the fink
In lieu of…
Bikers Corner
Supercharged Kawasaki
by Gavin Foster
More than 2500 years ago Herodotus wrote of the Persian
postal service that its horsemen were stayed “neither by
snow, nor rain, nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their
appointed course with all speed”. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist
attack the United States Postal Service adapted a defiant version
of this for their 2001 Comprehensive Statement on Postal
Operations. “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat of day nor gloom of
night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged will stay
us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Ever!”
We, unfortunately, unlike the ancient
Persians and the modern Americans,
are a nation challenged, by the
ineptitude of our morally bankrupt
government. This led to many of you
never getting to read my column in
the September issue of this magazine
relating to possible technological
advances in future motorcycle
development, including the use of
forced-induction engines for twowheelers.
While your magazines mouldered in
some Post Office warehouse, along
with the rest of the nation’s mail,
Kawasaki proved my prediction
true by launching a supercharged
1000cc motorcycle that produces 300
horsepower (225 kW). The limitedproduction Kawasaki H2R is intended
for track use only, but there is a fullproduction 200hp H2 version – also
supercharged – that is roadworthy.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is an
industrial giant, producing aircraft,
dry docks, container ships, bullet
trains and tunnel-boring machinery,
amongst other things. The H2R project
is, I suspect, a massive corporate
indulgence, unifying various divisions
of the company to help the smallest
division, motorcycles, produce
something that nobody else could, all
in house. Kawasaki Aerospace took
care of developing the aerodynamics,
including the carbon fibre winglets and the
ducting for the supercharger intakes, while
Kawasaki’s Gas Turbine and Machinery
subsidiary developed the supercharger
to exactly fill the motorcycle project’s
requirements.
The 300hp H2R is a totally different
kettle of fish, and dealers worldwide
will have to work hard to be allocated
even one or two bikes to sell. At about
R600 000 it’s going to be a very
exclusive machine that would be hard
to justify on logic alone for anybody on
any sort of budget. It comes on racing
slicks, with no lights or indicators,
and every buyer has to sign a written
acknowledgement of his understanding
that the machine is intended for track
use only and is supplied with no
warranty whatsoever. Once he has his
hands on the machine that should in
theory be able to comfortably attain
350 – 400 km/h he won’t even be able
to race it [