Got a case of the Mondays? Don’t worry, that’s what motorcycles are for. Here, Kenan Sofuo?lu demonstrates how to turn that frown upside down, as he makes a massive rolling burnout on his Kawasaki Ninja H2R on city streets.
While we don’t condone Kenan’s choice of attire – though, those boat shoes do look rather fetching – you have to admit that it’s pretty mesmerizing to watch the H2R’s titanium pipes glow with heat, while fire shoots out of its exhaust canister.
The Osman Gazi Bridge in Turkey is the fourth largest suspension bridge in the world – it spans 1.66 miles, with its center span almost a mile long.
Why are we telling you this random fact? Becasue Kenan Sofuo?lu just took a Kawasaki Ninja H2R to to 400 km/h (~250 mph) on the Turkish bridge. We all know that the supercharged, fire-breathing, 300+ horsepower, Kawasaki Ninja H2R is no joke in a straight line.
And while it seems trite to just turn the throttle and hold on, anyone who has touched 200+ mph can tell you that the aerodynamic pressure hitting the rider is more than a force to contend with, if you will pardon our pun.
To hit nearly 250 mph, in less than 30 seconds, is a serious undertaking. Perhaps what is more important though, is that the media-catching run comes during a period where Turkey is increasingly trying to find its place in the world, as the magnificent country straddles the boundary between east and west.
Things are about to kick-off in Japan, with the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, and we expect to see some interesting things from the Japanese OEMs there…finally.
One of those items of interest is Kawasaki’s next supercharged motorcycle, widely expected to be the Kawasaki Ninja S2 – a 650cc machine with liter-class horsepower figures.
The above is certainly not what we expect the Kawasaki S2 to look like, though it might not be too far off the mark.
What is it like to ride a supercharged 300hp hyperbike around the Isle of Man TT? Somewhat terrifying, and that’s coming from a guy who does it for a living: James Hillier.
As you might know, Hillier rode a Kawasaki Ninja H2R around the Isle of Man TT road course as part of an exhibition lap during this last TT fortnight, much to the delight of fans lining the Manx hedgerows.
Now we can relive that experience, since Kawasaki put together a short video on James’ impressions riding the supercharged carbon fiber beast, complete with on-board footage. Enjoy!
With the Honda RC213V-S debuting at Catalunya last week, much has already been said about Big Red’s road-going GP bike…especially in terms of how it compares to other halo bike motorcycles that have been 0r currently are on the market.
So, in the interest of exploring solely the most basic attributes from a motorcycle’s technical specification sheet, we have compiled a spreadsheet to see how the Honda RC213V-S stacks up against its most analogous street bikes.
As such, we have compiled the horsepower, dry weight, and cost of the the Ducati Desmosedici RR, Ducati 1199 Superleggera, Kawasaki Ninja H2R, MV Agusta F4 RC, EBR 1190RS, and Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycles — you can see the easy-to-read chart (after the jump), and make your own comparisons to the RC213V-S.
The Sulby Straight is the fastest part of the Isle of Man TT course, and when the conditions are right, it’s not uncommon for the big Superbike and Senior TT bikes to break the 200 mph mark on the nearly mile-long stretch.
It is, however, a bit uncommon for riders to reach the 200 mph mark during the TT’s parade laps, but don’t tell that to James Hillier. “Parading” the supercharged Kawasaki H2R around the Mountain Course, Hillier set an outright top speed record down the Sulby Straight, with an official speed of 206 mph.
If you are one of the few people that pre-ordered a Kawasaki Ninja H2 street bike or Kawasaki Ninja H2R track bike, your wait is just about over as Kawasaki is ready to deliver its supercharged monsters to customers.
Built-to-order in a special facility at Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan, the H2 and H2R bikes have now been delivered to over 1,000 dealers in the USA.
As such, Ninja H2 customers can expect their bikes this week, while H2R owners will get their bikes later in April, once dealers have collected the necessary accessories (namely paddock stands) for the track-only machine.
As owners take receipt of their purchases, 2015 will be marked significantly by the arrival of the Kawasaki Ninja H2/R supercharged sport bikes.
Kawasaki has assured us that it won’t take much tinkering for the H2 street bike to meet the performance specs of the H2R, a fact many deriders of the machine seem to forget when spec-sheet racing.
We are perhaps disappointed that Kawasaki made owning a Ninja H2 and Ninja H2R such an exclusive process, as it robs us of the chance to see some extreme concepts and customizations from the motorcycling community.
Take this streetfighter concept of Kawasaki Ninja H2R by AD Koncept, for instance. Pure brawny muscle, the H2 surely has the makings of being the ultimate streetfighter.
Even though the Kawasaki Ninja H2R debuted in October at the INTERMOT show, and the Kawasaki Ninja H2 debuted a few weeks ago at the EICMA show, Kawasaki was a bit slow to release the pricing and availability details of its two supercharged machines. Releasing now details for the US market, we can quote pricing for the H2 and H2R throughout the world.
The following is a rather long video of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R demonstrating earlier this week at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan (fast-forward to the 6 minute mark if you don’t want to watch the bike warm-up in the pits), taken during the All-Japan Road Race Superbike Championship.
To fully appreciate the video, it helps if you speak a bit of Japanese, but the what transcends all languages is the brute force of the supercharged 300hp the Ninja H2R, as it takes off — even in the hands of Kawasaki racer Katsuaki Fujiwara. We still think it’s pretty impressive, check it out after the jump.
With great power, comes great responsibility…I’m fairly certain I read that in a comic book somewhere. The adage carries over to the Kawasaki Ninja H2R though, as any 300hp supercharged machine needs some snappy electronics to keep all that power in line. It’s something we talked about yesterday, when we got up-close with the H2R at the AIMExpo.
Seemingly reading our thoughts on that matter, Kawasaki has released a terse video on the H2R’s electronic controls. The video essentially confirms that the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and presumably the Kawasaki Ninja H2 street bike, will come with anti-locking brakes (KIBS), traction control (KTRC), launch control (KLCM), quick shifter (KQS), engine braking control (KEBC), and an electronic steering damper (ESD).