KAWASAKI Z H2 FULLY CHARGED
Big power, a big supercharger and big attention; the introduction of Kawasaki’s Z H2 caused quite a stir at the back end of last year, but was this to be a parts bin special or the supernaked we’d all been lusting for? One thing’s for sure, with a claimed 197bhp on tap and an arm-wrenching 137Nm of torque to back it up, even the most cynical of critics would struggle to lambast its potency. To put things in perspective, there has never been another production naked bike this powerful (…although Ducati will soon have something to say about that), top-trumping the onslaught of stripped off head-bangers that have swarmed to the supernaked market in recent years (think BMW S1000R, Aprilia Tuono, Yamaha MT-10). Based largely around the H2 SX’s proven motor, tweaked cams, a freer flowing exhaust and alterations to the fuelling characteristics have maintained the SX’s impressive peak performance figures (…to be found towering all the way up at 11,000rpm), but max torque is reached one thousand revs lower, and the benefits to the midrange are so blatant even Stevie Wonder could see them. The tubular steel frame is new too, the swingarm – for the first time on a supercharged Kawasaki – is double-sided like on a ZX-10RR, and the electronic suite has been given a good going over to make sure
