Found an article about the zx12 which still had more HP than the busa but slower at the top end due to aerodynamic drag. The zx14 is mentioned and basically the same shape and near the same HP. It is long, but a good read.
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Gosling1↓
ZX14 Information post - It's A Whopper !!!
Wed Nov 21, 2007 8:33 pm
I posted this up on CanberraRIDERS tonight, as a result of a pissing contest between myself and a good mate who owns a '05 Busa. He still thinks it's the fastest, most powerful, best-looking bike on the planet. It is heavily blinged and actually looks *OK* for a Bus. But he posted up a dyno chart where a 2007 ZX14 made 159hp, and a 2007 Bus made 175hp - apparently both stock !!
and guess what? The dyno chart came from a Busa owners forum !! how incredible !!
In order to redress this obvious imbalance, I undertook some research, and here is the result................Enjoy !!
WARNING - ENORMOUS (but informative) POST !!!!
nice picture Max.......
I think it's time we injected some objectivity into this debate. And, an opportunity for anyone reading this thread to learn a bit about 'dynos' and what it all means.........btw this is a very long post, but very informative and almost abuse-free !! (almost )
First thing - Exactly the same bike, on the same dyno, on the same day, can return dyno figures that vary by as much as 6-8hp, depending on the conditions (low pressure, humidity, temperature, etc).
The whole point of using a dyno as a tuning tool is to determine exactly what improvements, if any, have been made to your bike, by the addition of aftermarket air filters, exhausts, PowerCommanders, etc. Just check the development of the ZX14 in the dyno charts later in this post...........and this is as good a spot as any to lay out the basics of performance upgrades:
Stock - No improvements or additions whatsoever.
Stage One - Airfilters, exhaust (either full system or end cans), PowerCommander, TRE, etc (TRE is a timing retard eliminator, allows for full ignition advance in the lower gears).
Stage Two - Engine capacity increases, headwork (porting, bigger valves etc). Improved ignition systems
Stage Three - Blowers, turbos, nitrous etc. Big-block kits.
For most punters, we never get past Stage One.....
Its important to lay down a baseline figure for your bike, so you can see what improvements have been made. It is also important that these improvements are tested *on the same dynamometer*, otherwise, you may as well piss up a rope. Different dynos can produce *wildly* varying readings, and it is not a good idea to rely on these figures.
The fact that a ZX14 was tested at 159hp, and a Bus at 170-odd, and the dyno test was sourced from a Hayabusa Owners forum, well sorry to be a bit skeptical, but heh thats just me. I am sure that a Hayabusa Owners forum would not advertise any dyno tests that showed a ZX14 to be more powerful than a Hayabusa now would they ?????
Speaking of which, here is just such a dyno chart. Sourced from SportRider, who have no vested interests at all, this chart shows a mighty different picture than the one painted by the Bus drivers......
Both bikes stock - dynoe'd on the same day, on the same dyno - Just as per the dyno test sourced from the Bus forum.......
However in this instance, the ZX14 shows a peak hp figure of 174.7hp, and torque of 105.3ft/lb
and the underpowered Bus only comes up with 167.6hp, with a peak torque of 97.4ft/lb (although the chart looks like it says 2005 models, it is in fact 2006, just shitty resolution)
What is the point here ? Is this dyno chart any more or less valid than the one posted on the Bus forum ?? Of course not. All it shows is that on *that* particular day, on *that* particular dyno, one *particular* stock ZX14 made basically 175hp, and one *particular* stock Bus made 168hp.......
So the argument that a Bus is more powerful than a ZX14 is a whole load of crap !!..............Isn't it ?????
It MUST be, I have the dyno charts to prove it !!
Anyway, moving onwards, lets have a look at some *facts* about the Hyper-Tourer brigade....
Fact # 1 - In 1999, the GSX1300R was indeed *The Fastest Motorcycle In The World*.
Fact # 2 - In 2000, the ZX12R was indeed *The Most Powerful Motorcycle In The World*......but it wasn't the fastest !! How could this be ? How could the most powerful motorcycle in the world not be the fastest ????
In order to find out, lets take a look at some quotes from Cycle Canada, who also wondered about this paradox, and did some wind testing to get to the bottom.......
Earlier this year we began to wonder about the relative aerodynamic qualities of the 2 fastest motorcycles on the market - The Suzuki Hayabusa and the Kawasaki ZX12R. The 12R in particular seemed something of a mystery, having been announced with much fanfare, yet proving to be slower in top-speed tests than the Suzuki. Some explained the result as a measure of political correctness : Kawasaki had capped the 12R's speed potential voluntarily, to avoid antagonising European authorities.
One way to help determine why the more powerful Kawasaki ZX12R was slower than the Hayabusa would be to measure aerodynamic drag in a wind tunnel. The drag measurement could then be used to calculate theoretical top speed, working with horsepower at the rear wheel and an estimate of rolling resistance.
Our greatest curiosity, however, regarded one simple question ; which bike has the most slippery shape, the Hayabusa or the ZX12R ? In previous top-speed testing at the Transport Canada speed oval, something seemed to be limiting the ZX12R's velocity to a "politically correct " 187.5 mph , which failed to match the 190.5mph we'd recorded earlier for the Hayabusa. The Suzuki had recorded 153hp at the rear wheel (NOTE - same HP as the Bus at Gecko earlier this year), while the Kawasaki had made a blistering 164.5 hp. Yet, the ZX12R was slower. Was it the much-rumored electronic speed control? Or something else?
(Please note I have bolded the important bits
)
The wind tunnel provides a simple answer. What limits the ZX12R's top-end speed is aerodynamic drag. The ZX12R produces significantly more drag than the Hayabusa. The Suzuki can therefore go faster with less horsepower. It's not the threat of political intervention that has limited the top-speed of the ZX12R, but rather simply the shape and size of the motorcycle.
So, from the very outset of the Hypertourer history, the Bus had a higher top-end, due to better aerodynamics. The ZX12R was more powerful. In any event, the title of *Fastest Motorcycle* all became irrelevant in 2002, when the EU convinced all 4 Jap manufacturers to a voluntary restriction of 299kmh.
