Direct Competition for the H-2

Lets talk about engine output and power characteristics as that seems to be popular at this point.
All we can know about this subject is to look at honest dyno traces, past history of motors that remain unchanged and engine architecture and internal design.

The Honda seems to be unchanged AFAIK, so we can assume it will still have it's smaller overall HP numbers but with a decent midrange (rideability). A good all around motor, but nothing really new.

The R-1 will feature the same motor but apparently producing greater top-end hp numbers. To get this higher output without resorting to exotic tech the motor will spin faster and/or loose midrange (again rideability) to provide this 200 hp at the top of it's rev range.


Remember that without new tech you can't have both better midrange and more hp. Take from Peter to pay Paul so to speak.

A really good example of this is the Duc GP bike, it has always made more outright hp than the others but is almost unrideable. So what else do we have that's new?

Suzuki has bold new graphics.

And lastly..... someone will say here "what about Yamaha's flat crank timing".

We can go into this in another post but suffice to say this is a marketing ploy and has no real use on the street, only Moto GP.
Gotta eat lunch....

Fretka

Non-boosted motors such as the Pani,BMW 1000RR,R-1 etc..are restricted by the laws of physics involving air-flow through the combustion chamber, port angles, diameters, surface finish, valve size and timing/lift etc. as we know.

Modern engines operating at 2 hp/ liter have just about optimized engine tech and architecture with **** little left on the table (one tech that we have yet to see in a sportbike is variable valve timing). The result is that if the displacement is to remain at 1 liter and we cannot change to higher compression ratios then the only way left to designers is to spin the engine faster. This is what (IMO) hurts rideability.

The H-2 has no such constraints and can easily make power both top ,mid and grunt without resorting to all the constraints of the other liter bikes.

So... we have a motor now that can make far too much power right from idle to the moon.
Kaw cannot offer the public an unrestricted motor so they will actually "throw away" torque to give us a smooth, reasonably safe ride.

The way they will do this is by electronics/fly-by-wire programming.
What we don't know yet is how, where, when will Kaw program the bike for power production.

Hopefully it will be seamless coming onto boost early and no hiccups as the boost controller cuts in and also when the impeller shifts into it's high rpm mode. How will throttle response be? How much total torque at any given time?

First year might be a little rough around the edges programming wise and then again Kaw knows this stuff well and it could be spot-on.

Can't wait to see.

Nice explanation....thanks...



"First year might be a little rough around the edges programming wise "...well...in my experiences with Kawasaki Flagship Motorcycles...at least with mine...never had any issues in any way.They all worked flawlessly.I can't see this bird being any different...just my opinion.The last thing they'd want is complaints on a NEW model as tricked out as this one is.

Over the course of the build-up and release of this bike...a lot of guys have talked about this going wrong,this can't be,this won't do this or that...all from guys who've not ridden it....won't get one...and all that.I fully believe Kawasaki has actually had this design(working)for quite some time.None of the tech in this thing is happenstance.It wasn't just 'thrown together' at the last minute and put out there.I'm expecting legendary Kawasaki performance and legendary Kawasaki quality.They did this machine right from the get go....there's no guesswork with this bike....I think Ricky is finding that out

I fully expect it to be a long term keeper...they take a lot of pride in their machines and their knowledge.That rivermark means a **** of a lot to those guys in KHI.

It's possible that 'miss' or whatever it is(was)is the KTRC kicking in.We don't really know what that guy had her set on...I can take a guess looking at the run...Kawasaki probably told him..."just do what we say here".....I DOUBT he had all the electronic stops pulled...seeing how one crash would be pretty poor PR for a bike supposed to be "Beyond Belief"...At the point of that Suzuka Trial and all...most likely NO ONE knew exactly what this bike was gonna really do...aside from hauling assNot to mention the Launch control and all....you see him loft several times...one of em didn't appear to be totally plannedLOL!!!That's what it looked like to me anyway.No Way was that bike even NEAR it's real capabilities at Suzuka.



"These vids are of pre-prod bikes so we can assume that the fueling maps are becoming more refined as we go"...I would agree with most of that...BUT....I don't believe they would(will)have any 'problems' fueling this bike correctly(from the first bikes...whether H2R's or H2's)....I mean...like having it stutter or something.I think that stutter was the electronics doing what they're supposed to do for how they MAY have been set....


Bazza Said..."Yes but without knowing what your feeling/seeing/hearing how will you know what your feeling/seeing/hearing"....exactly.And we DON'T know what the bike was set to for that Demo.I've ridden my 14R with the Ktrc on 1,or even 2 once or twice...it can seem like it's having a fueling problem...depending... but it isn't.It's Ktrc working.And not just 'off the line' either.I have a brilliant flash in my 14R...there are NO fueling issues with it at all...so that Ktrc will intercede at certain times...I normally ride with it off because of that.

The 14R has 3 KTRC settings(as ya'll know)...the H2....9.That's a lot of parameters going on....probably EASILY reached with this birdI would imagine THIS baby can spin the rear at almost any point in the RPM range...any speed...any gear.Gonna be SWEET!!!LOL!