Kawasaki's Team 38 is preparing to set a new record during Bonneville Speed Week on a Kawasaki Ninja H2. Team 38 will be competing on a specially prepared Ninja H2, but it's still not clear what record Kawasaki is setting its sights on. The H2 is the street-legal version of the Ninja H2 and not the track-only Ninja H2R. The supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2 makes 207 bhp and 135 Nm of peak torque. The H2R has an output of 305 bhp, with 357 bhp with ram air. Kawasaki has released a teaser video of the attempt this year at Bonneville.
Two years ago, Team 38 undertook a run at the Bonneville Speed Week with the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and during that attempt, the Ninja H2R went on to clock a top speed 220 mph (just over 354 kmph). This time around, Kawasaki's Team 38 will attempt to set a new record, but on the road-legal Ninja H2 instead of the H2R. The bike to be used this year, on August 11, is a "specially prepared" Ninja H2, but no further details have been released, or as to what kind of new record it will try to set.
Team 38 was formed by members of the Kawasaki Experimental Technology and Engineering Department in 1975. The name is a kind of tribute to Building 38, the facility at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) Akashi Works Plant. The objective of Team 38 was not just to win races, but also to expand the understanding of the bikes they built, and how they can be improved. Over the years, the crew from Team 38 has competed in multiple national and international races and has learnt vital information in the development of many Kawasaki motorcycles. Kawasaki Senior Test Rider Shigery Yamashita is expected to put the Ninja H2 through its paces at the Bonneville Speed Week.
