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Kawasakis H2 Is An Exercise In SUPERCHARGED Excess
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00:00And that is Kawasaki's H2 and all of its variants.
00:03But before we get into that, let's do some introductions.
00:06We've got Adam Waheed, editor, Jeff Allen, photo director, and me, Justin Dawes, executive editor.
00:13So let's get into what we're going to talk about on the H2 here.
00:18It's a legendary nod to the legendary two-stroke triples of the 70s.
00:23That H2 name was used back in the day for that bike.
00:30And, you know, when that bike, when the H2, modern H2 came out, it shocked the world by resurrecting the name, but also adding supercharged charging to a modern motorcycle.
00:44So this thing represents one of the fastest, one of the most advanced motorcycles ever so to the public.
00:52And it's a serious flexing of Kawasaki's engineering prowess.
00:58Yeah, sure it is.
01:00And it's just, it's, if you're an influencer, you have to own one, I think, if you're a motorcycle influencer.
01:08Is that the deal?
01:10That's the deal.
01:11You want to get your influencer license or your club?
01:13Yeah.
01:14You want views, you got to have an H2 in there somewhere.
01:17So before we get into talking about what it's like to ride, what we think of the bike, influencer lifestyles, let's get through the history.
01:27So Adam's the historian for this one.
01:29He did the research.
01:30So we're going to let him run it down for us.
01:32Okay.
01:33Well, as Justin mentioned, you know, this bike is the names echoed after the 1972 Kawasaki 750 H2 Mach 4.
01:42It's a mouthful.
01:42But this was an infamous two-stroke triple known as the Widowmaker.
01:47And it was known as the Widowmaker.
01:48I think you guys can figure out why.
01:51Yeah, for sure.
01:52For sure.
01:53That thing.
01:54Yeah.
01:55Gnarly.
01:55You're talking a terrifying light switch.
01:58Bias ply tires still on the thing.
02:00A frame that was probably made of very thin wall.
02:05Jello.
02:07Tubing.
02:07Yeah.
02:08Hinged.
02:09Yeah.
02:10A hinged frame.
02:11Hinged feeling wouldn't even describe what that thing probably did when that thing came on the pipe.
02:16So I had a.
02:18Oh, sorry.
02:18Go ahead, Justin.
02:19I had my dad's buddy had an H2 that he rode around a bunch.
02:25And then he decided that he wanted to make it more of a Widowmaker.
02:29And he took the engine out and put it inside of a four-wheeler sport four-wheeler frame.
02:34Then it became the ultimate Widowmaker, I guess.
02:38Yeah.
02:39Just imagine how light that.
02:41Yeah.
02:41He was single at a time.
02:42So there was no widows to be made.
02:44So.
02:45Yeah.
02:46I wonder why Kawasaki didn't carry that name forward.
02:49For the 2025 Ninja H2s.
02:52That might be a bit of a marketing challenge, you know, for a Widowmaker.
02:55Yeah.
02:57So anyways.
02:58I'm going to buy a new bike, honey.
03:00What's the name of it?
03:01The Widowmaker?
03:03I don't know.
03:04I'm going to call the insurance company real quick.
03:05Yeah.
03:06I was going to say maybe some wives would be like, yeah, go get it.
03:08Go get it.
03:09Yeah.
03:10Well, fast forward to 2015.
03:12Kawasaki revived that name with the H2 model.
03:17And that was the Kawasaki's first supercharged mass-produced sport bike.
03:22So they had the Ninja H2, which was more of a sport bike, naked bike, because it didn't
03:26have the lower cowling.
03:27Then they had the big dog of them all, the H2R, which had the lower fairing.
03:32And that was the real deal.
03:33Well, I think 300 horsepower is what the H2R made, and the naked H2 version made right
03:38around 180, 190.
03:40So both very, very fast motorcycles.
03:42It's also worth noting that the H2R, that was a track-only closed-course model.
03:48So you couldn't legally register that on the street.
03:51You only could ride that closed-course.
03:53Of course, the Ninja H2 variant, that was a street-legal vehicle.
03:57So you could ride that on the street and get a license for that thing.
04:01And what a way to make a statement to ride around on your supercharged motorcycle on the
04:06road.
04:07Yeah.
04:07The H2R had carbon-fiber wings on it, or has carbon-fiber wings where the mirrors usually
04:14go, which is interesting.
04:17But it's not the first Kawasaki with winglets.
04:20Yeah, you mentioned that.
04:22That honor goes to the ZX-12R back in the day.
04:27But those winglets were down on the lower cow, and they were meant to separate the air coming
04:32around the body work to get the air off of the rider and then join in to the flow after
04:39the rider for better aerodynamics.
04:41Yeah, interesting.
04:43For another reason.
04:44That was sure it was a great-looking motorcycle.
04:45Oh, great.
04:46Like, I really liked it.
04:47The H2R with the carbon and the sort of black.
04:51I think it's cool, too.
04:52It's very cool.
04:53The carbon, you know, all that blacked out with just the green frame is pretty stunning.
05:00Yeah.
05:01Mm-hmm.
05:02So a couple years later, in 2018, Kawasaki added a Ninja H2SX.
05:09So this is a sport touring variation.
05:10So similar supercharged engine, but, you know, in a more practical sport touring type platform.
05:19Yeah, practical for sure.
05:21Supercharger, I always say it's practical.
05:23That screams practical.
05:25Didn't you ride that model, Justin?
05:27Oh, yeah, yeah.
05:28I've ridden that model.
05:29We'll talk about it here after we get to the history.
05:31But we got stories.
05:33We got stories for sure.
05:362019 saw some more updates.
05:38And then very soon after, the H2 gained self-healing paint.
05:42So it had that silver paint job.
05:44I think, Jeff, you shot some photos of that thing.
05:46And it was really easy to shoot photos of, right?
05:49Oh, yeah, yeah.
05:50That was like just a mirror finish.
05:52It was, yeah, it was definitely a challenge.
05:55Yeah.
05:56But that paint job somehow self-healed.
05:58If you had a scratch in it, it would somehow magically blend it so you didn't see the scratch so much.
06:04It was like putty paint or something.
06:06It's like self-leveling even after it's, you know, been around for a while, which is good because.
06:11Do we know that it actually worked?
06:13Did anyone scratch one?
06:16I don't think it repaired big, heavy scratches.
06:19But like when you were like wiping it down, like the ability to scratch that thing up was high, right?
06:28You have one little piece of dirt or something stuck in your rag.
06:31And then you're like, oh, then it works for that stuff.
06:34But I don't think if you throw it down the road, it doesn't heal itself.
06:38It doesn't heal itself.
06:39Yeah.
06:39Or you get somebody that's jealous that keys your tank as they're walking by.
06:44That's not going to, I don't think it's going to save it.
06:46So.
06:47Not yet.
06:48Give it a couple years.
06:50Yeah.
06:50So soon after Kawasaki added the IMU electronics to its Ninja SX models, which was really neat.
06:58And then in 2020, we got around 2020, we got the Ninja ZH, I'm sorry, no Ninja, just a ZH2 SE, which was a naked bike.
07:08So a little bit less boost, but supercharged naked bike for all of you naked bike riders out there who just don't think that a normal 1000cc naked bike is quite fast enough.
07:18You can get a supercharged variant with the ZH2 SE.
07:22And then in 2022, Kawasaki added the Ninja H2 SX SE.
07:27So like its other Japanese manufacturers, it loves its extra names and letters and things like that.
07:36And the cool thing about the Ninja H2 SX SE is that it added, you know, Bosch, Bosch powered electronics suite.
07:43So radar assisted adaptive cruise control, collision warning, blind spot detection, a lot of technologies that are now, you know, available in a lot of these premium motorcycles.
07:53I think you went to Japan, Dawes, and got to try those things or the future generation of those things.
07:58I got to try the future generation.
07:59I actually rode an H2 SX SE, but it had the upcoming electronics on it.
08:07So maybe it'll be the SX SE plus whatever, you know, it'll have another act.
08:15It'll have some more letters or symbols added to the end of the name.
08:18But yeah, it was really interesting.
08:20I mean, the modern, the stuff that everyone has now is pretty, works well, but it doesn't work perfectly.
08:27Where this newest setup really does work darn near perfectly.
08:33Uh, the, the arrays they had before the radar arrays were the problem, the little tiny radar on the front, it couldn't recognize more than one object at a time.
08:42And now it's able to recognize multiple objects and still keep that small space, which is important, especially for like motorcycles.
08:50Because if you get offline of something, you, it may not pick it up anymore because the, the field was also more narrow.
08:57But then if you're riding in a group and you have two motorcycles in front of you and you're riding staggered, it's picking up the, the one now picks up the one in front of you.
09:07So you pass the person that's in the, in the other side of the lane.
09:11So now it recognizes that you're writing information and it fixes all that.
09:15But the super exciting part was the, the self-braking, um, it doesn't break for you.
09:21It won't apply the brakes all the way, but it'll apply the brakes to the maximum to save you.
09:26If it, if it feels that there's a collision imminent.
09:29So, uh, Bosch found out that a lot of people, most people don't actually ever get into ABS on their bikes.
09:36They underbrake all the time, even in panic, even in a panic situation, they underbrake.
09:43Um, sure there's other people that overbrake, but, uh, the majority of people underbrake.
09:48So what it does is it uses that radar.
09:50You apply the brakes, um, and it recognizes that you're still not slowing down fast enough.
09:55It just adds brakes to the maximum.
09:57And it's pretty crazy because you just feel the lever come back in your hand and on your foot.
10:02It just applies them to the maximum and it just sits right on the edge of ABS and slows you down to the maximum it can, which is pretty rad.
10:10So, uh, that'll be, it was a, it was a, uh, a sensation that you felt safe with.
10:18It didn't, it didn't scare you.
10:19Yeah, it was super cool.
10:20Like it was actually like, I'm like, this could teach people how to actually use their brakes more effectively.
10:26So it was pretty cool.
10:28That's cool.
10:28It was, it was really nice, but there's a whole host that we could, we could do a whole show just on what I learned in Japan.
10:33But those are the two things we'll keep it, we'll get back to the H2.
10:36So, uh, pricing, these bikes can be a little bit spendy, right?
10:45So, uh, H2R, the track only version.
10:49This is a bottle you cannot take on the street.
10:53$59,100.
10:55$60,000.
10:58Yeah, that's pricey.
11:00But you know, any, any, when you think about any motorcycle out there, like if it's a sport bike, if it's track only, it's expensive.
11:09Sure.
11:10I mean, yeah, we can, we can talk about like the, the new Aprilia XGP thing's going to be $106,000 US dollars.
11:17But it's a very different type of thing, right?
11:21But, uh, uh, Desmos Adichie, right?
11:24Like what was the Desmos Adichie back in whatever that was, 2010?
11:29The thing was what?
11:31$60,000 or something?
11:32Yeah, I think so.
11:34Yeah.
11:34I was going to say maybe even closer to 80.
11:37Yeah.
11:37I feel like that these bikes aren't as limited production or as collectible as those bikes are.
11:45But, I mean, it is the ultimate expression of a Kawasaki.
11:50And so if you're willing to pay for that, you can get that, right?
11:54Yeah.
11:55I think the H2R is still pretty limited edition and collector a little bit.
11:58Yeah, a little bit, a little bit.
12:00But, um, I would say it's more like owning a McLaren rather than a Ferrari or something like that.
12:06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:07That's where I would put it.
12:08Like, yeah, they're collector McLarens, but like almost every Ferrari when you, it's kind of coveted.
12:15And it'll, could appreciate in value where a lot of McLarens don't, you know, they just kind of, because maybe because they're so good and they, they do daily things better than a Ferrari, right?
12:29It's like, they're easier to live with.
12:30So it's like a Porsche.
12:31It's like a Porsche.
12:32So, um.
12:34Well, the Ferrari has a history of, you know, uh, appreciating the, the cost appreciation.
12:40You know, you can buy a Ferrari and sell it for more years later.
12:44Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:45You know, there's a long history of expensive Ferraris.
12:49So I don't think that is particularly the case for the H2R.
12:52But if you have one, I'm not knocking you.
12:54That's amazing that you own one.
12:56I would probably just buy one and put it in a display somewhere because it is cool looking.
13:01So, um, let's talk about the H2, $32,700.
13:06That's, that's more, um, a, like to me, that's, that's not an outrageous price tag for what it is, right?
13:13It's, um, it's a sport bike, turbocharged.
13:16It's super awesome.
13:18Um, that makes more sense.
13:20Cause I mean, uh, a Panigale done up is 30 something thousand dollars, uh, you know, an M1000RR.
13:27You know, there's plenty of bikes out there.
13:29Now this bike doesn't compare to those bikes because it's, it's a different type of chassis, but you know, it's, it's more in the, the realistic price range for sure.
13:39Well, that's still a pretty exclusive company though.
13:41Yeah, for sure.
13:42For sure.
13:43Yep.
13:45Um, then we have the H2 SX SE now, uh, which is the, um, the touring model.
13:54Uh, that one goes for $29,100.
13:58So price is going down a little bit, uh, which is kind of interesting.
14:03I thought it would go up because you, you know, you've got electronic suspension, you've got bags, you've got, um, a different body work.
14:12Um, it was the first one to come with the IMU, you know, it, it, it's impressive.
14:17It's impressive that they did it for less Moolah.
14:21Um, and then probably maybe, maybe volume.
14:25Yeah.
14:25Maybe volume.
14:26Who knows?
14:27Um, and then we've got the Z H2 SE, uh, which is $21,700.
14:34So take off all the body work, a little less boost.
14:39Um, and you're looking at, uh, quite a bit less expensive.
14:44So that's the, that's the easiest or the least expensive way to get into the supercharged H2 world is with the Z.
14:51But then you have to look at it, look at it every day.
14:55Ooh, yeah.
14:55Yeah.
14:56Um, it's, it's the least attractive of all the H2s for sure.
15:01It's got that, uh, what do you call it, Adam?
15:04The styling?
15:05With Sugomi, but like it's a bad Sugomi.
15:08Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:09It's just good Sugomi.
15:11So Sugomi is like, it's, they kind of, Kawasaki base is all of their body shapes are inspired by animals.
15:20And so that's kind of the Sugomi thing.
15:22And then the angular and sharp and all that stuff.
15:25And they must have modeled after some animal with an underbite, you know, because everything's, it's, you know,
15:30instead of it being tilted forward, it's like, you know, uh, the, the bottom part of the, the headlight assembly sticks out further than the top part.
15:39And it, it, it always is kind of jarring visually to look at that.
15:45Yeah.
15:46That is like, you know, it's upside down.
15:48That it, it reminds, it's so ugly.
15:50It reminds me of the Honda CB seven 50 Hornet, which is also an incredibly not good looking motorcycle.
15:57Yeah.
15:57Also.
15:58Yeah.
15:58Kind of got the same thing going for it.
16:00Yeah.
16:01Yep.
16:01So let's talk about like, um, there's a popularity of these bikes and it's not just, it's not a popularity in ownership as much as it is like, um, a popularity.
16:12And like, it's a scene stealer.
16:16It gets people talking, people aspire to having one, um, that kind of stuff.
16:21So why do you guys think that it's, it's like that?
16:25Well, just obviously having that.
16:27I mean, uh, all of, you know, all of us motorcycle guys like to refer to the price when we either like, or don't like something, you know, the first thing you're like, Oh, it costs this much.
16:39Oh, you like to brag about how much you spent for stuff.
16:43Or, or if you can't, if you can't afford one, you, you, you poke the guy in the office.
16:48Okay.
16:48I would say I, I try to try to brag about how little I paid for stuff, but yeah, but yeah, I get it.
16:56I get it.
16:56It is a, it is a, like a status symbol, right?
17:01I've got a $60,000 motorcycle that I can only ride at a few times a year at a racetrack.
17:06Yeah.
17:07And, and, and the, in the low numbers, you know, like if you show up somewhere with, uh,
17:12the, uh, the H2, you know, people are going to want to see it because they don't get to see them very often.
17:20Yeah.
17:20Yeah.
17:21It's an exclusive bike.
17:22I mean, I don't see them on the road.
17:23Yeah, for sure.
17:25I, I think it, it kind of has that, um, that draw that when we were little kids and we all
17:34had like a Countach poster on our wall, right?
17:36Like, yeah, it's kind of like that in that it's the first supercharged motorcycle.
17:42It's got some crazy performance, you know, now it's 333 horsepower claimed.
17:47Um, you know, I think Kento, he went 200 and.
17:53Yeah.
17:53I wrote it down.
17:54Kento went 226.9.
17:57Yeah.
17:58226.9 miles an hour on that bike in a mile, right?
18:01In a standing mile.
18:02Yep.
18:03Yeah.
18:03It was at the Mojave, uh, Magnum speed event.
18:06Yeah.
18:07So in a, in a, in a mile, he went 229.
18:10So, I mean, it is insane how fast that motorcycle can go.
18:14So that's all that, um, you know, and then you've got, we should say Kent, Kent, Kent Kunisugo.
18:21He, yeah, he was a editor of a sport writer.
18:24And then he also does some writing for us on motorcyclist, uh, from time to time.
18:29So legendary sport bike rider.
18:32Um, if you're a sport bike fan, you, you know, who Kento is.
18:35And probably if we said Kent Kunisugo, you would like who, and we say Kento and you go,
18:39Oh yeah.
18:40So anyway, um, you know, one of our other colleagues, I was looking at some of the stories and he
18:48was, uh, God, where was he?
18:50He was in Qatar and he went over 200 miles an hour on the straightaway, like just on a
18:56stock bike.
18:58That's wild.
18:59Yeah.
19:00That's crazy.
19:01That's terrifyingly fast.
19:03Yeah, it is definitely.
19:05So, so I, um, so let's get into then.
19:09And I think we kind of talked, we figured out why it's so cool and people want it and, and
19:14well, let's get back into why it's so popular.
19:17And that's why the influencers have them is they are bragging rights.
19:20They do catch your attention.
19:22You stick around to watch their, their reels and their shorts and their content because
19:26you're like, Oh, that's an H2.
19:28What's that guy doing with that?
19:29What's that girl doing with that?
19:30Right.
19:31So, um, that's what I'm saying.
19:33It's a necessary tool in your influencer, uh, toolkit.
19:37You got to have an H2 if you're going to be a, a good moto vlogger slash, uh, influencer.
19:46All right.
19:47It's look cool and sound cool.
19:48Yeah, for sure.
19:50Yeah.
19:50We do all love the sound of a, of a super truck.
19:52Oh yeah.
19:53It's so cool to spin up and then the blow off a little in the cars and the bikes.
20:01I love that.
20:01Yeah, it is a cool sound for sure.
20:04So, all right.
20:05So then let's talk about riding the things.
20:07Um, Jeff, let's start with you.
20:10What do you think about the bike from your, um, vantage point?
20:15Okay.
20:16So we said something earlier, but well, for one, I find it to be a bit much, I mean, the
20:20styling and the super, as much as I love the, the sound of the supercharger, um, like I
20:27think at 300 horsepower is a bit much for a motorcycle, for a street bike.
20:33Um, but, uh, it's, it's a lot to wrangle, you know, it's, uh, uh, you need to have
20:43patience on the throttle and it's, uh, it's a lot.
20:48That's all I can say.
20:49It's a lot.
20:49And I don't think I've ever seen one on the road that I was, that wasn't in my photo
20:54shoot.
20:55I don't think I've ever like just seen one in the wild that wasn't, I wasn't working
21:00with.
21:00Yeah.
21:01Yeah.
21:01Yeah.
21:01For sure.
21:02So speaking of photo shoots, um, you have some, some input there too, because you've asked
21:10lots of riders to do things on those bikes and what always happens?
21:16Well, first they say, I don't think so.
21:19If I ask them to do wheelies or whatever, it's a little scary, right?
21:23Cause that the way the power comes on, it doesn't come on smoothly.
21:27Yeah.
21:27It ramps up like exponentially wraps up.
21:30It's not like it has like a two stroke hit or a turbo hit where it's like nothing, nothing,
21:34nothing, nothing.
21:35And then boom, it just builds so fast and so hard.
21:39Yeah.
21:39It's not, it's not like a, like any other traditional street bike where there's a, there's a direct
21:46connection from the throttle to the way the wheel comes up, you know, different bikes are
21:51different ways, you know, but that thing comes up and just almost like.
21:57Did Jeff freeze?
22:05I think so.
22:06Yeah.
22:07Uh, I thought you guys freeze froze.
22:09No, did you?
22:10Uh, start that, start that, start that thought thought over from the, the linear throttle.
22:16Uh, where was I, where did I cut off?
22:23Uh, you were talking about the throttle, like acceleration, you know, the input of the throttle
22:29on a normal bike is one-to-one and then this ramps up so fast and then you kind of disappear.
22:34Yeah.
22:35So I was saying that, you know, like you gotta be patient on the throttle, like asking, uh,
22:40like my photo models or whatever to do wheelies on that thing.
22:42Now it's a little intimidating because the way the power comes on, it's not like other
22:49traditional motorcycles.
22:50Like you get a sense for how the power comes up and it's pretty, once you've, once you learn
22:55it, it's can be pretty consistent.
22:58Yeah.
22:59I mean, it's consistent, but I mean, I'm one of those, those models that my ego actually
23:06didn't say, I don't think so.
23:07I was like, yeah, sure.
23:08No problem.
23:09And, um, Jeff was like, okay.
23:11Like he like kind of laughed like, all right, go for it.
23:14And, uh, we were on this like little section of road and empty section of road that had
23:20a corner at one end, a corner at the other end.
23:22And I go to wheelie the thing and it comes on up and I, I think I clutched it up.
23:27I just didn't come up on powers cause I, cause the, the, the space was so short and the thing
23:32just goes, what?
23:33And it went past 12 o'clock and I'm standing on the rear brake and I do like the, the Biagi
23:39like wobble, Max Biagi wiggle on the rear.
23:43Yeah.
23:43You know, I'm, I'm, I'm past 12 o'clock I'm wiggling and I'm like, Oh my God.
23:47And then it starts, it comes back and it starts dropping.
23:50And now it's dropping because I'm off the gas.
23:53I got the clutch in and I've let off the, the, it's like in a slam down.
23:57And so I gas it again to try to lessen that blow and it goes right back up to, to 12 o'clock
24:03again.
24:03And then I'm like, I'm running out of room.
24:06And so I had to slam the thing down and I was surprised that there wasn't either a crater
24:10in the concrete or an oil pan left behind me because that thing came down so hard.
24:18Uh, people in the next town over probably felt it.
24:21But yeah, it was a bit scary to watch because we were doing that and I was standing there
24:25with Alec Dare, who was the other photo model.
24:28And he and I looked at each other like, Oh wow, that was pretty close.
24:32Yeah.
24:33Yeah.
24:33We can find out the paint would heal itself when you hucked it down.
24:37Yeah.
24:37I mean, that was, that was, I think the closest I've come on a, on a photo shoot to ever looping
24:41out.
24:41Probably one of the closest I've ever come to looping out and not actually looping out.
24:46So, um, it was, it couldn't have gone much further.
24:49I couldn't have gone much further.
24:50I mean, I was almost on my back that, uh, you know, that's what I was expecting as
24:55it, as that past 12 o'clock that it was just going to tire was going to jump out and it
24:58was just going to land on my, with all of its weight with me holding onto the bars on
25:03my back, like a turtle or something.
25:05So anyway, so that gets to me.
25:08I think it's, it is too much fun.
25:11Like it is such a fun motorcycle to ride because of that crazy power.
25:15Like, is it the most effective?
25:17Is it the most useful?
25:19Absolutely not.
25:20Like I, you can get around a racetrack a lot faster on other motorcycles.
25:24You can be more comfortable in, uh, in everyday use with other motorcycles, but at the same
25:31time, you've got, you know, you've got so much fire, fire power on tap with your right
25:37wrist.
25:38You can't help, but just love just cracking that thing and hearing the, the supercharger
25:43spool up and the thing, just rush the rush of power, all that that's worth the price of
25:48admission.
25:49Like, I don't think I'd ever own one myself, but I will not ever question anyone's decision
25:57to own one of those things.
25:58Cause there are so much freaking fun.
25:59Um, yeah, that's what about you, Adam?
26:04They're awesome.
26:05Yeah.
26:05I think the same thing.
26:07They're just really thrilling to ride.
26:08Just the rush of acceleration and the supercharger blow off.
26:13It's just, it's, they're really exhilarating bikes to ride.
26:15If you've never ridden one, you know, get a chance to rent one or try one out.
26:19Cause they're awesome.
26:20Yeah.
26:21You wrote, you wrote the first one at the press launch.
26:24I wrote the 2015, the 2015 model here.
26:29Yeah.
26:29Ninja.
26:30So the first one without the lower fairing.
26:33Yeah.
26:33Just very accelerating bikes are just, they're awesome.
26:36You know, just I'm surprised you don't really see more on the road, you know, because they
26:41are so cool.
26:42And as we talked about before with the pricing, you know, $32,700.
26:47Yeah.
26:47It's definitely expensive, but that's what a lot of those, you know, Panigales V4s costs
26:53now and, and things like that.
26:55I mean, a Diavel can cost 32,000, like, you know, a monster SP is 27 grand or something
27:04like that.
27:05So, I mean, like there's so many bikes that are in that price range.
27:08I don't think it's, it's crazy for sure.
27:10But yeah.
27:10And that Ninja, the Ninja is going to make a statement.
27:13Like, it's just, it's a very unique bike.
27:15And, you know, I personally prefer the looks of the lower fairing equipped model, but it's
27:21still cool without the lower fairing.
27:23Yeah.
27:23I, I, I agree, but I also like looking at that trellis frame.
27:26I think it's, yeah, it's pretty unique, you know, and then you can, you can see the, the
27:31gear drive for the, the super, the supercharger right there on the side, it says supercharger
27:35and then you've got that.
27:37That's cool.
27:37You've got the tube feeding the, the system.
27:40Like, so mechanically it's kind of interesting to look at as well, you know?
27:45So, yeah.
27:47Um, yeah, I don't know.
27:49Uh, overall it's a super cool bike.
27:52Um, if you have one high five, heck yeah.
27:57And if you haven't seen one in person, hopefully you do at some time in your life because it
28:01is, it is something to behold for sure.
28:04Mm-hmm yeah.
28:06So I think that's going to wrap it up for the old, uh, Kawasaki H2 series.
28:11It is a legendary motorcycle because it represents the absolute peak of Kawasaki's performance
28:18engineering.
28:18I mean, it's, it's so peak, right?
28:20It, it doesn't even have a Kawasaki logo on it.
28:22It's got the, the heavy industries, um, aerospace look, you know, the different logo on it that,
28:29um, you know, comes kind of from the aerospace division.
28:32So, and that's an interesting thing is that they, they used other divisions outside of Kawasaki,
28:39um, or Kawasaki divisions outside of motorcycling to build that thing because they went to, like
28:45you said, Adam, uh, we were talking about it one time.
28:47They went to Garrett to build the, um, supercharger and Garrett was like, we can't do it.
28:52Eaton, eaton.
28:53Or Eaton.
28:53Sorry.
28:54Sorry, Garrett.
28:55No slander on Garrett.
28:58Tell your lawyers to stand down.
29:01So tell the story.
29:03Well, remember they were using superchargers on their, on their PWCs and jet ski vehicles.
29:10Yeah.
29:11That was a, that was a roots blower.
29:12So that was the, the interlaying paddles, you know, like you would expect to see on
29:18the top of a, um, a Hellcat or something, you know, big flat thing that pushes it that
29:25way.
29:25But they had that relationship with Eaton.
29:28So they're like, Oh, okay.
29:29Eaton, we're, we're, you know, engineering a sport bike and we'd like to fit a supercharger
29:34on it.
29:35Can you, can you make this, here's the dimensions and here's the engineering plans that we have
29:40for this, this component.
29:42Can you guys manufacture this for us?
29:43And they went to Eaton with this and Eaton looks at the documents that are like, we, we
29:48can't do this.
29:49We don't, we've never made anything like this.
29:50We wouldn't even know the first thing, how, so they couldn't partner with Eaton obviously.
29:55And they had to, you know, find a new solution and the new solution laid within Kawasaki heavy
30:00industries and the aviation division, and they were able to actually, uh, manufacture
30:05this, this centrifugal supercharger, you know, with an impeller that spins upwards of a hundred
30:11thousand RPM.
30:12So kind of neat.
30:14Yeah.
30:15Very neat.
30:15It is, you know, cause a lot of people don't, don't know that if all the things that Kawasaki
30:22does outside of motorcycles, we're talking everything from shipbuilding is where Kawasaki
30:26started from in the 1800s to, uh, turbine power plants.
30:31So they have some, some, uh, engineering prowess in turbines, which would be the inside of the
30:37supercharger aerospace.
30:39So they, they can build fins and things, which also, uh, goes to the turbocharger.
30:45Um, you've got bridge building, which I don't know how that would fit in, but maybe they brought
30:50one guy, one guy in from bridge building to give them a thumbs up.
30:53Yeah.
30:54You know, good job.
30:55Yeah.
30:55It looks good.
30:56So, uh, anyways, uh, yeah, it's a, it was a collaboration between all of Kawasaki to
31:02build something, not just the motorcycle division.
31:04And that's, that's pretty impressive.
31:06So, uh, you know, and it, it ties back to Kawasaki's wild seventies heritage, you know,
31:13Kawasaki has always been the one for wild motorcycles.
31:15You know, they've, they've had other forced induction motorcycles.
31:19They had the 750 turbo, the 900 turbo.
31:21Um, you had these H2, the widow maker and they were like, kind of proud of the name widow
31:27maker.
31:27Like back in the seventies marketing, like if they, they, I'm surprised they didn't actually
31:32put it in the ads, you know, get your hands on the widow maker.
31:35You know, it had this reputation and Kawasaki has always kind of had that reputation of building
31:40crazy, fast, technically bonkers things.
31:45Right.
31:45Um, yeah, they've always been known for performance and speed, you know, and yeah, you know, sport
31:51bikes and just speed.
31:52And, and that, that goes off into other areas.
31:55Like Adam said, there was the jet ski, supercharged jet skis.
31:59Um, and now there's a supercharged side-by-side as well.
32:03That just came out 250 horsepower, thousand CC side-by-side goes like a hundred miles an hour.
32:10That's cuckoo.
32:11So it's crazy Kawasaki is still unhinged and crazy all these years later, which is cool.
32:18So, um, so whether it's the, okay, no, go ahead, Jeff.
32:22Oh, no, you mentioned the jet ski.
32:23I did have a photo shoot with the supercharged jet ski and I'm going to have to pretend like
32:29I remember, I think it was a thing did about 80 or 85 miles an hour.
32:34Uh, yeah.
32:35The later ones got right up against 80, um, back a long time ago.
32:40Crazy fast.
32:41When I worked at, um, Kawasaki, I test rode the first models of the supercharged, but,
32:48uh, things, and it was crazy.
32:49They were fast.
32:50They were, it was really fun.
32:51It was really interesting, but those were very, um, low boost.
32:55Like even with that supercharge, I don't even think they got up to 14 PSI.
33:00I think they were running like 10 or 11, if I remember right.
33:02But still big power, 300 horsepower jet skis, pretty fast, pretty big.
33:08You know, they were 1500 CC, uh, with a supercharger.
33:11So, um, but let's get back to the bike part of it.
33:14You know, um, every model is proof that Kawasaki still builds motorcycles like no one else dares
33:23to.
33:23And I think that's where we should leave it.
33:25So, uh, thanks for listening.
33:27Thanks for watching.
33:28Uh, if you like what we're doing, hit the like button, subscribe, hit the notification bell.
33:32So, uh, you can get the notification of these every Thursday.
33:35Um, and put some comments down below.
33:39Let us know what you think about the H2.
33:41Would you ride one?
33:41Would you own one?
33:42Do you think they're cool?
33:43Whatever it may be, put it down below.
33:45We like to hear comments.
33:46We write back as much as we can and we'll see on the next one.
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