Busa/ZX-12/Blackbird Predictions

[OB_c.dolan]

To Wronglane: Using OEM tire for first
outing for wheelie bar. Had run 30 psi,
prior. Will go to 20 psi. Weather has
been high 60's / low 70's. Have 16 t
front sprocket. Will try 44 ~ 48 t rear.
Looking to run 5 or 6 gears. Only used
less than half of 4th, with stock gears,
prior. Bike launches about 8000 rpm, with slow clutch feed.I go more by ear, since I'm looking at the tree, only. Working on a different clutch combination using 83 GPZ Kaw clutch plates, ( OEM and Barnett). Will try less plates, and more spring pressure. I think the Suzuki actually has too much clutch area, hence the sudden on or off engagement..Sure would like to have lock up clutch, like my GS 1150..............................
You may want to find out your local
altitude. This is the biggest handicap,
that most of the country overlooks. Will
keep you posted on results. Wish I could
post pictures. Can only e-mail, for now.

 

[OB_fastzx9]

C. Dolan, let me know what you put together. I would love to come down and play with you Busa guys!

As for the nitrous, the bike really needs a lock-up. The one time I hit it at Carlsbad a few weeks ago it spun the tire past half track, then hooked and laid against the rev limiter until I got out of it.

 

[OB_c.dolan]

To Mr Bear:Sounds like we could put together a posse, and ride. Keep in touch. January mostly R + D. Hope to have things sorted by Feb.

 

[OB_c.dolan]

To: Fast ZX9: Were you running a square side slick, or rounded , road race type ? ...As you noticed, most traction to be had first 300' of track. I had the same problem 13 years ago with roadrace slick, on GS 1150, when I first started using nitro methane (80 ~ 90 % ). Tire would spin all the way down , if I let it. Had to feather throttle, and wasted a lot of time. That's when I redid bike to take 11 " car tire. It may have been a bit extreme, but tire works anywhere. Also, car slick cost the same as much smaller bike slick, and lasted much longer....... ...If we do this right, we may have a lot bigger bike turnout for Feb. bracket race.

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Chris Dolan probably has the best handle on the eventual outcome in competition. He rides absolutely everything, and shows no bias based on brand. Wouldn't surprise me if he adds a ZX12 to his stable. I even saw him at the Raceway on a Harley.
In stock condition I expect the ZX12 to be slightly quicker and faster than the Busa. I also expect it to have a small handling edge in the twisties when set up right. Let's face it, when it comes to building hot-rod engines, Kawasaki knows what they are doing.
On the downside for the Kawa., I expect the powerband to be more top-end biased, with the Busa absolutely thrashing it anywhere but on top. I expect the 12 to have a better clutch and be easier to launch, but harder to keep the front end down after the first few feet.
The 12 will be very sensitive to suspension set-up, and will be quite evil when not set up precisely by experts. Lots of squids will eat asphalt on that baby.As on most hot-rods, I expect the higher degree of tuning to be paid for at the expense of long-term reliability. The Busa won't be as reliable as the Blackbird, but will be better than the ZX12.
My predictions are geared for high performance street use, and are based mostly on known company philosophy and recent experience with Zx9s and ZX11s in that context.
Remember the Performance Bikes' Obsession articles? In 1998 the ZX9 finished the run but was spewing coolant everywhere. In '99 the ZZR1100(ZX11) didn't even make the halfway mark, covering more miles being towed by the Blackbird than under its own power. Even towing the Kawa. didn't upset the 'Bird; typical reliable Honda. The 99 Busa showed its heels to the other bikes, and had no problems.
I expect the Busa to be almost as reliable as the Honda and almost as fast as the ZX12 out of the box, and to be better than either as an all around bike. Of course box-stock is just like a blank canvas for most of us. The final product will depend mostly on the owner-user.

 

[OB_Mr Bear]

When I was looking at the two ZX-12s at the Cycle World/Long Beach motorcycle show in November, a Kawasaki rep came up and talked to me. Gadsen's drag bike was there on display also. The Kawasaki rep told me, and I quote, "The ZX-12 is a 202 mph bike". Time will tell.

The 12 feels shorter and taller than the Busa. It carries its weight very low, so it feels light, but I think it will tend to stick its front wheel in the air very easily. The ZX will be very quick, fast, and good-handling, but like a 1200cc motocross bike. The Busa is more the long, low, sleek interceptor.
An analogy would be
Hayabusa = F-14 Tomcat
ZX-12 = F-15 Eagle

A pair of screaming machines.


[This message has been edited by Mr Bear (edited 27 December 1999).]

 

[OB_c.dolan]

TO FastZX9: RE: Carlsbad, my favorite spot, left side car track, right lane... ...RE; altitude compensation, It's a lot easier to to on paper, than real world. A person can't always use all of the additional "estimated" horsepower. If launch is already at limit of tire spin, or wheelies, extra hp is wasted. Extreme example: Ran both my Busa, and Buell on same 330' event. Lousy traction, so both bikes turned same et. there, even though Busa 1 sec. quicker at Carlsbad 330' mark. Busa spun tire all the way, at sports arena event, buell just drove through. Busa has twice as much hp, but couldn't use it all, there. Estimated quarter mile times a lot more charitable. Altitude wouldn't have made much difference, in that case................ ...Altitude difference would cost me .1 to .5 sec, between LACR and Carlsbad, assuming bike has best jets for both locations. Usually 1 or 2 size difference. Totally stock bikes would suffer the greatest difference, unless bike was too lean to begin with. Nitrous, injected nitro, or turbo would suffer the least. Nothing real sceintific, other than have running a wide variety of bikes, at both locations during the late 1980's.

 

[OB_Factory]

I DP'd!

[This message has been edited by Factory (edited 28 December 1999).]

 

[OB_Factory]

Do the motorcycle magazine writers/riders ever REALLY ever say anything new about any set of bikes being tested??

Let me see if I can re-cap the standard cut and paste the bike comparison:

Honda : Best overall score of all our testers, excellent fit and finish, does everything very well.

Kawasaki: Blazing speed, monster motor, suspension leaves a lot to be desired but we love the power....

Hayabusa: The other bikes are better, but this is the one we like to ride the most...

[This message has been edited by Factory (edited 28 December 1999).]

 

[OB_fastzx9]

C. Dolan, neither. This, like all my runs lately, was made on a shod Dunlop 207GP. Decent compound, but far too triangulated to put any decent width down on the track. I have a rounder Avon I am going to try this season.

As far as traction, I've never had real good luck there on any consistent basis. They don't treat the starting line properly, if at all. I can go out on one pass and run 1.5's and 1.6's to 60 feet, then spin the next and go 1.7's and 1.8's.

As for the magazines, Don Canet does most of his testing at Carlsbad using a Stalker timing system. He did mention that he finds better traction acuallly off the cement on the far right of the right lane. Hmmmmmm.....

The others use LACR (Palmdale) in the high desert. This track is ideal because they can run on a killer day and still correct for the altitude. I was there a few weeks ago and only ran like a tenth off from Carlsbad. It was 30 degrees, dry with no wind. I think that track factors like two to three tenths. I was told they can also correct as you run so it will show up on your slip and the timing board. I wish they would do that all the time because sometmes I feel very slow up there.