Kawasaki To Test The Ninja H2R At Bonneville

A top speed of 348.2kmph was recorded at the Mojave Mile, now Team 38 will try to retest the limits of the Kawasaki Ninja H2R at the Bonneville Speed Week.

Not only is it the most powerful, but as of now, the Kawasaki Ninja H2R is also the fastest motorcycle in production. Team 38 -- owned by the Japanese manufacturer, had plans to run the Ninja H2R at the Bonneville Speed Week last year, but the event was canceled as a part of the course had submerged under water. However, they took the bike to the Mojave Mile and recorded a land speed of 348.2kmph, but felt that the limited distance was not enough to test the boundary of this hypersport motorcycle. So, the team is going to retest the limits of the Ninja H2R at this year's Bonneville Speed Week and it will be an exciting show in the history of motorcycles.

Held on the massive dry salt lake of Utah, Bonneville Speed Week is the world’s most popular and prominent top-speed contest. This year's course is eight kilometers long, and longer than that of the Mojave Mile. So, Kawasaki's team will get a better chance to show-off the ground-breaking speed of the Ninja H2R. Team 38 has made some alterations in the bodywork of the motorcycle to get better aerodynamics on a straight run. The front fairing of the bike has been made into a flat surface, similar to a race bike and the wings have also been removed. It also gets an oversized front fender along with a redesigned chain cover to meet the event regulations as well as a new rear sprocket and the upper-grade Dunlop Sportmax GP-A Pro rubber.

Although, no mechanical alterations have been made and the bike continues to produce a whopping 326PS of power, using the same 998cc, inline-4 powertrain with the ram air. Riding the Kawasaki Ninja H2R for their in-house race team, Team 38, will be Shigeru Yamashita. He was hired as a test rider for the company's experimental technology department in 1989 and now has an experience of 27 years. Yamashita has also participated in the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race nine times.