Road Testing The Incredible Beast That is Kawasaki's Supercharged Ninja H2 Streetbike
If you are a bike fan and looking for a thrill ride that will act as an instant laxative the moment you turn the throttle then i suggest you stock up on plenty of toilet paper and get your ass astride the beast that is Kawasaki's Supercharged Ninja H2 Streetbike.
It comes from a 'H2' heritage that inspired the original street racers and early Mad Max films alike.
Back in the 1970s Kawasaki's 750cc H2 was the fastest streetbike around (as long as you avoided bends and were going in a straight line), and now the company are harking back to that era with the Ninja H2.
The Ninja H2 has 207 brake horsepower, a 998cc four cylinder engine and can hit a top speed of over 210 mph.
The best thing about this hyperbike (aside from its signature silver mirror paint job), is that it actually looks like it travelling at 210mph when it's standing still, such is the aggression that this bike exudes it stands out like a visual masterpiece of violence and destruction that takes acceleration to a whole new level of scary.
Oh, yeah, and it also has a freaking supercharger.
At $26,000 it's not cheap but as well as performance it looks the part too. The aerodynamic bodywork was produced in collaboration with Kawasaki's Aerospace Division to generate downforce, and it also has advanced electronics with traction control that helps minimise wheel spin, plus badass LED head and taillamps.
Loz Blain from Gizmag road tests the bike in the video above, and he seems to enjoy it very much.
That silver mirror finish is one thing in photos, but another entirely in the flesh. At times it looks dark and moody, at times it's brilliantly reflective. Around sunset it takes on a magical, almost luminous glow with a hint of a green tinge to it. In a perfect world, this paint job would bamboozle LiDAR guns and make the H2 a true stealth bomber for the road.
Next to catch your eye is the bright green, skeletal trellis frame, a 3-dimensional piece of art that defines the shape of the bike's sci-fi midriff, and the Ninja-star rear wheel on its single sided swingarm. The welding is pure sex, if you're into that sort of thing, and the overall feeling of quality is second to none.
That's just the way it looks. He's pretty stoked at how it performs too. "The Ninja H2 isn't built to be the fastest thing around a racetrack." he says, "It's built purely to deliver insane levels of excess on the road. It's in a category of its own, out there beyond the hyperbike class in a realm of pure, dribbling lunacy."
Check out his full review in the video.
