Updated Kawasaki Ninja H2 revealed, new Ninja 650 planned
Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 is more than a decade old, believe it or not, and apart from a power hike from 147kW to 170kW for the 2019 model year it’s barely changed since it became the first modern superbike to employ forced induction back in 2015.
For 2027, it’s getting another revamp, but this time instead of a power increase, it’s actually losing performance, with its peak output returning to the 147kW of the first generation model.
That’s thanks to rationalisation in Kawasaki’s lineup and the desire to bring the Ninja H2 back to the European market – which it was forced to exit back in 2021 when the Euro5 emissions standards came into force. While the Ninja H2 couldn’t meet those standards, the tamer Z H2 and Ninja H2 SX, which both use their own version of the same 998cc supercharged four-cylinder engine, were able to hit the emissions targets. By adopting the Z H2’s 147kW motor, the Ninja H2 is brought back into line, reopening the European market for the bike.
Visually, the big change is the exhaust. Gone is the trumpet-style, chromed silencer of the original, in its place comes a fat, black block that’s similar to the Z H2’s end can, but raised higher to improve cornering clearance.
Internally, adopting the Z H2 motor means the 2027 Ninja H2 has a different supercharger, intake ports, exhaust, cylinder head, cylinder, crankshaft and camshafts compared to the previous version. It’s also re-geared, putting more emphasis on mid-range thrust and less on outright top speed, so in real-world use the power reduction shouldn’t be as noticeable as it seems on paper.
Chassis-wise, it’s business as usual, with the same KYB forks and Ohlins shock as before, but the 2027 model gets Brembo’s latest Hypure monobloc calipers in place of the previous Brembo Stylemas. The instrument panel is also new, with different graphics and displays but the same external shape as before. While Kawasaki has unveiled the 2027 Ninja in Europe, we’re still waiting on confirmation for the bike in the Australian market.
Another that’s yet to be confirmed is a new Ninja 650 that’s expected to come in 2027. An updated bike has been hinted at by revised type-approval filings in the USA, filed with both the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, and in Australia. The new filings give no real details of the changes, but confirm that the engine spec will be the same as the latest Versys 650 and Z650 models, with the same power output and emissions performance. That means 50.2kW at 8,000rpm and 64Nm at 6,700rpm, and we wouldn’t expect big chassis changes so the major revisions are likely to focus on the styling and the technology.
