Ever since it debuted, the Kawasaki Ninja H2 has been one of those motorcycles that whenever you see one, or rather hear one, you stop, ogle (respectfully), drool a bit (RESPECTFULLY), and check your bank account to see that, yep, you're still too poor to afford one. It's a poster motorcycle. A superbike of superbikes. A supercharged hellion that sounds like it has a group of pissed-off squirrels beneath its fairings.
And while I'll likely never afford one, I'm glad it exists, as it shows that the world is still OK. That machines like the Ninja H2 can exist in our increasingly electrified and health- and safety-conscious world. It's still reminiscent of the widowmaker vehicles of old.
God, I want one.
It is, however, changing slightly for the next model year, though you'd never know it given Kawasaki's latest teaser it just dropped that is unmistakably about the Ninja H2.
Now, obviously, you can hear that glorious supercharged engine at the end of the liter-bike revving. So we're clearly talking about the Ninja H2. What we can't tell is which version of the motorcycle we're going to be getting.
However, what we do know is that thanks to California's Air Resource Board, and its far stricter emissions requirements, the upcoming Ninja H2 will be slightly down on horsepower. What's set to happen is the sportbike Ninja H2 will take on the Z H2 SE’s engine mapping, which produces just 197 horsepower and not the full 228 ponies found in the original. It'll also have a lower redline by about 1,000rpm, all in the need to curb emissions from the fire-breathing daemon.
But then again, you're an exhaust and a map switch away from getting back to the original horses, so all's not lost.
As for when it'll debut, all Kawasaki is saying is in the teaser video's title, and that's "A new chapter of 'Beyond Belief' begins." Yet, the brand is known for these teasers popping up not too long before it drops the full machine. And given EICMA is just around the corner, I'd hazard to guess that we won't have to wait too long before we see what Kawasaki is cooking up.
