Kawasaki has finally unveiled the supercharged H2 sportbike, capable of making 210 horsepower with ram air.
Team Green first started teasing their new superbike last summer, with a seemingly endless marketing campaign of video after video talking about the engineering behind the new motorcycle. Then, they unveiled the track-only H2R at Intermot, capable of making 300 hp, as it’s not hindered by emissions restrictions.
Alas, the street-going version of the bike, the H2, is shackled by the same emissions laws as the rest of the industry. It’s rated at 197 hp at 11,000 rpm, but can make 207 hp if ram air is working. The bike also makes 98.5 ft-lb of torque at 10,500 rpm. According to their spec sheet, wet weight is 238 kg.
How will this stack up against the competition unveiled so far at EICMA? Yamaha’s R1 and R1M are supposed to make slightly more horsepower (2-3 hp), but significantly less torque (83.2 ft-lb) and should weigh significantly less, at 199 kg. Honda showed their RC213V-S prototype off at EICMA today, but released no specs. Ducati’s base-model 1299 Panigale was unveiled yesterday makes 205 hp, with a 190-kg wet weight.
Along with the supercharger, which apparently can hit 130,000 rpm, the H2’s liquid-cooled four-cylinder DOHC motor has 16 valves and wet clutch, with six-speed transmission. Compression ratio is 8:5:1 and bore and stroke are 76 mm and 55 mm respectively. Actual displacement is 998 cc.
Suspension is provided by a 43 mm USD fork up front, with adjustments for rebound and compression damping, along with spring preload adjustability and top-out springs. The rear monoshock has adjustability for both high-speed and low-speed compression damping, as well as rebound damping, spring preload and top-out spring.
Braking is courtesy of dual 330 mm discs up front, with radial-mount four-piston calipers. There’s a 250 mm disc in back, with two-piston caliper.
Overall length for the bike is 2085 mm, with a 1455 mm wheelbase. Fuel capacity is 17 litres. The H2 has a steel trellis frame, same as the H2R, and rolls on a 120/70ZR17M/C (58W) tire in front and a 200/55ZR17M/C (78W) tire in rear.
GALLERY
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Haha, the “Chrome Adder” of superbikes. Good job Kawasaki, perhaps next time you should go with fewer pre-teens in your focus groups.