Photo: Catalin Garmacea
We knew that the all-new Kawasaki Ninja H2 was obviously not going to be a cheap bike from the very day Akashi confirmed they will build this bike. Still, when we learned that the H2 would be available for $25,000 (replace the dollar sign with the Euro one for the Old continent) we went like “hey, this is not exactly downright crazy-expensive”. That is, until we found out about the price the Ninja H2 will be sold for in India…
The fact that Kawasaki is planning to sell the Ninja H2 in India may be a big surprise to some, but not to us. We had a long talk with Kawasaki’s Andrea William Sudati at EICMA 2014 and he told us that even though it may seem a bit off, he could actually sell a lot of H2 and H2R machines in India, Russia and several other non-traditional markets. It looks like there are enough rich fellows in these countries to support Kawasaki’s supercharged Ninja production and get these exclusive bikes at almost no matter what cost. Speaking of which…
Big names in the bike industry have opened dealerships and even factories in India and this move was greeted with a warm welcome, especially by wealthy riders who now could go out and buy the bikes they had been dreaming for years.
Still, because the Indian motorcycle market has to be protected, the state has huge taxes on import bikes, and when it comes to motorcycles with big displacement, these taxes can reach 75%. In a way, this is why makers like Harley-Davidson, Triumph and more, have built plants in India. The parts are manufactured aboard, and the bikes are assembled in India, thus no longer being sold as CBU (Completely Built Units) via the import way and being offered with significantly lower price tags.
Since the Ninja H2 and H2R cannot follow the same recipe, Indian customers who want to feel the grunt of the world’s newest and most radical hyperbike have to pay the price, and it is not a small one. The Ninja H2 is expected in India with a price tag reading the equivalent of just above $51,000, which is double than what the bike sells for in the US.
This makes it an even more insane bike, as this price could technically get you the flagship H2R stateside. However, given the limited availability of the Ninja H machinery, we can expect that people who are rich enough to even consider it will go for it as they see the opportunity. Being able to seize a H2 and letting it go might be the last time you get within striking distance with it.
Follow the link for live photos of the Kawasaki Ninja H2 and H2R and check out the rest of our EICMA 2014 coverage.
The Kawasaki Ninja H2 doubles price in India
If you didn’t know, India is a huge market for motorcycles, with almost 9 million units sold a year. Of course, most of these bikes are in the small-displacement and under-500cc segment, but things are slowly changing for the better.Big names in the bike industry have opened dealerships and even factories in India and this move was greeted with a warm welcome, especially by wealthy riders who now could go out and buy the bikes they had been dreaming for years.
Still, because the Indian motorcycle market has to be protected, the state has huge taxes on import bikes, and when it comes to motorcycles with big displacement, these taxes can reach 75%. In a way, this is why makers like Harley-Davidson, Triumph and more, have built plants in India. The parts are manufactured aboard, and the bikes are assembled in India, thus no longer being sold as CBU (Completely Built Units) via the import way and being offered with significantly lower price tags.
Since the Ninja H2 and H2R cannot follow the same recipe, Indian customers who want to feel the grunt of the world’s newest and most radical hyperbike have to pay the price, and it is not a small one. The Ninja H2 is expected in India with a price tag reading the equivalent of just above $51,000, which is double than what the bike sells for in the US.
This makes it an even more insane bike, as this price could technically get you the flagship H2R stateside. However, given the limited availability of the Ninja H machinery, we can expect that people who are rich enough to even consider it will go for it as they see the opportunity. Being able to seize a H2 and letting it go might be the last time you get within striking distance with it.
Follow the link for live photos of the Kawasaki Ninja H2 and H2R and check out the rest of our EICMA 2014 coverage.
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