VOLUME 58 ISSUE 20 MAY 18, 2021 P97
LUNATIC
RUNNING THE
ASYLUM
WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF SUPER NAKED
BIKES BUT NONE ARE QUITE AS BATTY AS
THE KAWASAKI Z H2. AND NOW IT COMES
WITH SEMI-ACTIVE SUSPENSION.
W
hen Cycle News big
cheese Sean Finley and I
put together a comparison
test of the recently released Kawa-
saki Z H2 and Ducati Streetfighter S
back in early 2020, both of us were
left flabbergasted at just how fast
the Z H2 was.
It wasn't that the supercharged
Kawasaki was actually faster than
the naturally aspirated Ducati, it was
the way in which the power would
rush in with the kind of force we
normally associate with professional
boxers rather than motorcycles.
It was a case of the power-to-
control relationship being firmly on
the power side of the equation. The
Z H2's conventional Showa suspen-
sion was quickly overwhelmed by the
task at hand of trying to tame such
an unruly beast. Our findings were
confirmed when more than one tester
from the UK agreed with our findings,
while a respected colleague of mine
from back in the land of Kangaroo
steaks said the Kawasaki felt like it
had a hinge beneath the seat.
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN NITZEN
