GlennWessel
Registered
I humbly submit the following:
1) ZX-12R's are prone to head-shake. I raced a 12R twice on my previous bike (a ZX-11). Since I was losing each time, I noticed the 12-riders were having to fight wobbles that worsened each time they'd upshift.
2) At around 12 lbs. lighter, the 12R has a slight weight advantage. With a similar "4 into 1" exhaust system on the 'Busa, however, this advantage disappears. The price differential between the bikes (in 2001, at least) would pretty much allow the 'Busa owner a free exhaust upgrade.
3) The 'Busa sits lower, yet it has slightly more ground clearance and the 'Busa's lower seat places less weight on its rider's wrists.
4) Being relatively tall and narrow, the 12R carries its weight higher than the 'Busa. For those of you who are musically inclined, you'll recall that to make a metronome (that thing that clicks) oscillate more quickly, you must lower its center of gravity (CG). This is accomplished by sliding its weight down its shaft. Engineering-wise, a lower center-of-gravity is unambiguously good, i.e., there is no downside. (Hey, there is something good about the new Buell's after all...)
5) Of course, all things are not equal. It is said that the 12R is at least as flickable as the 'Busa. Kawasaki achieved this through the use of a shorter wheelbase and steeper steering angle. Unlike a lower CG, however, these characteristics are not unambiguously good because they also serve to reduce high speed stability. Stated another way, for a given wheelbase, the bike with a lower CG will be more flickable, but just as stable. Consequently, the 12R's flickability comes at the expense of its high speed stability.
5) The 'Busa has a higher level of fit and finish. The 12R suffers most noticeably in the area of its fairing, air intake, and instrument cluster (not to mention those Madonna-Boob mirrors).
6) The 'Busa has a lower coefficient of drag. Therefore, to achieve a given velocity, it will require less power than a 12R. As velocity increases this advantage increases exponentially.
7) From my observations, the typical 12R seems to produce approximately 163 peak RWHP versus 158 for the typical 'Busa. I've watched many 12R's and 'Busa's "roll-on" from 25 mph with the race lasting 9/10's of a mile, but I have yet to see a 12R win one. Moreover, the Busa's seem to win every aspect of the race. (For the first 1/2 of the race its easy to see who's ahead. If a 12R were behind, but "catching up" at the end of the race, it would be observable on his GPS, but I have also yet to observe this.)
Busa's typically have a 5-12 hp advantage to 9,000 RPM and 12R's need to rev to about 9,600 or 9,700 RPM to make equivalent power. Because acceleration is governed by power-to-weight and top speed is governed by power-to-drag, the 'Busa out-accelerates the 12R early due to its superior average power, then maintains or increases its advantage with its superior aerodynamics.
From what I have observed, the 12R's 5 peak-hp advantage is overcome by the 'Busa's lower drag coefficient and its superior average power (area under the HP curve).
8) For the 99% of the time you ride like a human being, the 'Busa's torque-rich power band makes it eminently more enjoyable to ride.
1) ZX-12R's are prone to head-shake. I raced a 12R twice on my previous bike (a ZX-11). Since I was losing each time, I noticed the 12-riders were having to fight wobbles that worsened each time they'd upshift.
2) At around 12 lbs. lighter, the 12R has a slight weight advantage. With a similar "4 into 1" exhaust system on the 'Busa, however, this advantage disappears. The price differential between the bikes (in 2001, at least) would pretty much allow the 'Busa owner a free exhaust upgrade.
3) The 'Busa sits lower, yet it has slightly more ground clearance and the 'Busa's lower seat places less weight on its rider's wrists.
4) Being relatively tall and narrow, the 12R carries its weight higher than the 'Busa. For those of you who are musically inclined, you'll recall that to make a metronome (that thing that clicks) oscillate more quickly, you must lower its center of gravity (CG). This is accomplished by sliding its weight down its shaft. Engineering-wise, a lower center-of-gravity is unambiguously good, i.e., there is no downside. (Hey, there is something good about the new Buell's after all...)
5) Of course, all things are not equal. It is said that the 12R is at least as flickable as the 'Busa. Kawasaki achieved this through the use of a shorter wheelbase and steeper steering angle. Unlike a lower CG, however, these characteristics are not unambiguously good because they also serve to reduce high speed stability. Stated another way, for a given wheelbase, the bike with a lower CG will be more flickable, but just as stable. Consequently, the 12R's flickability comes at the expense of its high speed stability.
5) The 'Busa has a higher level of fit and finish. The 12R suffers most noticeably in the area of its fairing, air intake, and instrument cluster (not to mention those Madonna-Boob mirrors).
6) The 'Busa has a lower coefficient of drag. Therefore, to achieve a given velocity, it will require less power than a 12R. As velocity increases this advantage increases exponentially.
7) From my observations, the typical 12R seems to produce approximately 163 peak RWHP versus 158 for the typical 'Busa. I've watched many 12R's and 'Busa's "roll-on" from 25 mph with the race lasting 9/10's of a mile, but I have yet to see a 12R win one. Moreover, the Busa's seem to win every aspect of the race. (For the first 1/2 of the race its easy to see who's ahead. If a 12R were behind, but "catching up" at the end of the race, it would be observable on his GPS, but I have also yet to observe this.)
Busa's typically have a 5-12 hp advantage to 9,000 RPM and 12R's need to rev to about 9,600 or 9,700 RPM to make equivalent power. Because acceleration is governed by power-to-weight and top speed is governed by power-to-drag, the 'Busa out-accelerates the 12R early due to its superior average power, then maintains or increases its advantage with its superior aerodynamics.
From what I have observed, the 12R's 5 peak-hp advantage is overcome by the 'Busa's lower drag coefficient and its superior average power (area under the HP curve).
8) For the 99% of the time you ride like a human being, the 'Busa's torque-rich power band makes it eminently more enjoyable to ride.
I need to stop rambling 
