Kawi missed the Boat,Here\'s why

[Gixx1300R]

Suzuki really did their homework when designing the Busa.The motor is nothing more than a larger version of the GSXR 750 motor.The Frame and Swingarm are also from the GSXR design.The Fairings are where the difference begins.Suzuki did countless hours of wind tunnel testing WITH THE RIDER ON THE BIKE!!!!!.Kawi was suppose the have an Advantage in this area along with having been the one to first have ramair on a motorcycle.History repeats itself in the fact that the ZX12 will not be able to be easily modified to gain much horsepower.You really get more bang for your buck with the Busa.The more you hype something,the more the let down when it doesnt live up to that hype.I hope Kawi remembers this in the Future.Suzuki let the Busa's numbers do all of the talking.Period!!!

 

[OB_THE MOTORHEAD]

the 12 was designed originaly before the black bird existed.it weighs 13#or so less than the busa and makes atleast as much power.it will go 9s all day though 2"shorter wheelbase will hurt its 330'but will go 9s with even a decent rider.

 

[OB_Wronglane]

Your right Motorhead......Decent rider,decent weather,decent launches in the 1.60's will mean 9's all day long!

 

[Guest]

Let's not knock the Kaw's ram air design!
I beleive that the reason the Kaw's even keeps up in power to the Busa, with 100cc's less, is the aircraft style ram air scoop. I'm sure if we had such a scoop on our Busa's and a good airbox that we would gain a few more ponies and a few more MPH on the top end.
After reading all these posts it does appear that Suzuki caught everyone with their pants down. Now everyone got to see their behinds and they are all embarassed about it.
Let's be patient a little more and not be to hasty to throw stones. Some do live in glass houses !!!!

Ride Safe, Roberto

 

[Guest]

I'm not so sure that I'm ready to say Kawi 9r got blind sided by the R1. Seems all the mags like the R1 because it will wheelie all day long. It is a tad faster in the twisties, but every article I've read the Zx9 owned the 1/4 and the top end runs between the two bikes. The 9 I ride with is outrunning R1s on a daily routine, but we run straight lines and few corners. I think the 9 might be a good run for the 12r. Jack

 

[Gixx1300R]

One post here and LA Busas I have alwys posted that the ZX12 wouldnt beat the Busa and here was my reasoning.The ZX12 was originally built the beat the Blackbird(which was tested at 186mph).Suzuki sucker punched Kawi by sneaking the Busa into the world.Kawi had no idea about the bike performance until it was released.That is when the first recall happened.Kawi had to get more power from a platform that was already made or lose millions by starting over from Scratch.Now we all know that the ZX12 is a great bike but measured against the Busa it falls a little short from all of the Hype that has been thrown around.Wishful thinking from Kawi lovers brought most of this on the boards.I predicted the ZX12 of having 10.00 1/4 mile times and a top speed of 188.7 mph.I guess i didnt miss the mark by too much.

 

[OB_Dirty Pete]

Your idea that the 12 was engineered with the XX as the target makes a great deal of sense. It takes at least a couple of years to scratch build a bike, and the Busa burst on the scene in early 99 with no warning to the industry or consumer at all. Even the bike mags didn't have a clue that the Busa was in development until Suzuki released a shot, with no specs other than displacement, of a copper Busa in December 98.

It is highly unlikely that Kawasaki put their first ZX12R drawings on paper in January of '99.

DAMN! THE ZX12R IS A BLACKBIRD BEATER!

Well if you win one or both of the jackpots in the labusas e.t. and top speed betting pools, good on ya, Nick. You took flack for betting low.

 

[Guest]

The 12 has not yet been able ro reach 190 when tested by the independents so you may be on the mark. The 190 run was performed by Kawasaki and I don't consider it valid unless you want to compare it to a new Suzuki factory test on a Busa. I don't recall Suzuki ever needing to make a public run themselves on a Busa.

So far we know of three independent sources that have all been UNABLE to reach 190 with CycleWorld's 187 in California being the best reported so far. [CycleWorld is the same mag that hit 194 when testing a Busa. - see the June 1999 issue]

DC summed things up nicely when he posted this:
[begin quote]
"Now, I don't remember a whole lot of difficulty in getting 194mph from a Hayabusa. We got 193mph first go in Britain(and it was damp and windy, as usual!) and 194mph on an 8mph speed bowl at Nardo (Italy). Some Spanish pals got 195mph over there. The ZX-12 is consistently going no more than 190mph anywhere! Kawasaki spent all day on a two-mile former airstrip trying to beat that 190.8mph figure. By the way, It is the only time I can remember a manufacturer making its speed tests public."
[end quote]


Though it appears the 12 makes nearly the same RWHP but less torque - the superior aerodynamics of the Busa are showing. The overrated and overhyped 12 ram air has also apparantly fallen short. Hmmmm - seems like this has already been discussed before now?
Maybe now they will listen? Some are waking up. Time to start giving credit where credit is due - that would be the Suzuki Hayabusa design team.



[This message has been edited by Todd (edited 14 March 2000).]

 

[Guest]

And here is the icing on the cake. Suzuki paid attention to what was being done by their markets as far as performance mods. They took into account that it doesnt matter how fast the bike is.....were gonna modify it to make more power. And there is room in the busa motor for modifications. In typical Kawasaki fashion, theres not much room for engine improvements. They are stuck. It will
be fun to watch the spin put on this by both
Kawasaki and their riders who bellied up to the bar with cash in hand expecting one thing and being given something quite different.

 

[OB_slam]

Hey, guys I hope you realize that same thing has already happened to Kawi before. The same exact thing happened to Kawi with the 9r when the R1 came out!! The 9r being made to go after the 900rr when all of a sudden a badass R1 appeared on the scene. It sucks being Kawi lately don't it!!!

 

[Guest]

Well how about an article where it didn't? Go check out motorcycle.com where they test the 9, R1, 900 RR etc all at once. It's in the archives.

 

[OB_THE MOTORHEAD]

i beat every r1 w my 98 zx9 10.20@140 pipe only nothing else only 3 times at the track and never lost and i owned 2r1s

 

[OB_tinhead]

Roberto-
While I'm not an engineer or aerodynamicist, my impression after looking at the 'cutout' zx12 at Daytona in person is that the routing of air from the snorkel to the airbox on the zx12 is AT LEAST as restrictive as the Busas.
The reps in Kawasakis display at Daytona were extremely close mouthed about the zx12 also. Starting to see a pattern? Even if I weren't one of the more enthusiastic Kwackerbashers here, I'd be wondering.
Dirty Pete-
I think your dates may be a little off re pictures. I ordered my Busa November '98 AFTER seeing a picture and short description in Cycle News. I know it's a small detail, but has anybody bought one of those ugly zx12's after seeing one little picture and a very short article?

[This message has been edited by tinhead (edited 15 March 2000).]

 

[OB_Animal]

You're right TinHead, October (maybe even September) was more like it. Suzuki surprised the world with the first info just before actually showing it on the big German show in October '98.

BTW, nice to have met you at DBW!