Some years ago I had the pleasure of seeing a brand new H2R at Kawasaki HQ in the flesh when it was first released . What a stunning piece of kit . Beautiful , business like and with a spec sheet that was more than a little scary . Since then , Scott Wilkins has gone on to be the fastest man in New Zealand aboard that bike , which requires not only a phenomenal bike , but decently sized grapefruit too . So , when the call came that KR were getting an H2SX SE to test , excitement levels peaked along with interest and a whisker of trepidation . Why the trepidation ? Well , excitement is selfexplanatory . Interest ? Because , in the past I ’ d owned a ZZR1400 Ninja prior to traction control and ABS being common place and at the time it was the quickest production bike on the planet . I was genuinely interested in how the H2SX SE would stack up . And the trepidation ? Well , because holy shit ... how fast was this thing going to be ?
STYLISH , SOPHISTICATED , MIND-BLOWING Up close and personal the Kawasaki is stunning
and brilliantly put together . It is modern , edgy , and very stylish with sensible ergonomics . There are cool ducts and wings and things everywhere and those magic words “ super-charged ” written on the side . However , it still looks like a functional sports tourer . The small central headlight is distinctive and while the triple cornering lights each side are not a new thing , they fit the “ look ” well . The green metallic paint is beautiful . Before I get on to the ride , it must be said that Kawasaki has incorporated a dizzying amount of technology into the H2SX SE . It is mind blowing . Kawasaki lists 24 separate functions under technology . There is KCMF , KTRC , KLCM , KIBS , ABS , VHA , KIPASS , SPIN , ESS , TPMS , ARAS ... the list goes on . Without making this read like a tech briefing ARAS ( Advanced Rider Assistance System ) is a biggie for safety and SPIN is interesting . ARAS covers things like cruise control with radar scan to maintain safe following distances . It also incorporates blind spot detection and forward
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