H2R....why??

[Bumblebee]

Kawasaki made the H2R and it is not street legal....why did they bother??

I've yet to see one on a track anywhere winning superbike races...why did they waste all that money developing such a bike?

I see them for sale from time to time and the ad clearly states "track only bike" and they run around $60,000...

I don't get it.

 

[fallenarch]

Marketing. They decided to go supercharged on their big bikes and needed to pot a marker down. They were making the street version anyway so this was not a big investment for them. Would be like Suzuki doing a blown, track only Busa.

 

[Bumblebee]

Marketing. They decided to go supercharged on their big bikes and needed to pot a marker down. They were making the street version anyway so this was not a big investment for them. Would be like Suzuki doing a blown, track only Busa.

But this bike is really nothing like the street version, it is all CF, Ti and much, much more expensive to produce...was it that Kawasaki was flaunting their financial success?

I saw it race in the ManxTT and honestly other bikes did just as well and even better due to their lighter flickable weight.

 

[fallenarch]

But this bike is really nothing like the street version, it is all CF, Ti and much, much more expensive to produce...was it that Kawasaki was flaunting their financial success?

I saw it race in the ManxTT and honestly other bikes did just as well and even better due to their lighter flickable weight.

That stuff is all made to order and the customer is paying for it. The H2 has dominated the motorcycle press for a couple years now. The excitement over that bike is like nothing Kawasaki has seen in years. It's starting to look like Kawasaki had a good strategy. Bikes like the Busa can't move forward while the H2 SX is looking like the power touring bike to beat. I would say this is going pretty swell for Kawasaki.

 

[GMbusa]

Even though one would think there's no market for it but there is. People with money.

 

[bigdr]

I saw it race in the ManxTT and honestly other bikes did just as well and even better due to their lighter flickable weight.

James Hillier , a top lad , did a demo lap at TT 2015 on the new H2R , on closed roads , the only bike on the course was him . Did a genuine 206mph through the Sulby Straight speed trap . I was there , impresssive .

 

[hayabuser]

Why? Because they can. And sometimes that's reason enough.

 

[Bumblebee]

That stuff is all made to order and the customer is paying for it. The H2 has dominated the motorcycle press for a couple years now. The excitement over that bike is like nothing Kawasaki has seen in years. It's starting to look like Kawasaki had a good strategy. Bikes like the Busa can't move forward while the H2 SX is looking like the power touring bike to beat. I would say this is going pretty swell for Kawasaki.

There are a few for sale in Ontario (the province I'm in), they range from $60K up...

I know the H2 platform is the way forward for Kawasaki but the H2R makes no sense to me unless they street legalized it.

The technology is there now to make viable boosted bikes from the factory which are reliable and get decent fuel economy unlike years gone by. I'd imagine other companies will have to follow suit in order to keep up their sales...hopefully Suzuki is listening and the next Hayabusa follows this trend..

 

[Bumblebee]

James Hillier , a top lad , did a demo lap at TT 2015 on the new H2R , on closed roads , the only bike on the course was him . Did a genuine 206mph through the Sulby Straight speed trap . I was there , impresssive .

Did the H2R ever race in an open race with other bikes?

 

[hayabuser]

Did the H2R ever race in an open race with other bikes?

I don't think the factory exhaust on an H2R would be quiet enough to pass many track noise restrictions. I remember a Fast Bikes (I think) track test where the bike was too loud...

Kawasaki even mentions this on their H2R website:

 

[hayabuser]

I feel that at the end of the day, it was just corporate d!ck-swinging. They could so they did.

I think it's cool AF, the regular H2 as well. I'll look at one when they're 20 years old and $3500 on Craigslist.

 

[busafan08]

My dream retirement bike

 

[bigdr]

Did the H2R ever race in an open race with other bikes?

Nope , It's non compliant , no turbos or nitrous ..
But ..... Technically , the organisers do have wriggle room to make exceptions under certain circumstances ..
But not in my memory have they , they're would just be opening the door to a storm of protest from other teams .
Last year Stuart Garner's Norton SG8 was refused entry , it was 1200cc but he thought because Norton was returning to the TT and it being an iconic British bike , they would give him the green light , but , no . AND, that was with John McGuinness riding it . Mr TT ..

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Aprilia

has one around that price range, the new Tuono with 221 ponies weighing in at 365 pounds dry. (That’s) a light bike and should be very quick.

 

[Bumblebee]

Aprilia View attachment 1625998has one around that price range, the new Tuono with 221 ponies weighing in at 365 pounds dry. (That’s) a light bike and should be very quick.

Quite the beastie......

 

[Bumblebee]

Nope , It's non compliant , no turbos or nitrous ..
But ..... Technically , the organisers do have wriggle room to make exceptions under certain circumstances ..
But not in my memory have they , they're would just be opening the door to a storm of protest from other teams .
Last year Stuart Garner's Norton SG8 was refused entry , it was 1200cc but he thought because Norton was returning to the TT and it being an iconic British bike , they would give him the green light , but , no . AND, that was with John McGuinness riding it . Mr TT ..

Here's a video with it on the TT.

 

[greg3852]

Problem with the H2’s is they don’t stay together. Any time you try to get more out of them or ride them hard they blow. There is a well known builder who recently said he will no longer work on them because they don’t stay together.

 

[busakiller]

They built a bad ass bike. Looks ugly but motor is pretty cool. And they have many versions of the bike. Suzuki is sleeping. It would be nice to see them come out with something to put Kawasaki down for the count

 

[Bumblebee]

Problem with the H2’s is they don’t stay together. Any time you try to get more out of them or ride them hard they blow. There is a well known builder who recently said he will no longer work on them because they don’t stay together.

Did they mention how many miles were on most of the ones which blew up?

 

[Bumblebee]

There will be a day in the near future when the insurance companies will make it almost impossible to own certain bikes (and cars) as the cost of insurance will be astronomical...

Bikes today are generally written off pretty easily and as bike prices soar, so do the insurance payouts...

My neighbor is an insurance broker and told me many bikes are either very expensive or impossible to insure with many companies...for instance, she was unable to find a company to insure my bike...I went through my own insurance company which I've used for more than 35 yrs.

She was saying cars like the Hellcat, certain Camaros, Mustangs, Chargers, or basically anything with a GT, SRT, SS, are really hard to insure through most companies.

One of my other neighbor's son who is 22 bought a Nissan 370 before he priced insurance...the car has almost no miles on it and he has to sell it due to the $6500 a year insurance rate-he has no tickets and has done a couple driving academy courses thinking they'd help.