Ninja H2 SX test: sporty road bike, in green and against everything !
Kawasaki has no shortage of air: three years after the launch of its Ninja H2 / R, Akashi’s firm is releasing a new supercharged motorcycle! Equipped with the second generation of 1000 cc 4-cylinder compressor, the Ninja H2 SX has just been tested by Site… Test.
Ninja H2 SX test page 2 – The new green giant
Le Journal moto du Net had already seen the Ninja H2 SX, highlighted by the spotlight of the Kawasaki stand. Two months later, under the simple but pleasant sun of Estoril, the impression remains:! It worries or inspires, intrigues or intimidates … All of this at the same time! One thing is certain: she does not indifferent anyone and makes people talk. First point scored.
Like their fellow engine manufacturers, the Akashi designers put a big ladle of wasabi when preparing this Ninja H2 SX. The unique style of the original Ninja, described as "particular" including by a member of the Kawasaki France staff, is preserved.
The front of the super sporty road – or the super sporty road? – is particularly streamlined and has two gaping air intakes on either side of the lens headlight surrounded by its specific sidelights. Sorry, there is actually only one real air inlet, on the left. In its extension, the tunnel – holed to improve acoustics! – supplies the compressor.
Seen from the rear, this new "SX" seems more massive than the "short" H2, mainly because of its double brake light. Since then, Kawasaki has had fun signing his works: on this new Ninja, the LEDs draw two letters "H" in red. "The other bikers will know that they have just been overtaken by an H2", jokes the designer Juichi Oyanagi. Not stupid !
Taller and a little longer (see last page), but also more streamlined than the H2, this highway Ninja H2 imposes it. The unique black and green color of the "SE" special edition accentuates this feeling of large volumes. MNC notes in passing that the green of this new SX is deeper – darker and more glittery – than that of the: a real success !
Conversely, the Ninja H2 SX has a single-outlet exhaust that is much less bulky than the double that equips the pure sport. The polished Nunchaku-shaped rear rim – which MNC still finds so beautiful! – is thus better highlighted.
Ultimately, this 2018 novelty may appeal to fans of "big", but also to fans of "small" Z1000SX who want more watts, or even to bikers who cannot find a motorcycle in their garage at the competition: the Hayabusa is aging, the K1300S and CBR1100R have disappeared. Hard.
Kawasaki also calculates that the future owners of Ninja H2 SX will be 40% of the customers of conquest. Demand – therefore supply, and vice versa! – sports motorcycles in general is at its lowest, the sports road segment is almost non-existent … But Kawasaki persists and intends to seduce the last diehards !
As a reminder, the "standard" Ninja H2 SX model (black color) will not be imported into France: "it is a commercial choice of our subsidiary", explains to MNC the marketing and communication manager of Kawasaki France, Antoine Coulon. Would ZZR and SX customers be more demanding … and richer in France than abroad? ?
The compressor at the price – a little – compressed
To afford the Ninja H2 SX (SE!), French bikers will therefore have to drop a check for 21,999 euros payable to their adored dealer … to be loved! In exchange, fortunately, buyers are guaranteed to have the most successful motorcycle in the Kawasaki catalog..
"Super Charged" technology comes naturally to the top of the sales pitch: the Ninja H2 SX is the only compressed road bike available on the market! Kawasaki thus emphasizes that its power / weight ratio (200 hp for 256 kg) is between that of the ZZR1400 (200 hp / 268 kg) and that of the Ninja H2 (205 hp / 238 kg). In terms of price too, the novelty is between the two.
Identical in appearance to the original engine but very thoroughly revised, the second generation of the air-fed water mill is described by its designers as more balanced. The Ninja H2 SX is therefore supposed to be much more docile and sober than the first model.
"The very low consumption represents real progress compared to the compressor Ninja H2: it is now aligned with that of the Z1000SX and Versys 1000", promise the Greens. With its 19-liter tank (Vs 17 on the H2 "very short"), this machine could thus cover 333 km in one go: "your girlfriend will want to stop before", estimates the tongue-in-cheek and porter. Kawasaki Europe lyrics !
Cooler at the pump, the engine of the SX would at the same time be less hot to manage with the right wrist and less hot in the buttocks and thighs. "Cleverly designed, the trim protects the driver without overflowing, thus balancing comfort and aerodynamics" boasts Kawa.
Although more tempered, the Ninja H2 SX benefits from the same electronic assistance as its sister: compulsory ABS (KIBS) which takes into account the inclination of the motorcycle, electronic accelerator and double butterfly injection, three KTRC modes with traction control and antiwheeling , three engine modes, engine brake management … All this, informed and refined by the IMU inertial unit (read the technical point on the fourth page).
The SE version is also fitted as standard with two piloting aids developed for speed circuits: the start-up assistant – gun! – KLCM allowing to perform the "hole-shot" at the exit of the motorway tollbooth, as well as the quickshifter which works not only when increasing but also when lowering gears, from 2500 rpm.
Great first on a Kawasaki motorcycle: the instrumentation of the Ninja H2 SX SE incorporates a color TFT screen! It was time for Akashi’s firm to update itself on this point: a competitor based in Mattighofen (Austria) has been offering this type of slab on its 125 cc for a year….
Another more surprising novelty still: the Ninja H2 SX SE is the first Kawa sport roadster to benefit from cruise control! If the old VN1700 Voyager – and the Jet Ski Ultra 310! – were already benefiting from cruise control, this was not the case with ZZRs, nor even GTR !
Still on the SE, the leading edge of the fairings is adorned with a series of three additional lights which should improve visibility in bends: when the motorcycle exceeds 10 km / h, the LEDs light up depending on the speed. angle of the machine and illuminates the interior of the path. Bright idea to validate at night…
The most successful Kawasaki motorcycle ?
To complete its range of road bikes, the SE version – like Sur Equipee! – the Ninja H2 SX also receives an original high screen to shelter its driver from the wind, heated grips to protect him from the cold, a 12V socket to power his GPS or smartphone, and a central stand to protect his chain from ravages of time … and the engine that shamelessly shoots him !
Continuing its inspection, Site noted the presence of elbow valves on the rims – even if the rear is very easy to access thanks to the single-sided arm – and a handy knob to adapt the preload of the rear shock absorber according to the loading.
Unlike the ZX-10RR SE (also "Special Edition"), the Ninja H2 SX SE does not have electronic suspensions. "We could not directly transfer the new suspensions of the Superbike to the road", explains the "dad" of the Ninja H2 SX, Hiroyuki Watanabe..
“It was impossible to manage all the projects head-on,” Watanabe San continues, “but if in the future the demand for electronic suspensions on the Ninja H2 SX arises, we could quite meet it”. This hypothetical Ninja H2 SX SE "Plus" would then truly become the most sophisticated Kawasaki motorcycle ever designed. ?!
"There are also cost requirements to be respected", temper the head of the brand in France. Without the electronic suspensions, the new Ninja will be displayed in March at a price of 21,999 euros, a thousand less than the estimate made by our same interlocutors at the Eicma show in Milan where the beauty / beast had been presented.
Suddenly, the price of the top-of-the-range "Sport Tourer" remains under the advertised € 23,000, even by equipping it with essential suitcases: "the rigid saddlebags are sold separately for 851 euros per pair, without the supports since the handles original passenger act as attachment points ", emphasizes Kawa.
As is often the case with Kawasaki, a Tourer pack will also be offered at the release of this new bike next month: in addition to the suitcases, it will include interior bags adapted to the aerodynamic-not-very-practical shape of the suitcases (origin Givi), as well as crankcase guards and knee guards.
"No, it is not possible to install a top case on this bike", warns Kawasaki France. Like the Z1000SX, this new Ninja H2 SX is classed as a sporty roadster: it is neither GT nor utility !
Site was able to take control of this very important new Kawasaki 2018 on the – more or less – beautiful roads of Lisbon and its surroundings. In a second step, MNC was also able to run on the Estoril circuit, in order to test the maximum performance of the engine and the behavior of the chassis … Engine, (re) action, next page !
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