Motorcycle specifications KawasakiNinja H2 SX SE 2022 A high-tech tourist missile!

In 2022, Kawasaki continues its technological escalation and refines its road-going spearhead, the H2 SX, also available in SE version with electronic suspension system. " It's also the bike with the most riding aids Kawasaki has ever offered ," says the manufacturer quite simply.

But before we delve into the details of the new high-tech refinements offered by this vintage, let's take a quick flashback to the birth of this bombshell like no other!

2018 sees the arrival on our roads of the H2 SX, a kind of tourist missile derived from the H2 R(320 hp, not homologated for road use) and H2 (200 hp, homologated but only available in single-seaters) which appeared three years earlier. Boasting a 1,000 cm3 in-line four-cylinder engine supercharged by a compressor that spits out 200 hp with fury and ferocity (210 hp with the forced-air intake system), it comes with a passenger seat and offers the option of fitting rigid luggage.

The H2 SX is the most hard-hitting sport-GT on the market! At the time of its launch, Motoplanete had this to say about it: "Transforming the H2 into a sport-GT is a bit like putting a stick of dynamite in the family station wagon. We know it's going to take us far, and that it can blow up in our faces on demand. " The image couldn't be more telling!

And our dear readers confirm this in comments: " This is my third H2 SX SE, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Of all the bikes I've had, this one is exceptional," wrote Jenllau. This bike is a replica of a cheetah, gentle and monstrous at the same time depending on your brain grain." Théo, literally under the spell of the bike, echoed this sentiment: "I've been the happy owner of this bike for a short while now, and I'm really enjoying riding it. Of course, it seems pointless to have so much power available, but beyond that, the bike is exceptionally enjoyable. It's to a motorcycle what a Porche is to a car. Why buy this kind of vehicle? For the pleasure, the sensations and certainly to thumb our noses at those who want to impose a lifestyle on us. Long live freedom!

that says it all ! The power, the performance, the character, the bestiality, not to say savagery, all created not to chase the stopwatch while driving in circles on a tail-biting ribbon of asphalt, but to travel far, very far, very fast and for a very long time (if you don't get slammed by the marshals). Insane in many ways, the H2 SX is perhaps one of the last breaths of oxygen in a world where sensational mechanical pleasure is becoming increasingly anachronistic.

The H2 SX is a tribute to the sporty, rebellious image that has always accompanied the brand - a spirit born in the late 1960s, firmly established with the 500H1, then firmly anchored in 1971 with the birth of the first 750 H2! Since then, Kawasaki has continued to perpetuate this tradition with motorcycles of great character.

True to its DNA, Kawasaki has not castrated its Sport Tourer, but in 2022 is offering new technological refinements on its H2 SX and H2 SX SE to make the operation of this mile-devouring monster even more... safe. As a result, both models are equipped with not one, but two radar sensors! The front sensor is dedicated to FCW (Front Collision Warning) and ACC (Adaptativ Cruise Control), while the rear sensor manages the BSD (Blind Spot Detection) system.

fCW lights up a strip above the TFT instrument panel to indicate when the vehicle in front is approaching, while the driver retains control of the actions to be taken.
The ACC system intervenes when the cruise control is activated, automatically adjusting braking and engine speed to maintain the distance selected from the three possibilities on offer. A gradual return to the programmed cruising speed then takes place as the safe distance is re-established. While such systems may seem particularly useful in the car, where concentration can sometimes slacken, they are less relevant on a motorcycle, where involvement in driving the machine is far more important. This is especially true of the ACC system, which reacts automatically in the rider's place: perhaps in the case of a car that lurches out of control at the last moment, however, this may prove relevant. The fact remains that concentration and anticipation are your best allies when riding a motorcycle. In any case, a warning is better than an accident.
On the other hand, the new blind spot detection system (BSD), which is displayed in the rearview mirrors, is extremely relevant, as rearward visibility on a motorcycle is something to be greatly improved: mirrors too small, vibrations, not wide enough with half hidden by the rider's arms, etc. ..

as for the rest, the H2 SX, particularly in its top-of-the-range SE version, remains true to itself and still offers its Supercharger system, which gives the 998 cm3 in-line four-cylinder some 200 bhp (210 bhp with Ram Air) at 11,000 rpm and 137.3 Nm at 8,500 rpm. With 267 kg on the scales (266 kg for the standard version), and a seat height of 835 mm, this is clearly no beginner's bike. And that's despite the plethora of electronic aids and technological refinements on offer: semi-active electronic suspension equipped with Skyhook system to adapt operation to riding conditions in real time, cornering assistance, traction control, launch control, engine braking management, several riding modes, selectable power levels, up & down shifter, keyless start, LED cornering lights, tire pressure monitoring system, hill-start assistance, emergency braking signal (tail light flashes during hard braking).

As for life on board, the 6.5-inch TFT dashboard incorporates an infotainment system that can connect to the rider's smartphone and display some twenty applications. However, the question remains: does it make sense to entertain, and therefore distract, the rider when you're at the helm of a 200hp motorcycle? " Designed to be free " concludes the official internet presentation of the H2 SX SE 2022. Wouldn't freedom be more precisely disconnecting from your smartphone to take full advantage of the immense dynamic qualities of this fabulous motorcycle, concentrating on the road and the sensations it provides? Or when the best is not always the friend of the good...

Michael Levivier - Manufacturer's photos