New ride for the dune season - Kawi H2

Here is a good Chupacabra video. I think more will like this one vs the previous H2 review video Nick did on the H2. This video goes on a 500 mile AZ trip and talks about the H2 along the way.

 
So I had a week to reflect on my first trip with the H2 and the more impressed I am with the car. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about the next trip.

The more I think about the belt breaking and talking to a few of my friends that were following me, I was really asking for it as I was not being kind to the belt. I guess I was enthralled with the power, acceleration, and suspension and I was a hammerhead with the car. Not use to having a car that can take the hits and keep the speed. I think I was more pissed the belt put a hole in the cover than the belt breaking. Thankfully Kawi does not charge Speed prices on parts and the cover is around $137. I am going to look and see about putting some type of lining in the cover to prevent the belt from breaking it.

I am putting on the KWI weights after I talked to them. Hopefully these will improve belt life and overall acceleration. KWI said the stock belt is actually really good so I will be going back to the stock belt and keep the longer Gboost belt as a back up.

I think the front shocks might need some more compression as the they seem to blow thru it a little quicker than I like on some transitions. I could be coming into hot, but still feel it could be better. I do not think the spring rates are off and it is just some valving or change in where the holes are in the internal bypass tube. Before I go down that rabbit hole, I am going to raise the right height a little more and move the crossover rings. I feel no need to mess with the rear shocks. I will say the stock springs showed no signs of sagging and I think they are legit Fox springs (whoever makes them for them) as they have Fox part numbers on them.

I order a Rugged Radio set up as they had a really good pricing over the Thanksgiving weekend. It has arrived and hopefully will be installing it this weekend. I was looking at the PCI stuff and really like it, but the cost savings with the Rugged set up was too hard to pass up. Plus I have been running Rugged stuff for years and really like the M1 Radio.

I am hoping to also wiring up my Baja Design XL80s I kept off my old car. I found the stock headlights to be decent as they have a good spread to about 15' in front of the car. I think with just a pair of XL80s on the A-pillar it should be enough light for night rides. If not I will likely add a lightbar. I have some 5150 Whips that I kept and might wire them up to just pigtail off the running lights. I have been using the day whips and really not a priority. I have no clue how big the charging system is on the H2 as I can not locate any information on it. It might be there and I am just blind.

I have no plans to change out the stock seats or harnesses. I found the stock seats to be comfortable and they hold you in as good as the aftermarket seats I had in my X3. I like the stock harness as they are easy to adjust and click in. Plus I like that at slow speeds to can lean forward if you need to take a peak (this is handy on slow rocky trail rides). They are similar to the Can Am stock harnesses. I have a set of 2" PRP harnesses in my garage that I can install if need be.

No plans to do a cage on this car as I like the stock cage and the visibility it provides. The sight lines on the H2 are really good from the drivers seat. The seat height is in between a Polaris Pro R and Can Am. Plus the overall designed of the cage (other than being bolted together) is like some of the aftermarket offerings. It is my understanding Kawi did some testing on the cage.

I would like to get some type of padding on the driver's door as I found my knee would rest against it due to how the dead pedal is placed. The interior door panel have rough feel. Probably a piece of marine padding they use on decks would work.

I am starting to really like the Garmin Tread GPS that comes with the car as I figure out how to use it. It has way more features then I will ever use. If there are others in your group with the Garmin you can link them like the Polaris Ride Command and track each other. This will be handy on those dusty desert rides when people get spread out.

I will post up some install pictures when I install the Rugged Radio. From watching a video it appears the dash comes apart pretty easily and the install should hopefully be pretty straightforward.
 
Sand Shark said:
So I had a week to reflect on my first trip with the H2 and the more impressed I am with the car. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about the next trip.

The more I think about the belt breaking and talking to a few of my friends that were following me, I was really asking for it as I was not being kind to the belt. I guess I was enthralled with the power, acceleration, and suspension and I was a hammerhead with the car. Not use to having a car that can take the hits and keep the speed. I think I was more pissed the belt put a hole in the cover than the belt breaking. Thankfully Kawi does not charge Speed prices on parts and the cover is around $137. I am going to look and see about putting some type of lining in the cover to prevent the belt from breaking it.

I am putting on the KWI weights after I talked to them. Hopefully these will improve belt life and overall acceleration. KWI said the stock belt is actually really good so I will be going back to the stock belt and keep the longer Gboost belt as a back up.

I think the front shocks might need some more compression as the they seem to blow thru it a little quicker than I like on some transitions. I could be coming into hot, but still feel it could be better. I do not think the spring rates are off and it is just some valving or change in where the holes are in the internal bypass tube. Before I go down that rabbit hole, I am going to raise the right height a little more and move the crossover rings. I feel no need to mess with the rear shocks. I will say the stock springs showed no signs of sagging and I think they are legit Fox springs (whoever makes them for them) as they have Fox part numbers on them.

I order a Rugged Radio set up as they had a really good pricing over the Thanksgiving weekend. It has arrived and hopefully will be installing it this weekend. I was looking at the PCI stuff and really like it, but the cost savings with the Rugged set up was too hard to pass up. Plus I have been running Rugged stuff for years and really like the M1 Radio.

I am hoping to also wiring up my Baja Design XL80s I kept off my old car. I found the stock headlights to be decent as they have a good spread to about 15' in front of the car. I think with just a pair of XL80s on the A-pillar it should be enough light for night rides. If not I will likely add a lightbar. I have some 5150 Whips that I kept and might wire them up to just pigtail off the running lights. I have been using the day whips and really not a priority. I have no clue how big the charging system is on the H2 as I can not locate any information on it. It might be there and I am just blind.

I have no plans to change out the stock seats or harnesses. I found the stock seats to be comfortable and they hold you in as good as the aftermarket seats I had in my X3. I like the stock harness as they are easy to adjust and click in. Plus I like that at slow speeds to can lean forward if you need to take a peak (this is handy on slow rocky trail rides). They are similar to the Can Am stock harnesses. I have a set of 2" PRP harnesses in my garage that I can install if need be.

No plans to do a cage on this car as I like the stock cage and the visibility it provides. The sight lines on the H2 are really good from the drivers seat. The seat height is in between a Polaris Pro R and Can Am. Plus the overall designed of the cage (other than being bolted together) is like some of the aftermarket offerings. It is my understanding Kawi did some testing on the cage.

I would like to get some type of padding on the driver's door as I found my knee would rest against it due to how the dead pedal is placed. The interior door panel have rough feel. Probably a piece of marine padding they use on decks would work.

I am starting to really like the Garmin Tread GPS that comes with the car as I figure out how to use it. It has way more features then I will ever use. If there are others in your group with the Garmin you can link them like the Polaris Ride Command and track each other. This will be handy on those dusty desert rides when people get spread out.

I will post up some install pictures when I install the Rugged Radio. From watching a video it appears the dash comes apart pretty easily and the install should hopefully be pretty straightforward.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the first trip review of the H2. I still need to get in one to hear the SC noises, and get a feel and comparison to the Speed and Pro series.
 
NIKAL said:
Thank you for the first trip review of the H2. I still need to get in one to hear the SC noises, and get a feel and comparison to the Speed and Pro series.
Click to expand...
If we can coordinate something you are more than welcome to ride in my H2 and take it for a rip.
 
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So happy for you man, clearly a different car for you and it shows how well it suits you.

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