Why is the Busa faster then the 12R

[Maurice.Olsen@GlobalCrossing.Com]

All,
The 12R is 460lbs. dry weight and the Busa is 540lbs. Dry weight. Both bikes are rated to have 175 HP. Why is the Busa still coming up faster in 1/4 miles and top speed.

We have seen recently in the mags that the Busa is still king and if I were buying a bike on shear specifications, I would pick the 12R. It appears to look better on paper...

Don't get me wrong guys/gals, The Busa is still king and I love mine. I am just curious how the Busa is making up for its heavier weight...

Maurice

 

[Gixx1300R]

You are incorrect on the weight. Both bike are close to 550 lbs wet weight. The Busa has more torque and better Areodynamics. That is why it is faster and quicker. 175hp is measured at the crank,not the rear wheel.
The Busa has what I call a soft motor (low compression with small cams) The ZX12 has more compression and bigger lift cams,that is why the 12 reponds better when you install and aftermarket exhaust.

 

[NightStalker]

 Don't get me wrong guys/gals, The Busa is still king and I love mine. I am just curious how the Busa is making up for its heavier weight...

Common misconception

Weight has absolutely no impact on top speed. It does have an impact however on how long it takes you to get there.
Weight is more torque-related, whereas HP is more drag-coefficient related.

Fact of the matter is that Kawa did not want to make the esthetical sacrifices to make and ultimate drag-less body for their bike, whereas Suzuki did.

 

[MET]

Aerodynamics mostly. Yes engine etc. etc. You would be surprised to see that even the Hump adds about 2 miles per hour on the top. Bottom fairing adds anothr 2 mph. Engine mods etc. can over come the lack of these things, but every bit helps.

 

[†WÃ￾§†ëD]

thats an easy one, its because the 12 is a kawasaki, noobs, sheesh

 

[Maurice.Olsen@GlobalCrossing.Com]

you guys sure about the weight. I just looked it up again on the Kawi site... I copied and pasted...

Dry weight: 463 lbs.

The busa is 80lbs more according to spec. I understand the aerodynamics plays a part... but could it make that much of a difference to where the busa is beating it consistently in the quarter mile?

Maurice

 

[ThunderPants]

You are comparing wet weights to dry weights. I looked at Motorcyclist magazine's specs and they list the 12R at 547 pounds wet and the busa at 550 pounds wet. Very close. Rear wheel horsepower and torque for the 12R 162hp@10,000 Rpm and 94 lb/ft. The Busa is 156hp@9500 Rpm and 99 lb/ft. Then you have gearing and aerodynamic differences that come into play on quarter mile times. As well as temperature, altitude, track conditions, rider differences.

 

[ks-waterbug]

in a nut shell.........

Read about it here

 

[MET]

You are comparing wet weights to dry weights.  I looked at Motorcyclist magazine's specs and they list the 12R at 547 pounds wet and the busa at 550 pounds wet.  Very close.  Rear wheel horsepower and torque for the 12R 162hp@10,000 Rpm and 94 lb/ft. The Busa is 156hp@9500 Rpm and 99 lb/ft.  Then you have gearing and aerodynamic differences that come into play on quarter mile times.  As well as temperature, altitude, track conditions, rider differences.

That is correct. Serves as a good reminder to me from stock to present.
My Busa is now 498.5 lb's wet
310rwhp at 10,800rpm
with a final 6th gear ratio of 2.222222

 

[MET]

Damn double clicked again sorry.

 

[BA BUSA]

Busa dry weight is 478lbs. 480lbs. for California. Weight being less than 20lbs. difference the Busa more than makes up for that with more torque and better aerodynamics.

 

[Maurice.Olsen@GlobalCrossing.Com]

Thanks all... got it straight now.

Maurice

 

[Revlis]

Motorcyclist did make the comment at one point that it was strange how gas and Oil weigh more when put into the Kawasaki than in the Hayabusa... Interesting...and funny.

 

[Jace]

WHY ASK WHY



it just is

dont question perfection

 

[quazy]

Since we're on this subject I just found an AWESOME article from 2000 Motorcyclist MAG... I am sure some or most of you have read this article before, but I really liked it and thought I would share it with those who havent.  Here is the link to read it========>

Hayabusa vs. ZX-12 (All out and truthfully compared)

http://www.qsl.net/n5mya/mc6-2000.html

 

[Busashot]

Here is a page that shows some details of Motorcycle specifications from the early 80's to present.

http://www.motorbikes.be/brand.asp

Most of this info is pretty accurate.

And the Busa is heavier stock by no more than 10lbs. on average.

Yes the ZX12R responds to mods a little better than the Busa. But the Busa responds to weight loss faster than the ZX12R because of the dual pipe setup.  

The Busa is awesome when you consider that it has very low compression and GSXR 750 cams. When Kawi was thinking up the ZX12R they were determined to beat the Blackbird not the Busa. They were caught with their pants down when the Busa came out. And they never quite got it pass the knees since.

The 02-03 ZX12Rs should have been the bike to come out in 2000. I think the ZX12R is pretty good but nobody really recognizes it over the Busa. It looks like another sport bike that could either pass as a ZX7, ZX9 or even a R1 if you have the Thunder Blue model....

 

 

Steve