Kawasaki is emerging as a world leader of bikes

[ZeePopo]

I think the Busa with advanced suspension mods is a beast on the track. To our dinosaurs add a Gripone Iside wheelie and traction control unit that runs off the ABS rings and that pretty much gets you to modern Superbike performance. Some geometry changes for faster turn in and tall tires and you have a excellent track bike. Never underestimate a old Dinosaur. It will eat you alive

 

[ZeePopo]

That H2 sure is pretty though. One of the more stylish bikes out there.

 

[Bumblebee]

I think the Busa with advanced suspension mods is a beast on the track. To our dinosaurs add a Gripone Iside wheelie and traction control unit that runs off the ABS rings and that pretty much gets you to modern Superbike performance. Some geometry changes for faster turn in and tall tires and you have a excellent track bike. Never underestimate a old Dinosaur. It will eat you alive

@Ac41 will agree as he is a wizard on the track on his bike...but as we all know, it isn't a cheap or simple venture to get the old beast to perform like a race horse.

 

[Bumblebee]

You'd be surprised My bike wouldn't beat a super sport litre bike but it beat all the other super nakeds!
Besides, that's where the new RSV4 1100 would take care of the light work lol

Brother @RedBull enlightened me regarding the Tuono....175 crank ponies with a wet weight of 450lbs...all good numbers...

 

[Mythos]

I would say an H2 isn't allowed to race against N/A bikes on a track right? On the street it would come down to a rider in the twisties I think...

I think it would come down to rider on the track or the street. Lap times are going to depend on corner speed more than straightaway speed and the modern literbikes aren't slow in a straight line by any means. The H2 is 524 lbs, a ZX-14 is 550. A ZX-10 is 450 lbs. A Panigale 1199 Tricolore is 425 lbs. which is 5 lbs lighter than a ZX-6. With equal riders, I believe the Panigale would have the H2 for lunch on just about any track. 200 hp in a bike that weighs less than a 600 v a bike that weighs 100 lbs more and only 40 more hp.

 

[Red05]

Oh is yours a naked bike? I was thinking it was a faired bike.

Some of the naked bikes are pretty serious too.

Don't know how accurate this list is but there are some heavy hitters on it..

Top 5 Fastest 1000CC Naked Bikes 2020 : ZH2 vs MT-10 vs Bmw S1000r vs Gsx-S1000 vs brutale 1000rr - YouTube

Yeah 2016 Tuono Factory. It holds its own. It even won a quarter mile comparo with those others but handling is where it really shines. The first time I took it through twisties I thought to myself, “This is how it’s supposed to be”. That’s after 40 years on countless bikes. It’s well beyond my abilities and truly special.

 

[HayaWakened]

I stand corrected, I was looking at another source and just didn’t read it thoroughly, lol, SUZUKI is Number 1 !!!!!!

Ducati did take the Constructors Championship, so you weren't exactly wrong. Suzuki won the rider title but Ducati is still a 2020 world champion

 

[Bumblebee]

I think it would come down to rider on the track or the street. Lap times are going to depend on corner speed more than straightaway speed and the modern literbikes aren't slow in a straight line by any means. The H2 is 524 lbs, a ZX-14 is 550. A ZX-10 is 450 lbs. A Panigale 1199 Tricolore is 425 lbs. which is 5 lbs lighter than a ZX-6. With equal riders, I believe the Panigale would have the H2 for lunch on just about any track. 200 hp in a bike that weighs less than a 600 v a bike that weighs 100 lbs more and only 40 more hp.

2021 ZX10R is 428 lbs and 205 RWHP by the last specs I just read....

That should propel it close to the top for liter bikes...the S1000RR is almost exactly on par with it.

In real world every day riding, I would think the H2 would be hard to beat just in the way it makes it's power.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Two years this month and just under 12,000 Smiles. A great standard.

 

[Bumblebee]

Two years this month and just under 12,000 Smiles. A great standard. View attachment 1630031

And they do a good job with their retro bikes too

 

[Mythos]

2021 ZX10R is 428 lbs and 205 RWHP by the last specs I just read....

NICE! I don't see much reason to bother with a 600 then. I've heard those haven't been selling well for a long time. They might be history too.

 

[Red05]

And they do a good job with their retro bikes too

As far as I’m concerned, Wuzza’s bike is retro. It’s the spitting image of my old ‘79 KZ1000 (albeit with a radiator), a beautiful bike.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

As far as I’m concerned, Wuzza’s bike is retro. It’s the spitting image of my old ‘79 KZ1000 (albeit with a radiator), a beautiful bike.

Yep, the RS, Z900RS, refers to it being Retro Sport. More than one other rider has walked up to it believing it was an original Z1. As we talk (and I explain) I point out that it’s actually a new Z and except for FI, traction control, water cooling, 4into1 exhaust, ABS and a monoshock, it’s just like a Z1, Why they made it a 948 instead of the original 903 or even a full liter is beyond me.

 

[rubbersidedown]

Don't get me wrong,I love my Busa,but if all the brands started to die off one by one...I would bet money Honda would be "The last man standing."
23.3% of the market share last year. With so many brands to choose from,having almost 1/4 of the market,thats huge if you ask me. Sure,they opted out of the power wars after the Blackbird...I see no reason they couldn't jump back in and win.My guess is the execs at Honda have no interest in the speed or horsepower battle for several reasons.Sure there will always be guys like us,that want the biggest and the baddest,but our numbers are dwindling. I think bikes like the H2,ZX,Busa,etc will die out when we do. I'm surprized they are still around today. How big is the market share for "sport-touring" motorcycles anyway? The millennials don't want them...I'm guessing the 1.5 kids they'll have,won't want them either. Seems like Honda is building the bikes people want. Honda has the highest selling motorcycle of all time. I'd put money on them to survive the longest.
Rubb.

 

[ZeePopo]

NICE! I don't see much reason to bother with a 600 then. I've heard those haven't been selling well for a long time. They might be history too.

Yamaha killed the R6 this year.

 

[Bumblebee]

It's amazing how many "little" bikes are commanding the market especially in countries like India and Pakistan where the little bike rules...that's where the market is, they sell millions of those small bikes. Many pictures of the whole family travelling on one tiny little bike...

Most of the big 4 cut their teeth on the smaller bikes aimed at providing inexpensive transport to high population countries.

Just like Rubb said, the market for big powerful bikes will be gone one day as the insurance companies choke them out of existence.

But that being said....the Challenger, Camaro, and Mustang were all supposed to die and instead flourished and are very much sought after today as their sales are soaring.

 

[Bumblebee]

Yep, the RS, Z900RS, refers to it being Retro Sport. More than one other rider has walked up to it believing it was an original Z1. As we talk (and I explain) I point out that it’s actually a new Z and except for FI, traction control, water cooling, 4into1 exhaust, ABS and a monoshock, it’s just like a Z1, Why they made it a 948 instead of the original 903 or even a full liter is beyond me.

Kawasaki kind of started the retro style with the ZRX....they did that one right and it's too bad they still don't make it

 

[Bumblebee]

I'd even ride this 400 version...what a brilliant little bike.

 

[jch364]

Ive looked at the h2 and the h2sxe and bought the zx14r. The reason was simple. both the h2sxe and h2 are priced at $25000 and $30000 respectively. the h2sxe puts out around 180hp and the h2 around the 200 mark at the wheel. I forget the torque but around 100 or so I think. Whereas the zx14r puts out about 195hp and 118 torque ish. and maybe $15000 at most by contrast. Yes the h2 bikes are close to 100 lbs lighter but still. The only way to really get the hp out of the h2 bikes is to get brock davidsons pipe,pc5 with street map and ecu flash. With that you get an ungodly about of hp released in both models. But that means on top of what you would spend on those bikse you still spend another $2500 for the extra. They do have some goodies on board I would love to have had but not for that price. It just does not seem in any way cost effective. I paid $12700 for my 18 se. If I put brocks pipes etc on it for $2500 I get about 118 hp and about 125 in torque. All for $15000 ish total. Ill pass on the additional 10 to 15k. And if its all about speed and power then I would by a busa and put a turbo on it and out perform even a brock tuned h2 and still have about 8k left over.

 

[Bumblebee]

The prices for the H2 platform bikes are a little crazy...maybe as the tech gets more mainstream, the costs will go down.

The H2SXSE is a sport tourer so is pretty much in line with the Hayabusa for power and weight, looks like a viable platform though but the cost is up there.

Fortunately for you the ZX14R has enough electronic aids on it to make it more modern whereas the Hayabusa has fallen off the cliff as far as any aids go....

In order to get the power to the ground, electronic aids are the way to go. A turbo Busa with zero aids is a real handful and in many cases almost impossible to use much of the power available. An H2's power can be explored as it has enough aids to make it controllable.

Take a look at how many people on this board are seeking or have put aftermarket electronics on their Hayabusas-quite a few which means it is something Suzuki needs to address if and when they make a gen 3.