#SuperCharger

It has been a year now since Kawasaki strung us along with what seemed like endless teaser videos for its Ninja H2 and Ninja H2R superbikes. Let’s revisit what made them so popular. Boasting 998cc from its inline-Four, the H2 brethren represents Kawasaki’s flagship motorcycle. Let’s not forget the supercharger attached to both models, giving them a healthy amount of torque without the need for an intercooler. The trellis frame, Brembo M50 brakes, and traction control, among other things, helped the H2 line handle about as well as it accelerated.

Bimota calls its new Impeto, introduced at EICMA 2015, a Hyper-Naked. We don’t know when all these specialized categories for motorcycles is going to stop, but from the sound of it, here’s hoping Hyper-Naked catches on.

The idea of a Kawasaki sportbike that costs $25,000 might seem incongruous. That’s the realm of Italian exotics and, though Kawasaki ends with a vowel, it’s not a swanky European marque that commands an exotic price tag.

Last time I was at Auto Club Speedway, the MO crew was testing the three fastest streetfighters, and it was a rush to see speedometers creep past 160 mph on the banked front straightaway. This week I watched numbers rush past 175 mph on the same track, this time aboard the quickest-accelerating production vehicle on the planet, Kawasaki’s 2015 Ninja H2.

What we have here is a genetically altered motorcycle that used to be a 2012 Victory Cross Country. Given its 21-inch front wheel and saddlebag speakers, it can be seen as a transitionary mutation between the CC and the recently released Magnum. However, the characteristic we’re here to address can be found wrapped around the engine. (After all we’ve reviewed the 2015 Victory Magnum, in case you’re interested in the whole big front wheel and the kickin’ stereo thing.)

One of the questions I’ve heard frequently asked about the Kawasaki Ninja H2 and H2R can be summed up with one word: Why? Why the H2R? It doesn’t fit the requirements of any international racing series. It’s not street legal. And why the H2? Isn’t it just a detuned H2R, designed not to break the European and Japanese manufacturers’ gentleman’s agreement of keeping streeting machinery to under 186 mph (300 kph)? As if a motorcycle we expect to make in the neighborhood of 200 horsepower and go right up to an expected software-limited top speed can be called detuned. That’s before we even consider the massive torque bump the supercharger should deliver.

With 23 teaser videos spread between the no-limits Ninja H2R and street-legal Ninja H2, Kawasaki has done a masterful job of hyping the two H2 models. At EICMA 2014, Team Green took the wraps off the H2 model, and even though those in attendance practically knew what to expect, practically nobody could take their eyes – and cell phone cameras – away from the Ninja H2. MO’s Editor-in-Chief, Kevin Duke is at EICMA, and was one of those left in awe from the H2. in this video he explains what makes the latest Ninja so special.

After one of the lengthiest teaser campaigns in recent memory, Kawasaki has revealed the Ninja H2, the street-legal version of its track-only Ninja H2R. The $25,000 2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2 will be produced in small numbers with dealers accepting deposits up until Dec. 19 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Today, Kawasaki released the second in its series of teaser videos for the much anticipated Ninja H2. Not much is revealed visually in the teaser video, but the audible notes tell a completely different story. The video starts off with a run through the gears and in it we hear the clear sound of the centrifugal supercharger’s wastegate as it regulates intake pressure.