Sunday, March 19, 2000
At 3pm Eastern Standard Time today, a Stock Kawasaki ZX-12 motorcycle set the racing world on its ear when it sped to a top speed of nearly 330 mph on it first and only run! The event took place on the smooth concrete runway at New Hampshire’s Pease Trade Port, once home to very big and expensive B-52 bombers.
After being pushed out the back of a Lockheed C5A Galaxy transport at just over 7500 feet, the Red and Grey Hayabusa won the hole shot, but was quickly overtaken by the ZX-12. The Kawasaki continued by, posting an incredible 7.13 sec/187mph at the quarter mile point before smacking the tarmac with force substantially less than the 2-megatons needed to crack the 10-foot deep super-reinforced concrete slabs.
In orde to even the aerodynamic playing field, and because it didn’t matter anyway, neither bike was uncrated for the drop-test. However, the Suzuki finished a full tenth of a second behind the big Kawasaki, leading some experts to speculate that the Suzuki shipping crate might have been one of next year’s European restricted models. By the looks of the remains, we’ll probably never know.
The test was conducted at 53 feet above sea level, air temperature 42F, and a light 2-mph crosswind. There was no second run.
Up Next: Results of a drop-test between a Pokemon Sandshew Battle Figure doll and a Western Plains Barbie. I can’t wait!
At 3pm Eastern Standard Time today, a Stock Kawasaki ZX-12 motorcycle set the racing world on its ear when it sped to a top speed of nearly 330 mph on it first and only run! The event took place on the smooth concrete runway at New Hampshire’s Pease Trade Port, once home to very big and expensive B-52 bombers.
After being pushed out the back of a Lockheed C5A Galaxy transport at just over 7500 feet, the Red and Grey Hayabusa won the hole shot, but was quickly overtaken by the ZX-12. The Kawasaki continued by, posting an incredible 7.13 sec/187mph at the quarter mile point before smacking the tarmac with force substantially less than the 2-megatons needed to crack the 10-foot deep super-reinforced concrete slabs.
In orde to even the aerodynamic playing field, and because it didn’t matter anyway, neither bike was uncrated for the drop-test. However, the Suzuki finished a full tenth of a second behind the big Kawasaki, leading some experts to speculate that the Suzuki shipping crate might have been one of next year’s European restricted models. By the looks of the remains, we’ll probably never know.
The test was conducted at 53 feet above sea level, air temperature 42F, and a light 2-mph crosswind. There was no second run.
Up Next: Results of a drop-test between a Pokemon Sandshew Battle Figure doll and a Western Plains Barbie. I can’t wait!
