Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

H2

Browsing
Bikes

Kawasaki Ninja H2R – Officially 300hp of Hyperbike

By 56 Comments

It is finally time for the Kawasaki Ninja H2R to become officially official. No more teaser videos with weird chirps, no more fake news stories for pageviews, no more leaked photos (x2)…now we finally get to see what all the hype is about with this hyperbike.

Though now that the time is here, it is hard to say something new about the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja H2R that hasn’t already been said. Rebirthing a name that is synonymous with the original superbike war between the Japanese manufactures, Kawasaki has reinstated an old game, and made a bold first move.

At the heart of the new Ninja H2R is a supercharged 998cc inline-four engine which produces 300hp horsepower. You did not read that figure incorrectly. Wrapped around it is a fetching steel-tube trellis frame.

Building a machine that conformed only to Kawasaki’s own desires to make the ultimate motorcycle, it is perhaps refreshing to see a sport bike that isn’t constrained by the rules of a racing series — though Kawasaki has some racing in mind with its carbon-fiber dripping Ninja H2R model.

Essentially a rolling showcase for Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the Japanese OEM hopes that the H2R will serve as a halo product for the rest of the company’s motorcycles, similar to what the Ducati 1199 Superleggera does for the Italian brand, as well as the Japanese firm’s work with its other subsidiaries.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

OMG: Leaked Hi-Res Photos of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R

By 40 Comments

In five hours the Kawasaki Ninja H2 will officially debut at INTERMOT…of course, the internet waits for no motorbike. In addition to the first leaked photo we brought you, we now have a bevy of high-resolution images of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, the racing sibling to the H2.

Several sites now are tipping the Kawasaki Ninja H2R as making 300 horsepower from its 998cc inline-four engine, a number that is achieved by the H2 & H2R’s centrifugal supercharger. That figure is much larger than some publications were reporting from their “sources” inside Kawasaki — or were just fabricating wholesale to get pageviews.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

LEAKED: Here is the First Photo of the Kawasaki Ninja H2

By 37 Comments

Our INTERMOT coverage is in full-swing today, and we bring you the first photo of the Kawasaki Ninja H2. Showing more clearly the wings we spotted in Kawasaki’s last video, we can see now the extent that the Japanese company has gone to in making the H2 more aerodynamic.

Our sources tell us this the “race” version of the supercharged Ninja H2, though what it’s racing, we are not sure — our bets are on either land speed records at Bonneville or the Millennium Falcon.

Keep Reading
By
News

The Kawasaki Ninja H2 Has…Wings??!

By 29 Comments

While some publications have been outright fabricating information about the new Kawasaki H2 to get eyeballs and clicks, we have been trying to filter Kawasaki’s massive marketing campaign, so you only get the most distilled information. That’s sort of our mantra here at Asphalt & Rubber.

So, you will forgive us then for showing you yet another teaser video on the H2, but we think there is an interesting development here. The ninth installment thus far, Kawasaki is focusing on the aerodynamics of the hyperbike, and from what we can see, the Kawasaki Ninja H2 comes equipped with aerodynamic wings.

The winglets look a lot like those found on the Ducati Desmosedici GP10, which served more to help flow air across the very hot V4 engine, rather than to provide any sort of downforce. What Kawasaki is using them for, that’s up for debate.

One shot seems to show the H2’s mirrors, and their aerodynamic shape, while the other two shots have us guessing. One is clearly a winglet, possibly near the front of the machine, which would help pull the air around the rider (especially around the legs) more effectively.

The third shot (actually the first in the video), look like a rear spoiler/diffuser to us, but we’d love to hear your theories in the comments section.

Keep Reading
By
News

The Most Ridiculous Thing I’ve Ever Seen in This Industry

By 60 Comments

I have seen a lot of things in the motorcycle industry since I started Asphalt & Rubber, but never before have I seen something like this. During the autumn months, it is not uncommon for A&R to receive tips about new motorcycle models that are about to debut, and today was seemingly no different.

This morning we got an enthusiastic email from a purported regular reader (make that two readers now), asking why we weren’t covering the leaked details on the supercharged Kawasaki H2, which were apparently “going viral” all over the internet, as the email told us. To give us proof of that assertion, they included in the emails links to a Facebook page for a new web forum for the H2, which is where the leak apparently occurred.

A quick check on our massive RSS feed (roughly 600 publications now) showed the viral story had only been picked up by one other publication, Motorcycle.com. MO ran the story with the headline “Inside Info About Kawasaki’s Radical H2 Sportbike?” — which had been written by the ever loveable “Motorcycle.com Staff” author, and qualified with the profession’s ubiquitous “?” phrasing.

Our friends at MO certainly do a bit of traffic (I say that with sincerity), though I normally wouldn’t use a single publication covering a story as an indication of that story going viral, but ok whatever…hyperbole is part of the game.

Like any good editor though, I dove into the story deeper. What I found has me supremely worried.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

A Brief Glimpse of the Kawasaki H2 in Action

By 23 Comments

At the pace Kawasaki is going, it looks to be a long, painful, drawn-out debut for the Kawasaki H2. We’re six videos in now, and not much about the supercharged sport bike has been revealed. Sure, we’ve heard the sound of the bike’s centrifugal supercharger and inline-four engine, and we have gotten a glimpse at the H2’s lines, but our appetite desires more.

Today won’t be that satiation, though we do get to “see” the Kawasaki H2 for the first time…as it does triple-figures past the camera. Once again, Kawasaki takes off another piece of clothing in this two-wheeled burlesque show, yet manages not to show us anything worth the excitement.

We will likely just have to wait until September 28th, when the Kawasaki H2 officially breaks cover, ahead of the INTERMOT show.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Our First Glimpse of the Supercharged Kawasaki H2

By 26 Comments

At the end of this month, Kawasaki is set to debut a supercharged sport bike, which the Japanese company says will be a game-changing event.

We’ve already seen the Kawasaki H2’s supercharged inline-four engine, as well as the supercharger’s patent, and Team Green has even been kind enough to send us the H2’s exhaust note as well.

Continuing to tease the new Ninja’s debut video short web videos, Kawasaki is finally giving us an idea of what to expect visually from the new H2.

Making an homage to the big-displacement motorcycle of Kawasaki’s past, you’ll want to watch the video after the jump. We’ve enhanced a screen grab for you as well.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Listen to the Sound of the New Supercharged Kawasaki H2

By 23 Comments

Continuing to build the buzz around its newest sport bike, Kawasaki has sent us a sound clip of the new H2 motorcycle, which the company will debut at the upcoming INTERMOT show.

Team Green has been pretty tight-lipped about the Kawasaki H2, though there have been plenty of clues sprinkled around for us to suss out that it will be a sport bike with a supercharged inline-four engine.

Listening to the provided sound clip seems to confirm our notion that Kawasaki’s new supercharger system is at work.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

The New Supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2 is Coming Soon

By 22 Comments

Kawasaki is teasing a new model today, which it will unveil at the upcoming INTERMOT show in October. Called the Kawasaki H2, the name harkens back to a pivotal time in Kawasaki’s motorcycle history, where the Japanese company made one of the most highly regarded line of sport bikes of its time.

While the video itself reveals very little in information, and only a couple looks at the machine, the teaser website provides us with a little more information.

Hidden in the website is the following phrase: “The Ninja H2 was not designed with meeting regulations a primary concern. Kawasaki’s latest flagship is the result of a pure exercise in pushing the limits of motorcycle technology with the goal of creating the ideal road sports bike.”

Keep Reading
By