The Most Powerful Sports Bike On Sale Today
200 horsepower has become the new normal for flagship sports bikes in recent years. In fact, it’s so normal that anything under 200 horsepower is simply considered unacceptable by new-age enthusiasts. Accordingly, nearly all of your top-drawer superbikes breach that mark with ease, with most of them being beyond the 210 mark. However, the most powerful sports bike on sale today makes that figure look puny, and speeds of 186 mph seem like just the beginning.
There Is No Shortage Of Over-200-HP Superbikes In The Market
In the inline-four department, the leader is the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Its 1,000cc four-pot engine has 214 horsepower without any help from VVT or ShiftCam tech. The S 1000 RR closely follows with its 999cc inline-four engine producing 210 ponies (205 in America).
Then, we have the Italian V4s. Yes, both the Ducati Panigale V4 and Aprilia RSV4 cheat with their over-1000cc engines, but that helps them promise 216 (208 in the US) and 220 horsepower, respectively. Ducati also has the Panigale V4 R–with its sub-1000cc Stradale R engine–producing 218 horsepower from the factory.
As good as all these are, the most powerful sports bike takes a different approach. It goes the forced induction way to promise over 300 horsepower while still keeping the under-1000cc capacity. What’s more impressive is that this superbike debuted over a decade ago, and yet nothing has come close to beating its output since then.
The Kawasaki Ninja H2 R Produces Well Over 300 Horsepower
Price: $62,100
While Japan seems on the back foot in the superbike segment, the title of the most powerful superbike still lies in its hands. This is thanks to the Kawasaki Ninja H2 R that produces a whopping 322 horsepower at 14,000 RPM and 121 pound-feet at 12,500 RPM. These are 122 horsepower and 30 pound-feet up from the most powerful naturally aspirated superbike. Kawasaki also has a fully road-legal version of the H2. This caps the output at 240 horsepower and 105 pound-feet, which makes it the most street-legal superbike you can buy today.
The H2 R’s Sub-1000cc Supercharged Engine Is A Thing Of Beauty
From the spec sheet, the H2 R’s engine might seem normal. After all, the displacement is under 1000cc, and it’s a simple inline-four layout. But dive deeper, and you’ll know it’s more of an engineering marvel than just another engine. The party trick is a supercharger developed specifically for motorcycles. This is a centrifugal unit, made in partnership with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, where the impeller spins at over 130,000 RPM (~10x the speed of the crankshaft). Over 53 gallons of compressed air per second can enter the engine at 2.4x atmospheric pressure.
High-end components are present all around, comprising polished intake ports, an aluminum airbox, and a dog-ring transmission. An interesting detail is the presence of cast pistons rather than forged ones. These are said to improve heat management at speed. Finally, since the engine has such high-end bits, the service intervals aren’t normal either. A tolerance check is necessary every 15 hours, and a full service after 30 hours of abuse. That’s the price you pay for over 300 horsepower.
A Unique Chassis Pairs Up With High-End Suspension
Like the special engine, the underpinnings are special, too. Kawasaki has ditched the aluminum perimeter frame usually seen on its flagship Ninjas in favor of a high-tensile steel trellis chassis. This frame is MAG welded with a multi-axis coordinated-control welding robot cell. The frame works in tandem with high-end KYB 43 mm AOS-II forks and an Ohlins TTX36 monoshock–both fully adjustable. Kawasaki says the Air-Oil-Separate forks mean “the initial stroke is smooth and compliant followed by progressive damping through the end of the stroke”.
The suspension is tied up with 17-inch star-shaped alloy wheels, where the rear is put on full display thanks to the single-sided swingarm. You should know that these are cast aluminum rather than forged aluminum or magnesium like we’re used to seeing on ‘regular’ superbikes. As for brakes, dual 330 mm front discs with Brembo Stylema calipers and a single 250 mm rear disc with a two-piston caliper round things off.
The H2 R Is A Bit Porky
We know a steel frame, cast wheels, and a single-sided swingarm aren’t the lightest components in the superbike world. That’s why aluminum frames and double-sided swingarms are more common. Thus, the H2 R isn’t exactly lightweight. The curb weight is 476 pounds, which is around 30 pounds higher than a regular modern-day liter-class machine. This figure is higher than Kawasaki’s own Ninja ZX-10R, too. The added weight, along with the long wheelbase (57 inches), should mean better straight-line stability, though.
Wind Tunnel-Tested Aerodynamics Improve Stability At Speed
Speaking of stability, the H2 R’s aerodynamics help with that. For this, Kawasaki looped in its Aerospace Division for an uber-purpose-built design. At the front, the chin panel on the front cowl improves high-speed stability. You also get rearview mirror-like CFRP wings created by reducing the strength of the wingtip vortices that would otherwise cause turbulence or disturb the laminar flow needed for the wings to effectively generate downforce.
Plus, a set of fairing-mounted vortex down control wings smooth the airflow so the wings (mounted behind them) can do their thing effectively. At the rear, the cowl has a taller center portion, creating an aerodynamic form that helps smooth airflow as it passes the rider. The center and side pieces further reduce air resistance. All the bodywork is carbon fiber, and the fairings have a self-healing silver paint (again from the Aerospace Division).
Cutting-Edge Electronic Aids Keep The Rubber Side Up
Finally, in typical flagship superbike fashion, there is a heavy dose of electronic aids for your safety. A Bosch six-axis IMU serves as the centerpiece to enable launch control, traction control, wheelie control, cornering ABS, engine brake control, and a quickshifter—all as standard. A back torque limiter and an electronic Ohlins damper are present, too.
How do you access these? Well, via a semi-digital instrument cluster. As sexy as the analog tachometer looks, we can’t help but feel the lack of a TFT here. After all, you are paying well over $60,000 here. And even the comparatively regular H2 has a similar cluster but with a TFT screen.
Source: Kawasaki USA
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