Big Green Finger
BIG GREEN FINGER
UP FRONT
KAWASAKI BLOWS US INTO A NEW ERA
EDITOR'S LETTER
The little impeller at the center of the Kawasaki Ninja H2 and H2R has changed everything. Well, that and the bike has freakin' wings!
The first time I saw the unlimited H2R track bike at our exclusive studio photo shoot, I was totally blown away, if you’ll excuse the pun. The bike borrows obvious design cues from a certain Italian maker, yet it somehow makes a wonderful expression of its Japanese-ness. In fact, the H2R manages to be very Japanese in its styling while also being really great looking and purposeful, which historically hasn’t always been the case.
That is, no one really says “legendary Japanese styling” in the way we typically do with, for example, Italian work. In my mind, this Ninja changes that. Is Kawasaki trying to become the Ducati of the Orient, as Technical Editor Kevin Cameron suggested to me in one of our many conversations after seeing the bike? The H2R is step one. And it’s a really big step. The only downside is going to be cost. As of this writing, Kawasaki wasn’t talking, but rumors of $30l< for the street version and $soK for the track model were floating around.
Corporate pride radiates like dark energy from this bike. And the unmuffled H2R screams it with blue flames out the tailpipe on the dyno, as I witnessed firsthand when Road Test Editor Don Canet ran the bike through the gears at Kawasaki’s US headquarters. (Check cycleworld.com for our exclusive dyno video.)
The bike is like a big carbon-fiber and green middle finger to all the other motorcycle manufacturers, particularly those also based in Japan. Kawasaki is driving its stake into the top of the performance mountain.
From my discussions with Kawasaki execs, they’re really trying to rebrand and take the company upmarket. This is the big shot to set that in motion.
It was also suggested that, moving
forward, the Ninja name would be reserved for the best-performing bikes in their respective categories. They would have to be “leading bikes,” I was told.
That would be a good move and have a nice historical resonance. Kohei Yamada was responsible for the first Ninja 900 in 1984—a leading bike if there ever was one—and is the man behind this bike (not to mention the first supercharged Jet Ski). His reputation at Kawasaki internally is that of “mad scientist who doesn’t listen to anybody, but he really knows performance.” An insider said, “He’s nearing retirement, and the H2R is his gift to the company before he goes.”
It’s a gift to enthusiasts around the world, almost as if a Japanese carmaker had built the original McLaren Ft.
Apparently the H2 streetbike will be in good company for 2015. Just as Intermot was getting up to speed, Yamaha started teasing the silhouette of a new sportbike. Sketches flashed across the screen in the company-produced video clearly show a single-sided swingarm, elegant top triple clamp, and what looks like an inline engine. By the time you read this, we’ll know for sure if it will be a triple or a four.
Rumors of an ultra-expensive Honda V-4 superbike harkening back to the homologation-special RC30 and RC45 were spooling up too. A few pundits on Twitter even pegged a price at $iooK. Here’s to hoping it’s real.
And what about Kawasaki’s true “premium” target, Ducati? The company that has best played the high-endperformance game? Word of a 1299 Panigale was leaked well in advance of the bike’s expected debut at Milan.
Kawasaki has changed its place in the world. Who will answer this supercharged shot across the bow?
Who can?
MARK HOYER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
THIS MONTH'S STATS
NUMBER OF VANES ON THE NEW NINJA'S SUPERCHARGER IMPELLER
ESTIMATED TOP SPEED IN MPH OF THE H2R
ZERO NUMBER OF GREEN BODY PANELS
