Kawasaki Ninja H2R will go ‘quite a bit faster than 210mph’
No 186mph ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ for track-only R version
THE recently launched 296hp Kawasaki Ninja H2R will hit over 210mph, according to sources close to the firm.
Kawasaki test rider and racer Jeremy Toye uploaded a photo of the H2R to his Instagram account, saying: ‘I went 210mph on it today. The wings really work.’
Shortly after, Derek Keyes, R&D rider for Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. uploaded a picture of a bloodied helmet to his Facebook page. The caption read: ‘Hazards of the job. Hit a bird at over 200mph.’
When another user joked that Toye had ridden at 210mph without hitting any birds, Keyes replied: ‘I was going quite a bit faster than 210mph though.’
The photos have since been taken down, indicating that Kawasaki perhaps wasn’t too happy with the telling posts.
Assuming no major changes are made to the H2R between now and its official launch, the high speeds suggest it won’t be bound by the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’, set by Japanese manufacturers in 2000, restricting their motorcycles to 186mph.
Visordown recently reported on what looks like a leaked Kawasaki promo video, revealing the street-legal version of the Ninja H2.
Said to make around 200hp, it’s still unclear whether it will have enough punch to break the 200mph barrier.
The video ends with the words ‘4th November, 2014, EICMA,’ presumably telling us that is when the H2 will be officially unveiled.
