanctioned one, with proper speed-reading gear to meet the requirements of the most demanding of people.
We don't know how much the Ninja H2R's speedo readings differ from the actual speed so it's difficult to estimate the real velocity. Even so, simply seeing "400" displayed on the dash is something we won't be forgetting anytime soon. Great job, Kenan!
Indeed, Kenan benefitted from several aspects devised specifically for this attempt, but the bike remains stock, with no race kits or other similar add-ons installed. Pirelli developed a special formula rubber for the tires, allowing Sofuoglu to lay the hammer down as hard as possible knowing that he has around 30 seconds of astonishing grip until reaching 400 km/h.
Rev'It devised a special one-piece leather suit with enhanced aerodynamics, while Elf supplied the race-grade fuel that would grant the H2R some extra horsies, and there's nothing extraordinary about this. After all, the H2R is a track-only beast so using top-drawer items is perfectly recommendable.
Even though Kenan's goal was to reach 400 km/h in 30 seconds, his run along the Ozman Gazi bridge took him to that speed in just 26 seconds. Obviously, the thing we are looking forward is seeing Kenan and Kawasaki rigging up another run, but a Guinness Book-sanctioned one, with proper speed-reading gear to meet the requirements of the most demanding of people.
We don't know how much the Ninja H2R's speedo readings differ from the actual speed so it's difficult to estimate the real velocity. Even so, simply seeing "400" displayed on the dash is something we won't be forgetting anytime soon. Great job, Kenan!
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