kawasaki H2 superbike

[buzzbomb]

Give it a decade, MistahT. If the technology is good, you can bet it will be reverse-engineered by every bike maker on the planet. If it they can figure out how to do it on the cheap, then they'll make enough changes to avoid patent infringement and a supercharger will be on nearly every motorcycle made (at least for sale in developed countries).

We might not get to ride an H2, but it's distant cousin? A distinct and mouth-watering possibility, I think!

 

[Fizzer6R]

ZX10R/ZX14R, I am your father

 

[MistahT]

After this, people are going to be bolting AutoZone civic spoilers on the sides of their motorcycles........

 

[buzzbomb]

After this, people are going to be bolting AutoZone civic spoilers on the sides of their motorcycles........

And taking flight! My flying vehicle is here! Woohoo!

 

[JonKerr]

Meh. I'm not that impressed. People all over Facebook are drooling over this thing. I'm not. Parts of it are kind of cool looking, most of it is pretty damn ugly. The little wings are a major gimmick. And I think an Aprilia V4 would be a much more desirable power plant. I see this becoming the next squid mobile like the vast majority of Hayabusas and ZX14s.

 

[pkoko]

If it is a pure dragster; then yeah this bike is all hype. But the rumors say that they are gunning for BMW HP4 & Ducati Pannigale 1199 Superleggera in terms of track performance at thousands less. If so; then this bike deserves all the hype.

 

[JonKerr]

See I've actually read the exact opposite as far as pricing. I've seen estimates in the $30K and higher range. You're not going to get a bike that comes with carbon fiber fairings for less than $20K. Just not gonna happen.

 

[JonKerr]

And I should qualify my comment about Hayabusas and ZX14s. I know there are guys out there who do ride their Hayabusas. One of my best riding buddies used to be a 'Busa guy and he loves them. He's had 4 of them and has done track days on them. (Ironically the same guy is now a SuperMoto rider and his favorite bike is a 40hp DRZ400 lol ) But the VAST majority of 'busa's you see, at least in SoCal, are bike night and bike show queens. They're the choppers of the sportbike world. 3" wide chicken strips on their 300mm rear tires that sit 3 feet behind their seat on their chrome extended swingarm but they've never hit a track, even a drag strip, in their life. You suggest a 180 mile Saturday morning loop ride and they think you're insane for riding that many miles in one day. They may have even trailered their bike to the bike night. (Yes I've seen that) The biggest squid I've ever ridden with was on a lowered 'busa with chrome spinners, spikes all over it, a 280mm rear tire (which he plugged that morning after getting a nail in it, then blowing the plug out right in front of me ) and a "custom" airbrushed Batman paint scheme on it. :jerk: He's the reason I stopped doing the public posted group rides where anyone could just show up. lol I can just see these bikes falling into the same category. If not, I'd be happy to admit I was wrong about them if they prove to be a real track/street bike that can do more than just go in a straight line fast.

 

[buzzbomb]

It's not the fins or other gimicks that have me excited. It's the thought of a usable supercharger on a production motorcycle.

How much throttle does it take to open that up? What if it's NONE. Always breathing, all the time. Instant power. Instant insane power.

I know that's now how superchargers work. My bud who has one on his Fiero proved that. It takes some throttle to open it up. Then it's got to wind up.

What if? What if Kawi has perfected a supercharger that is always open, just sucking in the oxygen, and is sitting there ready for when you need it.?

Maybe you've just to open the throttle just a little bit. I don't know. I'm dreaming, here.

With modern electronics to handle everything else? The power of a supercharger just waiting for you to use it?

That's my hope.

 

[pkoko]

See I've actually read the exact opposite as far as pricing. I've seen estimates in the $30K and higher range. You're not going to get a bike that comes with carbon fiber fairings for less than $20K. Just not gonna happen.

I heard pricing around $20k for base version without electronic suspension or carbon fiber etc. But with full tech package or TC, ABS, Anti-wheelie, Quick Shifter, even stability control (adjust braking and throttle based on lean angle). Then a race/track ready version with electric suspension, aftermarket exhaust, SS brake lines, carbon fiber etc for around $26k. Those prices are still cheaper than comparably equipped bikes from BMW & Ducati.

 

[FastFreddy]

With wings, that means you could flip it even faster than before, cool.

 

[pkoko]

What if? What if Kawi has perfected a supercharger that is always open, just sucking in the oxygen, and is sitting there ready for when you need it.?

Then that supercharger will always be sucking power to compress air to be released thru the blow-valve. Very inefficient setup. What Kawi can do is use a twin-screw supercharger with a pulley (supercharger isn't always running); so the spool time is very very short. It will feel as if there is instant power. But such system is a lot more complicated to design & less reliable than a conventional centrifugal supercharger. I suspect they reach a compromise and go for centrifugal supercharger of low rotational inertia to allow fast spool times. The downside is the boost will not be very high so power at high rpms will not be very peaky. I anticipate a very linear downward slope torque curve. Similar to Ford Eco-boost engine.

The end result, this bike will have unheard of power at low rpms for I4. I wouldn't be surprised if it made 125+ ft-lbs of torque at less than 3k rpms. High rpm power will feel a little tame... kinda like a big v-twin or V8. Either-way, this bike will be more powerful & faster than any bike on the market.

 

[FastFreddy]

Then that supercharger will always be sucking power to compress air to be released thru the blow-valve. Very inefficient setup. What Kawi can do is use a twin-screw supercharger with a pulley (supercharger isn't always running); so the spool time is very very short. It will feel as if there is instant power. But such system is a lot more complicated to design & less reliable than a conventional centrifugal supercharger. I suspect they reach a compromise and go for centrifugal supercharger of low rotational inertia to allow fast spool times. The downside is the boost will not be very high so power at high rpms will not be very peaky. I anticipate a very linear downward slope torque curve. Similar to Ford Eco-boost engine.

The end result, this bike will have unheard of power at low rpms for I4. I wouldn't be surprised if it made 125+ ft-lbs of torque at less than 3k rpms. High rpm power will feel a little tame... kinda like a big v-twin or V8. Either-way, this bike will be more powerful & faster than any bike on the market.

I saw a twin gear on the centrifugal supercharger, so it gets boost throughout the rev range.

The single sided swingarm ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbfzahtZsN8

 

[blkbrd]

The cat is out of the bag...sort of..."Official power figures haven’t yet been released, however, Kawasaki has stated the H2R produces ‘roughly’ 300ps (296hp)."

Intermot 2014: Kawasaki Ninja H2R specs and pictures revealed - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown

 

[MistahT]

The H2R (race version) makes about 300 hp. However, the street version could still be close, I doubt it would be under 200.

Power on these things is getting insane. Wasn't the rumor mill saying the new R1 will be naturally apsirated and make about 230 hp or something crazy like that? I've had a 300+ whp car that would run low 12s, but that was almost 4,000 pounds. In a bike, I can't even fathom that!

 

[alaskanflyboy]

The H2R (race version) makes about 300 hp. However, the street version could still be close, I doubt it would be under 200.

Power on these things is getting insane. Wasn't the rumor mill saying the new R1 will be naturally apsirated and make about 230 hp or something crazy like that? I've had a 300+ whp car that would run low 12s, but that was almost 4,000 pounds. In a bike, I can't even fathom that!

It could possibly be the safest bike for squids; it'll dump them on their butt before they can get anywhere.

 

[JT]

holy crap the video with the headers almost melting!!!

I should probably just get a 750 but **** that bike is amazing! like everyone else I wonder what the price range will be like

 

[Fizzer6R]

And I should qualify my comment about Hayabusas and ZX14s. I know there are guys out there who do ride their Hayabusas. One of my best riding buddies used to be a 'Busa guy and he loves them. He's had 4 of them and has done track days on them. (Ironically the same guy is now a SuperMoto rider and his favorite bike is a 40hp DRZ400 lol ) But the VAST majority of 'busa's you see, at least in SoCal, are bike night and bike show queens. They're the choppers of the sportbike world. 3" wide chicken strips on their 300mm rear tires that sit 3 feet behind their seat on their chrome extended swingarm but they've never hit a track, even a drag strip, in their life. You suggest a 180 mile Saturday morning loop ride and they think you're insane for riding that many miles in one day. They may have even trailered their bike to the bike night. (Yes I've seen that) The biggest squid I've ever ridden with was on a lowered 'busa with chrome spinners, spikes all over it, a 280mm rear tire (which he plugged that morning after getting a nail in it, then blowing the plug out right in front of me ) and a "custom" airbrushed Batman paint scheme on it. :jerk: He's the reason I stopped doing the public posted group rides where anyone could just show up. lol I can just see these bikes falling into the same category. If not, I'd be happy to admit I was wrong about them if they prove to be a real track/street bike that can do more than just go in a straight line fast.

sorry man, you're coming off as very judgemental. just because someone buys any kind of moto and doesn't ride it the way you do/want them to, doesn't make them any less of a bike owner than you are.

seems you're looking at this H2 from a practical view, and don't think that's why kawi built it. they did it to shake up the industry, and they succeeded. credit is deserved.

 

[NMdesertracer]

Is this a track bike only or street bike?

 

[Fizzer6R]

Is this a track bike only or street bike?

the H2R you see now is race only, the street version H2 approx.200hp will be unveiled in Nov. at the Milan EICMA show