Kawasaki: New model with supercharged four-cylinder engine announced

You don’t need any prophetic powers to deduce from this that the supercharged Ninja H2 is set to make a comeback. The slogan ‘Return to Beyond Belief’ is derived from the original slogan ‘Built Beyond Belief’, which was used to announce the unveiling of the first Ninja H2 in 2014.

Kawasaki has not offered the Ninja H2 sports motorbike since 2021, as stricter emissions standards came into force that year, which this model did not meet. Not to be confused with the Ninja H2R, whose engine produces 300 PS but which was never type-approved for road use and is not permitted on many racetracks because it is far too loud.

Auf jeder Geraden die herrschende Macht: Kawasaki Ninja H2

Foto: Archiv Lüthi

However, Kawasaki still has two road-legal models in its range featuring the supercharged 1000cc four-cylinder engine: the unfaired Roadster Z H2 and the sports tourer Ninja H2 SX. Their engine is identical and delivers 200 PS at 11,000 rpm in both models.

The Ninja H2 originally produced 231 PS at 11,500 rpm. It remains to be seen whether, whilst complying with Euro 5+ standards, more than 200 PS can be squeezed out of the supercharged 1,000cc engine for a new sports bike, or whether Kawasaki will simply fit the existing engine, unchanged, into a sports bike with fairing. The Milan Motorcycle Show in early November would be a likely venue for a potential world premiere.

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