Totally agree. The H2 will be probaby be slower around a racetrack than just about every other liter bike. I get the whole H2R thing as a badass "look what we can do" marketing thing. But I think they really missed the mark with the H2 because it seems as if they are trying to sell them to the general public. At 25k you could get a Panigale 1299S that makes the same power, has Ohlins suspension and weighs 100lbs less. It might make a good drag bike though.
Rickey Gadson"s Kawasaki Ninja H2 vs ZX14R controversial weight comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DEmxT2UDZw
Interesting. Definitely puts it closer to a GSXR than a 'Busa. Didn't he say in another video that the extended swingarm was lighter, though?
Maybe a handful of pounds at most, and the BSTs maybe another 3 or 4 lbs, but still that's probably only going to bump it up to 470 or so (which would be about the same as a previous gen R1 off the showroom. Granted he said that's with 1 gallon of gas, top the bike up with fluids and it's going to be back to tipping the scales at close to 500 lbs I guess.
I know it's probably not saving much but when he says it like it would actually make the bike a little heavier, it's pretty funny. Especially if he's already said it's lighter in a different video.
Im guessing the arm & wheel drop a good bit of weight from the stock setup. Wouldnt be hard getting it under 430lbs wet from its current setup. That motor & charger must be heavy as all hell though. I wonder what the crank weighs?
Also saw where the advertised compression ratio was 8.5:1. Bump that a couple points and some expensive race gas... nuther easy 20hp. Curious to see what kinda intake temps the charger produces... cause then you have a whole variety of options for cooling it down, whether gas or liquid. Might as well get the most amount of fun for 15hr out of that bitch!
Kawasaki Ninja H2 Hybrid : The Rickey Gadson Version http://www.dragbike.com/dbnews/templates/fast1320_z2.aspx?articleid=34954
Toye said he thought it could probably be made into a proper race bike depending on how the trellis frame ended up working out. He couldn't tell that it was all that heavy and it was stupid fast.
Well if its 460 with one rim and a lighter swingerarm and everything else left it place you could probably mount up front and rear magnesium wheels, dump all the bodywork for lighter raceglass, and toss the steel exhaust for titanium should put it into a reasonable road track weapon.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't think this will have anything to do with the weight. If it can corner and brake worth a damn, and there's a long enough front straight, it might stand a chance.
And then tally up the price tag on all that and regret not just getting a bike that worked for a fraction of the cost.
I didn't really expect to see this bumped even though the press event is going on. (I mean, there are no cooking tips or advice on how to wax your antique crockery hutch.) Lots of talk coming out about it. One of the press bikes has hit 221mph at the Losail circuit.
