Summary

• The Kawasaki Ninja H2R reached a staggering prime pace of 249 MPH, setting the document on the Gulf of Izmit Bridge.
• Innovative expertise, corresponding to a centrifugal supercharger and a high-strung inline-four engine, offers the H2R its unmatched energy.
• A wedding of expertise, magnificence, and efficiency makes the H2R a hyperbike masterpiece, setting a brand new commonplace in bike engineering.

The authentic Kawasaki Ninja, the 1984 GPZ900R, was developed to offer astounding efficiency with out compromising drivability. It was a revolutionary bike for Team Green, setting the stage for the Ninja bikes to comply with. It was additionally the world’s first liquid-cooled bike capable of crossing the 145 MPH mark. Over the years, Ninja superbikes solely saved getting sooner and sooner. But all of it peaked in 2015 when the household welcomed its raunchiest member, the Kawasaki Ninja H2R.

How quick is the Kawasaki Ninja H2R? That query pops up essentially the most, and the bike doesn’t disappoint. It is past your wildest goals — a straight-line weapon so vicious which you can personal it, however you may should suppose earlier than you possibly can trip it on any closed course, not to mention public roads. To be this loopy, the bike used each ounce of experience Kawasaki may spare, providing a bundle in contrast to the rest.

To provide the latest and correct data doable, the information used to compile this text was sourced from Kawasaki and different authoritative sources, together with Motorcycle News, WorldSBK, and Auto Evolution.

Kawasaki Ninja H2R’s Top Speed Shatters Records

Top Speed: 249 MPH (400 KMPH)

Dial your clock again to 2016, and an electrifying motorcycling occasion is about to unfold. The World SSP celebrity, Kenan Sofuoglu, has signed an settlement with Kawasaki to place the H2R by way of its paces on the Gulf of Izmit Bridge. After 4 months of preparation and numerous visits to evaluate circumstances, Sofuoglu is poised for motion together with his bespoke leather-based go well with.

Kawasaki claimed the bike may attain 236 MPH, however the champion’s purpose is to achieve the 249 MPH (400 KMPH) mark. As the daybreak cracks, the clock strikes 5, and Sofuoglu launches the H2R. Within a mere 26 seconds, the bike kisses the 249 MPH mark, cementing itself because the world’s quickest manufacturing bike. A few years later, the bike even beat a Formula 1 car (by 0.04 seconds) and an F-16 fighter jet on the 2018 Teknofest Istanbul drag race.

Kenan Sofuoglu

The prime pace we get to on the planet championship races is about 300 km/h, so 400 km/h is a very excessive pace. It was a dream to achieve this pace and thank god I made it.

Supercharged For Speed And Performance

Power Output: 310 HP @ 14,000 RPM

The Ninja H2R remains to be quick sufficient to outrun each superbike, and that is made doable by the technological marvel that’s its engine. Kawasaki not solely poured its motorcycling sources into the event of this bike but additionally borrowed sources from Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It all comes down to the supercharger and engine design.

Centrifugal Supercharger Developed By Akashi Works

The Ninja H2R makes use of a centrifugal supercharger that Kawasaki developed particularly for bikes in tandem with the engine for optimum matching. Akashi Works is the minds and palms behind this supercharger, and what a brilliant piece of engineering it is! This is why the H2R shakes the limbs of even essentially the most skilled motorcyclists.

Supercharger Highlights

• Impeller blades have a thickness of roughly one mm
• Impeller spins at 9.2x the crankshaft, reaching speeds of almost 130,000 RPM
• Supercharger pumps over 53 gallons of compressed air per second into the engine at 2.4x atmospheric stress
• An superior stability adjustment is used, which might alter the stability to an accuracy of milligrams
• All superchargers are inspected with a particular efficiency tester

A High-Strung, Highly Tuned Inline-Four Engine And Transmission

The different facet of the efficiency coin is the crazy inline-four engine that was specially developed for the H2. And do not mistake this as the identical engine used within the Ninja ZX-10R. The engine makes use of some nifty upgrades that enable it to supply insane energy output. It’s so high-strung, it wants a tolerance examine each 15 hours when belting it, adopted by a full service after 30 hours of wringing its neck. That ought to final you 10 trackdays roughly. Ultimate energy does include a value, doesn’t it?

Engine Highlights

• Mated to a dog-ring-type transmission made with suggestions from the Kawasaki Racing Team
• Intake ports are polished to make sure easy move and reduce resistance
• Exhaust ports are straight and don’t converse within the cylinder head for sooner fuel move
• High-lift cams enable quick fuel alternate
• Combustion chamber makes use of a flat piston crown to stop engine knock
• Pistons are solid as an alternative of cast for higher warmth administration properties
• Airbox is aluminum to face up to the two.4x atmospheric stress of air whereas maintaining the air cool

Fun Fact: Contrary to in style perception, the signature H2 chirp is produced by this airbox, not the supercharger. The air has to go someplace while you shut the throttle, so the airbox stress reduction valve vents out high-pressure air, producing the chirp. (Essentially, the H2R is farting).

Engine And Performance Specifications

(Specs sourced from Kawasaki)

A Marriage Of Technology, Innovation, And Design

What makes the Kawasaki H2R particular isn’t simply the supercharged engine. This is a marvel when it comes to bike design, aerodynamics, and top-spec componentary. It’s nearly as if Kawasaki took the facility wars somewhat too personally, going all out on creating the H2R. Right from the airbox to the paint and from the body to the wings — this bike screams engineering opulence.

A High-Tensile Steel Trellis Frame With A Focus On Beauty

Unlike most superbikes that use twin-spar aluminum frames, the H2R makes use of a MAG welded steel trellis frame. According to Kawasaki, this body doesn’t produce high-frequency conduct resulting from street disturbances at excessive speeds, which might happen with twin-spar frames. This body is MAG welded with a multi-axis coordinated-control welding robotic cell with a concentrate on each the power and fantastic thing about the welds.

Aerodynamic Excellence Way Before It Was Trendy

Then comes aerodynamics. The carbon fiber wings on this bike are designed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Aerospace Division and are impressed by fighter jets. For instance, the flap wings on the facet fairings are slotted, and the higher entrance cowl wings have strakes and canine enamel like on some fighter jets.

Self-Healing Silver Mirror Paint

Adding soy sauce to the H2R’s sushi is the distinctive mirror-like paintwork. Here, the black undercoat is roofed with a silver movie produced utilizing a silver mirror response. On prime lies the ultimate paint specifically designed to be resilient and self-healing — it may possibly get well from minor scratches by itself!

Everything Else On The H2R

• A complete electronics suite (HTRC, KIBS, KEBC, KLCM, KQS, and KCMF)
• Fully adjustable Ohlins TTX36 rear shock and KYB AOS-II forks with Ohlins digital steering damper
• Brembo Stylema monobloc brake calipers
• Carbon fiber fairings
• Lightweight solid aluminum wheels

Too Much Of Everything: Too Fast, Too Vicious, Too Loud

The Kawasaki Ninja H2R has an unparalleled popularity: the quickest bike, distinctive power-to-weight ratio, and the only real supercharged manufacturing bike. It’s the epitome of hyperbike engineering and the end result of Kawasaki’s efficiency experience, compressed into one awe-inspiring bike. It blends sublime engineering with sheer madness, pushing the envelope to this point only some producers can ever dream of reaching.

This sub-500-pound bike packs sufficient energy to rival sports activities automobiles which are a lot, a lot heavier. The efficiency is mind-bending, and even skilled riders will get off the bike with a way of awe and worry. This bonkers efficiency makes the H2R a track-only bike, and lots of tracks nonetheless gained’t permit you to let your H2R sing in its full glory. It’s just too loud.

In 2024, the Kawasaki Ninja H2R stands in a league of its personal with not a single hyperbike contending towards it. It’s nonetheless laborious to justify this bike, given its inaccessible and unforgiving efficiency, restricted scope for unleashing its prowess, and a premium price ticket. But as the era of inline-four screamers (and ICE engines, by extension) draws close, the H2R is a testomony to the head of inner combustion hyperbikes. We might by no means see something like this ever once more.

Motorcycle News On The Ninja H2R

Thank you Kawasaki for being so courageous — you promised it could be nothing wanting epic, and also you delivered. What extra is there to say? It’s the last word prime trump card; the quickest, strongest manufacturing bike ever, and it really works. Beautifully.