2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2 - India Launch

How much power is enough power, how much control is enough control? There are no straight answers to these questions, but then, when you see the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2, you somewhat realize what the answers to these question would look and feel like. We are using the term "somewhat" here because we are going to talk more and in detail about the H2 and not about it's monstrous alter ego - the Kawasaki Ninja H2R.

Try and get over that look!!

On the 3rd of April, 2015, India Kawasaki Motors unveiled the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2. The event started with the introduction of Kawasaki Motors and how Kawasaki India, in conglomeration with Bajaj Auto, is operating in India.

The man who started it all Mr. Shozo Kawasaki

As the minutes crawled through the space time fabric, everything was getting drawn towards that one point of singularity which was clad in a lime green cloak, almost giving the feeling of an event horizon to most of us.

Mr. Shigeto Nishikawa

The H2 and H2R Project Lead Mr. Sataoki Ichi

... And then the moment of truth.. there it was, the H2, right in front of us!!

This is the closest mad radicalism would come to being street legal

From nose to tail, this motorcycle is nothing like we have ever seen or heard of, for that matter, in our slow moving, daily chores cluttered lives. If the Hades wanted to ride a super bike and not get fined for riding it on open streets, this would definitely be his choice!!

The RAM Air scoops, the All LED Head Lamp, the Winglet shaped RVMs with integrated Turn Indicators, the Air Vents, the lime green Trellis Frame, that scooped out seat, that single sided swing arm and last but no way the least, that massive exhaust on that thing... every bit of this machine, every nut and bolt, every whine every chirp, is so out worldly to the core.

That face is enough to give you nightmares for days and you still won't get over it

Don't we all want to have something with that badge parked in our garages!!

One needs to be on the rider's seat to enjoy to show on the dash... Hell Yeah!!

Some view that!!

If Hades' organ had a face, it would look like this... boy this thing sounds good!!

One of the most intimidating seat I have ever seen

Illuminating your way while you are confused, that you wanted to play God, but now the urge is to be the Devil

That's purpose built, as purpose built as anything purpose built can be

But the biggest surprise of the day was big in a very small and compact way. At the heart of the H2, is a Supercharged, Liquid Cooled, 4-Stroke, in-line four, DOHC, 16 valve 998 cc engine connected to a two speed centrifugal super charger, but that's not what we went to see there. The Supercharger is driven by a series of gears and shafts, connecting the flywheel with the planetary drive, which finally spins the dog-shifted two speed shaft attached to the impeller, yes the impeller which is the beating heart of the supercharger, which is the whole reason behind this monstrosity of the H2. Take a wild guess about it's size people, just a wild guess. Okay... I'll give you some relief - 

That's how big a 18 wing impeller looks like, feels like and weighs nothing and is able to give the H2R 300+ bhp

During the entire presentation, the one thing which kept bugging me, was that, this darn thing, sucks in a lot of air inside the beating heart of a fire breathing dragon in the name of the supercharger, and now, we have the summers already setting in. Is it going to be too much of an ask to ride the bike in hot Delhi summers? The Kawasaki Tech team was supportive enough to the question, and explained that one of the driving reasons behind the choice of having a Trellis frame for the H2 (and the H2R) was to have better heat management for the bike. As the engine heats up (which it DOES), it creates a low pressure area around it. The Trellis frame allows cool air from outside (which, during summers here is already pretty hot, but comparatively cooler than the air around the engine), gushes inwards through the trellis frame allowing the engine to cool faster in conjunction with the liquid cooling. The Air Vents in the fairing a designed to let the hot air out under the riders legs. Having said that, the Kawasaki Tech Team did agree that even though the H2 is a pretty cool bike, it won't be that cool riding it during the infamous Delhi summers, it "would" heat up and that's pretty obvious now.

The Kawasaki Officials - Mr. Sataoki Ichi, Mr. Shigeto Nishikawa and Ms. Eiko Kirino

After the presentation, after the interaction, it was the moment for which we were waiting, for the count less seconds packed in just few hours - The firing up on the H2 (crank up that bass on your speakers folks!!)

The key of transcendence all yours for INR 29,00,000 Ex-Showroom New Delhi

These are exciting times, and Kawasaki is definitely on a Good Times Rolling spree here!!

Team TQ with Mr. Sataoki Ichi and Ms. Eiko Kirino

2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2 Spec Sheet

Make Model	Kawasaki ZX 1000 Ninja H2
Year	2015
Engine	4-Stroke, inline 4 cylinder
Capacity	998 cc / 60.9 cub in
Bore x Stroke	76 x 55 mm
Cooling System	Liquid cooled
Compression Ratio	8.5:1
Lubrication	Forced, wet sump with oil cooler
Exhaust	4x1x2
Induction	50 mm x 4 with dual injection, Kawasaki supercharger
Ignition	Digital
Starting	Electric
Max Power	200 PS @ 11,000 rpms
Max Torque	133.5 Nm @ 10,500 rpms
Transmission	6-Speed
Final Drive	Chain
Frame	Trellis, high-tensile steel, with swingarm mounting plate
Front Suspension	43 mm Inverted fork with rebound and compression damping, spring preload adjustability and top-out springs
Front Wheel Travel	119 mm / 4.7 in
Rear Suspension	Uni-Trak® with gas-charged shock, piggyback reservoir, dual-range (high/low-speed) compression damping, rebound damping and preload adjustability, and top-out spring
Rear Wheel Travel	135 mm / 5.3 in
Front Brakes	Dual 330 mm discs, radial-mount, opposed 4-piston calipers, dual semi-floating
Rear Brakes	Single 250mm disc, opposed 2-piston calipers,
Front Tyre	120/70 ZR17 M/C (58W)
Rear Tyre	200/55 ZR17 M/C (78W)
Rake	24.4°
Trail	101.6 mm / 4.0 in
Dimensions	Length  2083 mm / 82.0 in
	Width     770 mm / 30.3 in
	Height   1125 mm / 44.3 in
Wheelbase	1455 mm / 57.3 in
Ground Clearance	130 mm / 5.1 in
Seat Height	826 mm / 32.5 in
Wet Weight	238 kg / 524.7 lbs
Fuel Capacity	17 Litres / 4.5 US gal
Colors	Mirror coated black

Thank you Kawasaki India for inviting us for this event. Looking forward to some more Good Times ahead together.