Kawasaki has unveiled the 2015 Ninja H2R, and it’s simply the most powerful production motorcycle ever. Its supercharged 998cc inline-4 pumps out an incredible 300 hp, substantially more than even a top flight MotoGP racer has.
It’s a track bike, and not street legal, but a road version called the H2 will be introduced in a couple of weeks, likely with somewhat less power.
In the meantime, the H2R features carbon fiber bodywork shaped in a wind tunnel that looks straight out of an anime film, with winglets on the front fairing that improve stability and direct air through intakes to help the supercharger breathe.
It has a relatively short wheelbase for a powerful bike to make it more nimble, and a steel trellis-style frame that Kawasaki says was designed to be stiff, yet flexible in the turns.
Many additional details have not yet been revealed, including price, but with about 50 percent more power than Kawasaki’s top of the line $15,899 ZX-14R ABS superbike, you can expect it to cost a bit more than that. In fact, the closest thing to it in recent years was the limited edition 2014 Ducati 1199 Superleggera, each of the 500 built selling for $65,000.
Split the difference? With a bike like this, that might just be splitting hairs.
