Patent photos have surfaced supposedly showing Kawasaki’s upcoming supercharged 600 cc four-cylinder, dubbed within the Akashi City, Japan, company as the “R2”. With the current model Ninja ZX-6R due for an update, could this force-fed four be its replacement?
What can be seen from the patent drawings from website morebikes is that the R2 draws a lot from the current Kawasaki hyperbikes, the H2 and H2R. A trellis frame can be seen in the top-down drawing, with the inlet for the fuel tank perched above the airbox, and extending downwards under the rider seat.
A flow chart shows the process flow of the intake and exhaust, with the fuel pump feeding what looks to be a multi-point injection system, with an exhaust valve indicated which might function in a similar manner to Yamaha’s EXUP exhaust system.
Exhaust position has changed, going from the side-mounted can on the current model ZX-6R to an underseat unit. The swing-arm, assuming this makes it into production, seems to be a welded aluminium alloy affair, unlike the massive forged unit on Kawasaki’s current model 600.
The fairing on the R2 also looks to be a development of the current unit found on the Kawasaki ZX-10R, with a large nostril inlet cutout and rounded headlights, as opposed to the angular half-fairing found on the H2. Brembo brake calipers also look to be present at the front end, based on the side-view illustration
Certainly the patent drawings look interesting, and might lead to the R2 being the “baby” H2, albeit with significantly more power output than the current model ZX-6R. With Euro 4 looming in January, it comes as no surprise that more manufacturers will be looking to forced induction to conform to emissions testing.
What do you think? Is the supercharged R2 the way foward for Kawasaki’s inline-four 600 cc supersports bike? Or might this be a “baby” hyperbike, designed to enter the line-up alongside the 400 km/h H2R?
Leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions below.
GALLERY: 2016 Kawasaki H2/H2R
Bring back the 4 cylinders. 2 cylinders is boring. If cost is the limiting factor, then forget about world superbike series.
Who did mention this is a 2 cylinder power plant? Mohan clearly mentioned that it’s a four (4) cylinder power plant with supercharger (assumption). I think that you think this is a 250cc category
3 cylinder is the new rad yo.
For 600cc it is ok to have 4 cylinder engine (which displaces 150cc saiz cylinder x 4).
If it is a 2 cylinder bike (300cc each), the torque delivery is higher at lower rpm.
While 4 cylinder engine has its own merit, many bike manufacturer and the consumers alike has learnt a big less. Which says a lot for reliabikity when the piston size is smaller than a honda cup 70cc
Is supercharged ninja, a sasuke or a naruto?
This is a bike worth owning. When is it production ready and available in Malaysia?
What exactly is patented? A motorcycle with supercharger?
Btw: How the supercharger is driven in above sketch? Normally a supercharger is driven by a timing belt, chain or shaft which seems not to be the case?
fry your balls fast with this bike. sure confirm method to control birthrate. omelette anyone?
This is certainly going to be the more accessible version of Kawasaki’s supercharged madness. I wonder though in future if the Supersport class will feature supercharged bikes. On the other , the Kawasaki’s newfound interest in trellis frame for their sportsbike is still a surprise , even Ducati has long ditched it. Other than for aesthetics reason, there must be some performance benefits to be gained.
Supercharged bikes ruled the racing scene in the 1930’s and 1950’s already, Georg Meier for example won the Tourist Trophy in 1939 on a supercharged ‘BMW 500 Kompressor’ (108hp out of 493cc at 139kg):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_500_Kompressor
Other manufacturers like Gilera and NSU used supercharging that time as well. Nowadays super- or turbocharging is forbidden by FIM rules, the last supercharged racer was the BMW RS54 from 1954.
In 5-10 years time, we will have force-fed underbone. Now that will be interesting.
that patent drawing is the same as the 2006 zx-6r
that patent drawing is the same deisgn as the 2006 zx-6r
When honda planning to stop production for cbr600rr. Kawasaki still update its super sport bike. Good job kawasaki.