Keeping your licence intact
How easy is it to stay legal on a 200bhp H2 SX SE? RIDE asks an ex-police rider to find out
DOES THE NINJA H2 SX SE encourage a disciplined police rider to misbehave? I’m riding a mixture of roads to find out — national-speed-limit dual and single carriageways, open road and twisting country lanes, to get a feel for the kind of riding it instinctively asks for.
The SE is clearly very, very good. On the move it’s obvious even at 30mph it has excellent manners and is far from radical. Ergonomically, it’s cut from the Z1000SX cloth but tailored to a bespoke fit.
On a national-speed-limit dual carriageway, I get up to what I think feels like 70mph and look down at the clocks. What I judge to be 70 is actually a licence bashing 89mph. So it’s deceptively quick; fortunately, cruise control dials in 70mph easily. One of the surprising things is the SE’S plush suspension — with no bumps or bouncing, just floating, it’s so smooth it lulls me into a false sense of speed.
On open country roads, coming up on several vehicles stuck behind a slow-moving lorry, and with a clear road ahead, I open the throttle — no sense of rushing, just a linear acceleration with a chirruping from the supercharger and the overtake is executed phenomenally quickly. The speed is momentarily ‘too fast’ but the SE throttles instantly back to normal. Rising a slight crest I feel a slight shimmy in the front end — it’s the front wheel touching down. I don’t do wheelies; I didn’t even know the front end was up. All at legal speeds and without trying. That’s something to think about.
Overall, the Ninja has the potential to get you into trouble very, very quickly. And that trouble does come more easily than most riders will be used to, thanks not just to a fantastic motor and suspension removing the perception of speed but also the addictive nature of the throttle.
But on the other hand, it’s also very easy to ride within the limits for the same reasons: tractable, useable motor and superb suspension. Yes, of course it can bring out the hooligan ASBO in us, but it can just as easily deliver a comfortable, semi-sports, long-distance tour in a very professional way. It doesn’t encourage hooligan riding... but it certainly doesn’t discourage it, either...