Kawasaki Ninja H2 Blows Engine at 188 Mph
There are blown engines, and then there BLOWN engines
See that gaping hole above? That’s the exit wound from a thrown con-rod after a Kawasaki Ninja H2‘s engine blows on a drag strip. Fortunately, the rider was able to maintain control at such a high speed and coax the H2 to a stop.
The speedometer was obscured by sun glare, but the video title indicates the incident happened at 188 mph. An earlier run showed the H2 topping 230 mph, so we know he could have been moving much faster when the engine gave.
According to the video description, this unfortunate incident happened during a run at the Loring Mile Harvest drag racing event in Maine. The H2 was heavily modded and had been used in several drag racing runs before it grenaded.
While the POV angle doesn’t allow us see the engine going, it does provide a more visceral experience, from the sudden, sickening shudder, to the splash of fluids on the windscreen. “She done,” the rider says, tossing his gloves to the now-wet tarmac. “She done.”
Once the initial disappointment passed, the H2 owner seemed more positive than I would have been, as he ends the video with a promise of coming back with a rebuilt motor next year.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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