Z H2 test: Kawasaki’s super-inflated maxiroadster
New boss among Kawasaki roadsters in 2020, the Z H2 intends above all to dominate the competition’s maxiroadsters … Site was able to test its supercharged engine, its cycle part and its electronics in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA) on circuit, on oval (!) then on road. Test.
Z H2 test page 1: Kawasaki’s "top" model
From a business standpoint, the Z H2 is not the most important 2020 novelty for Kawasaki: the Z900 and Z650 tested earlier this winter by Site are responsible for making volume for the Akashi company. In terms of image, however, the new "Zed" has important missions to fulfill…
"We want to dominate the maxiroadster segment", declare first of all and bluntly the managers of the brand, aware that their Z1000 – and its better suspended version "R" – has been roughed for several seasons by more rivals. efficient.
- MNC special file :
- MNC test :
- Comparo 600 hp MNC :
According to Kawa, his new "top" model has two other goals. On the one hand, make young people fantasize in order to encourage them to take the A1 or A2 license before falling for a Z125 or a Z400. On the other hand, attracting customers from its rivals, especially Europeans…
To distract the bikers from the competition – English 150 hp, Japanese 160 hp, German 165 hp, Italian premiere of 175 hp, Austrian 180 hp, Italian second and third 208 hp (!!), etc. -, Kawasaki brought out the heavy artillery: its new spearhead in the roadster radius is more massive, heavier but also more powerful than any other "Zed".
The manufacturer of green motorcycles has again taken advantage of the strike force of its Kawasaki Heavy Industries group, hence the presence of its crest on the face of the motorcycle and on its dashboard, at start-up. If Kawa does not manufacture "mowers or pianos", teases its European spokesperson, its expertise in turbines has been decisive…
The all-new Z H2 is powered by a 998cc in-line 4-cylinder, liquid-cooled, twin overhead camshaft and 16 valves, developing 200 horsepower. Like the World Superbike’s engine of terror, the Ninja ZX-10R? Yes, except that the roadster’s mill is more torquey: 137 Nm, against 114.9 for the sports car.
To achieve these values, the "big" Z uses the "supercharged and balanced" engine of the Ninja H2 SX, derived from the sporty Ninja H2 and reconfigured to boost its low and mid revs. However, the supercharged block of the sporty road has been revised again in order to consolidate again the first two thirds of the roadster’s tachometer..
To do this, engine manufacturers have refined the mapping, intake and exhaust of their compressor engine. Simpler and devilishly effective in increasing the responsiveness of the new Zed, the engineers have also reduced its final transmission by adding two teeth to the crown. Ingenious, no ?!
The only compressed roadster on the market
However, will Kawasaki’s bloated maxiroadster become the best currently available on the market? To answer, MNC will have to compare it to its references. In the meantime, the Greens can proclaim loud and clear that he is the only one with a supercharged engine. An engine that the Ninja H2 SX failed to democratize, but that this Z H2 could popularize ?!
Like the Ninja H2s and the small Zs, the new Z H2 houses its engine in the heart of a tubular steel frame. This trellis has been specifically proportioned (see the dimensions of the technical sheet on the last page) so that its pilot has "the agility which makes the reputation of Kawasaki roadsters", considers the manufacturer…
Like its little sisters, the big roadster uses a double swingarm: a solution that is lighter, more rigid and simpler than the single-sided arm chosen for supercharged sports cars … and which allows Kawa to perform a glorious parallel to the ZX-10R, five-time Superbike world champion with Jonathan Rea.
The Z H2 is supplied from Showa for the suspensions: separate cylinder shock absorber at the rear and inverted 43 mm "SFF-BP" fork (separate functions and large piston) at the front. For the brakes, the Kawa "stands out": it mixes Brembo monobloc M4.32 calipers and Nissin master cylinder "for a perfect compromise", assures Kawa.
Fans of beautiful parts will therefore note that the new Kawasaki is not adorned with very latest generation or high-end elements. This deliberate choice should allow Kawasaki to place the motorcycle at an attractive price vis-à-vis the competition, while ensuring – very? – good services…
Aesthetically, the new pack leader is distinguished from his fellows by its slightly asymmetrical appearance: the aluminum air box is supplied by a duct placed on the left of the motorcycle. The front light is therefore integral with the motorcycle, to allow the pilot to turn to the left. Convenient ! Only the nose screen which covers the speedometer is mounted on the handlebars.
Site readers – who, as everyone knows, have a little more luck than others – will recognize in passing the on-board instrumentation, very similar to that of the Z650 and Z900. Modern and very complete, it gives more information than on the little sisters: cornering in bends, percentage of "boost" and compressor temperature for example, are specific to this H2.
Another link with the "small" Zs: the "Z" signature of the brake light, as well as the lighting which uses light-emitting diodes entirely, from the headlight to the license plate, including the turn signals. "Ze Zed H2 is Full LED", will summarize the anglophiles…
Would the Z H2 also be "completely ugly"? Bah "the great insult is an art. And for that, MNC is too stupid", would undoubtedly have thundered Jean Gabin. But to read the comments of readers and "friends" of Site on social networks, the Z H2 does not shine with its beauty.
The Z H2 Full LED … and completely ugly ?
Le Journal moto du Net recalls, however, that there are many fans of the "Sugomi" style in France: more than 7000 bikers fell in love with a Z650 or a Z900 in 2019. But the latter will undoubtedly appreciate the lines of the "Big Zed". European motorcycle enthusiasts, on the other hand, will remain more skeptical..
Whether they like the design of this new Kawa or not, bikers will undoubtedly tick off a few finishing points. Depending on the examples, for example, some welds in the frame are rough. On all of them, the visible screws of the nose screen and the rear buckle cover should have been better camouflaged.
Another criticism – constructive – from MNC: the first colors are too dark! The green or red tints which are limited to the frame and a few rare touches (tank, fender, rims), should be extended over the next vintages, no ?
Nothing to say about the electronic equipment: the Z H2 incorporates a Bosch inertial unit which provides information and refines the traction control (KTRC) and ABS (KIBS). The pilot has secondary piloting aids such as the quick-shifter (KQS) or even "tertiary" such as the gun start aid (KLCM) and the speed regulator.
"If our competitors offer a function, then we must also offer it", justifies the European spokesperson for the brand, eager to tick all the boxes in his sales pitch. As an accessory, there are also electrical outlets (why not standard?) Or heated grips.
The spearhead of green roadsters skips piloted suspensions. Will we appear in the Kawasaki – 2021 catalog? – a Z H2 SP SE? The use of traditional suspensions makes it possible to maintain a price at 17,099 euros, exactly in the average of the maxisportive maxiroadsters … by selecting the black color, because it is necessary to add 450 euros for the red and 650 for the green.
Handlebars in hand, what is the Z H2 really worth? To launch its "extra-ordinary" motorcycle, Kawasaki has chosen to go to an equally unique city, just like it: Las Vegas, American capital of entertainment, kingdom of games and all kinds of excesses … And an aberration ecological among many others ?
The program for this press launch is obviously "super" loaded: driving on a closed circuit, spinning on a gear ring and driving on an open road … This program is also inflated, because the roadster is not originally intended for use on the track, whether it is flat with a lot of turns, or inclined and oval … "Let’s go" !
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