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Kawasaki Ninja H2R Is the Offspring of an F1 Car and a Superbike

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Kawasaki Ninja H2R 101 photos
Photo: original photo by autoevolution
Kawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMA 2014Kawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMAKawasaki Ninja H2R and H2 at EICMA
The Ninja H2R is definitely THE sportsbike of the fall as it arrived with a soaring goal to open a new direction in today’s industry. Of course, a 300 horsepower motorcycle built for the track may not be exactly what was missing in the manufacturers’ line-up today, but the message this bike conveys is still a very strong one: it’s maybe time to move along.
H2R showed up in Cologne and in the US, but still, we just can’t get enough of it. That is, because things are still in the dream-zone, in the absence of more hardcore track testing, acceleration times and so on. It’s almost winter in the northern hemisphere but there still are some decent warm tracks in Spain which could host some official H2R tests to get us going. And maybe seeing the Ninja H2R on famous down under tracks, such as Sepang or Phillip Island is not only a dream…

But until then, we'll take our time and study it here at the EICMA 2014 show, where, even from a large distance, the H2R imposes respect along with it's detuned H2 version. Don't take our word for it, check the 100 photos of the duo in the gallery below.

Heavy industries’ heritage powers up the new H2R

The very long teaser campaign Kawasaki has put up ahead of unveiling the H2R was heavily under the sign of KHI – Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The bike even got the old KHI logo to make it clear that we’re looking at a machine which set out to renew the engineering standards.

The house of Akashi doesn’t look like having cut any corner in building this bike. KHI has employed technologies from various fields to make sure the new bike squashes the competition. From the aircraft industry to huge, 18-cylinder gas turbine engines, nothing was ignored. The result is a bike which can produce around 300 horsepower in stock trim, and with potentially some more to it in case someone is willing to tweak things down to a more detailed level.

Kawasaki is trying to make a point

It doesn’t take a visionary to understand that the Ninja H2R is more of a statement than a bike you can just go out and buy. At this point we’re not even sure whether there will be a 2016 H2R. But even so, it’s alright, because the bike will have said pretty much enough once a bevy of videos and test results will invade the internet.

Huge amounts of power from small engines are definitely not front-page news, and Kawasaki knows this very well. The Ninja H2R is about being bold and showing the world that new things can still come in a segment which has been rather dull of late.

2015 seems to be the dawn of a new era, with superbikes no longer shy to pass the 200 hp limit. Of course, the Ninja H2R is laughing at the S1000RR and pretty much any other bike, and some drag racing should definitely be staged soon. Some will say that hey ae unfair, but in the end, this is Kawasaki’s point. Namely, rolling out technology so advanced that competing with others’ machines seems like a joke.

F1-inspired fairing, 130,000 rpm supercharger

The photos you see here are quite eloquent and leave little need for words when it comes to the way the Ninja H2R looks. This bike is built for smashing the competition on the track and feel like a real jet fighter. Deflectors, winglets, spoilers, all in carbon fiber covered with a luxurious layer of clear resin are all telling a high-performance story.

Of course, crashing it will destroy the winglets and replacing the fairing would be a very expensive job. However, it will be interesting to see how many of these Kawasaki plans to build and sell.

On the other hand, owning a 300 hp liter-class bike with a 130,000 rpm supercharger is definitely a wet dream for track enthusiasts, so we‘re positive this bike WILL sell well, if Akashi plans to move it from the prototype zone.

After all, even though the Ninja H2R would not tread on the public roads, it will definitely give pretty much any other bike a run for the money. And this includes the 2015 model year BMW S1000RR, Yamaha YZF-R1, Ducati 1199 or 1299 Panigale and so on.

Ninja H2 - lousy but a lot better than what's on the road

Along with the H2R, Kawasaki also brougt here the detuned, road-version Ninja H2. Comparing it with the H2R, the standard version lacks a lot from its hot sister. And we can start with a big 100 hp chunk missing from the crank, leaving it with 200 or 210 hp after the "ram air" effect kicks in at high speed.

The winglets, stabilising fins and all the carbon fiber are no where to be found here, being replaced by standard fairings, normal side mirrors and other down-on-Earth parts. Even so, the Ninja H2 looks fantastic and will outrun most of other bikes in its class.
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