OB_VegasDude
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are you sure it wasnt 194 KPM? hehe
ZX12 is alive and kicking
- Thread starter OB_VegasDude
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OB_jafeica7
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HA HA
OB_jafeica7
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HA HA
OB_johnnyboy
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Apparently the new issue of Motorrad has a test of the ZX-12.
If anyone could translate any details from German, it would end some of the fruitless speculation and debate seen here.
I'm a Kawasaki man myself - however, it the ZX12 proves to be a pile of shite, I might consider a Bus...
Let the best bike win!
If anyone could translate any details from German, it would end some of the fruitless speculation and debate seen here.
I'm a Kawasaki man myself - however, it the ZX12 proves to be a pile of shite, I might consider a Bus...
Let the best bike win!
OB_Top Gas
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Man that's fast I wonder what it's going to do flat out ?
OB_Kamikaze
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Jereon from the ZX11 website is German,he said it ran 194 mph top speed,what are all these green guys gonna say now.
G
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Seems that Top Gas isn't quiet up to speed. Top Gas: That WAS FLAT OUT! 
Wouldn't be surprised if that was a ringer going downhill with a tailwind either. (IF true) Independant testing with different bikes will prove interesting. Could the GREEN ENVY rage on even longer than it aleady has?!
Bet we don't hear as much BS about 210+ as we get closer to REALITY time.
Wouldn't be surprised if that was a ringer going downhill with a tailwind either. (IF true) Independant testing with different bikes will prove interesting. Could the GREEN ENVY rage on even longer than it aleady has?!Bet we don't hear as much BS about 210+ as we get closer to REALITY time.
OB_fastzx9
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Well, if my memory serves me correct, the Busa has been clocked in magazines anywhere from 189 mph on up. Quote from Lee Shierts, "I had the Hayabusa up to 185 horsepower and 108 Ibs.-ft. of torque. It just happened that the East Coast Timing Association was having an event June 5-6 at Maxton Airport in Laurenburg, North Carolina......" His Hayabusa only went through at 200 mph! True, it was on a shorter than normal test track. But even proves more that you can't make comparisons unless you run two bikes on the same track, same day, with the same conditions. Weather, wind, track conditions and length all play a factor on how a bike will perform on a top speed test.
The ZX-12 is alive and kicking! I have had the privilege of talking to a very important individual with Kawasaki, USA in Irvine, Ca. who has actually gotten some seat time on one of these new 12's. The 12 is living up to the all the hype in testing! It will out-perform the Busa in both top speed and quarter mile times.... actually, is out-performing! The news isn't all sweet because the things that aid it in performance, also hinder it in other areas. I'm not sure there was ever any doubt that Kawi was going to come up with the goods, but the question for me was always "by how much?" and "at what cost?" I have gotten the answers to both of those questions and am still smiling. It excels in the areas I like and suffers in areas that are less important to me.
If you are a true motorcycle enthusiast with no brand loyalty, or are a Team Green supporter, you will love the effort Kawaski put into this bike (even if it did take them forever and a day!). It defines the lines that Kawaski has always built their bikes along. If you are an avid Suzuki fan, then this bike may not hit your hot button. I applaud Suzuki's effort with the Busa and from seeing them around town and run with my own eyes, they are downright awesome! I love all brands of bikes and would own many if I could afford to, but I can't. This year a ZX-12 will be in my garage.
Kevin
The ZX-12 is alive and kicking! I have had the privilege of talking to a very important individual with Kawasaki, USA in Irvine, Ca. who has actually gotten some seat time on one of these new 12's. The 12 is living up to the all the hype in testing! It will out-perform the Busa in both top speed and quarter mile times.... actually, is out-performing! The news isn't all sweet because the things that aid it in performance, also hinder it in other areas. I'm not sure there was ever any doubt that Kawi was going to come up with the goods, but the question for me was always "by how much?" and "at what cost?" I have gotten the answers to both of those questions and am still smiling. It excels in the areas I like and suffers in areas that are less important to me.
If you are a true motorcycle enthusiast with no brand loyalty, or are a Team Green supporter, you will love the effort Kawaski put into this bike (even if it did take them forever and a day!). It defines the lines that Kawaski has always built their bikes along. If you are an avid Suzuki fan, then this bike may not hit your hot button. I applaud Suzuki's effort with the Busa and from seeing them around town and run with my own eyes, they are downright awesome! I love all brands of bikes and would own many if I could afford to, but I can't. This year a ZX-12 will be in my garage.
Kevin
G
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According to a ZX-12 list member who located that article spec's are 182hp@10,500 with a top speed of 194mph.
G
Guest
Hey Kevin, glad to hear you will have a ZX-12 in your garage THIS YEAR. Are you getting one of the PRE production prototypes?
As far as living up to the hype I think it still has another 15-20mph to go. Of course you must surely be talking about the more REALISTIC hype that has been so hard to find these days and not the PIPE DREAMS we've been seeing on the Hayabusa site? Nice to see some pics of the 12 that don't look like they were whipped up by some jr. high kid using Photoshop! Care to provide any details of the "insight" you gleaned from your insider? Were you able to decipher the extra embelishment that one would usually receive from a company rep?
As far as living up to the hype I think it still has another 15-20mph to go. Of course you must surely be talking about the more REALISTIC hype that has been so hard to find these days and not the PIPE DREAMS we've been seeing on the Hayabusa site? Nice to see some pics of the 12 that don't look like they were whipped up by some jr. high kid using Photoshop! Care to provide any details of the "insight" you gleaned from your insider? Were you able to decipher the extra embelishment that one would usually receive from a company rep?OB_fastzx9
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Well, this year.. next year... whenever I guess! LOL!
As for the 15 to 20 mph, where from? From what number would it need to gain 15 to 20 mph? Think about this for a bit, the Busa didn't do that, or barely, over the XX. From best to worst on both, about a 15 mph spread. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, the fastest a U.S. mag clocked the Busa was 195/96, and the fastest for the XX was 180/81.
Well, it was easier to decipher (the Kawi info) knowing that the numbers came off of two massaged hand-built U.S. test models. There were three until one got wrecked in a test session...lol.
Kevin
As for the 15 to 20 mph, where from? From what number would it need to gain 15 to 20 mph? Think about this for a bit, the Busa didn't do that, or barely, over the XX. From best to worst on both, about a 15 mph spread. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, the fastest a U.S. mag clocked the Busa was 195/96, and the fastest for the XX was 180/81.
Well, it was easier to decipher (the Kawi info) knowing that the numbers came off of two massaged hand-built U.S. test models. There were three until one got wrecked in a test session...lol.
Kevin
G
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Kevin - I would think it would need to to gain 15-20 from the highest OFFICIAL speed obtained on the Busa in order to live up to the claims that the 12 will better the Busa by AT LEAST as much as the Busa bettered the XX. The official top speed of all 3 bikes involved could become a matter of debate depending on which side of the fence one is on. I'm willing to give the Blackbird its 180 and be done with it. The Busa has been tested at 194 by Cycleworld [June 99] but according to the segment on Extreme machines the OFFICIAL top speed of the Busa is 197. Then of course we have all seen the video of the 200mph run on the stock Busa which I originally was told had been done with no mirrors but upon closer inspection of the video by me DOES appear to have mirrors. It was also stated on the Extreme segment that some have gone FASTER than 200 on the Busa but there was nothing to substantiate that. I *think* the 197 official run was done in Europe but I'm not sure what difference the location of the continent makes? The German article on the 12 with the 194 was presumedly done in Europe. For the sake of argument I think we can safely say that the Busa at 194-197 mph is 14-17 mph faster than the XX. With the 12 rated at 194 by the recent German article it still needs to go 14-17 mph faster in order to better the Busa by AT LEAST as much as the Busa bettered the XX. Am I making sense here? Should I clarify? BTW - I know I've been tweakin' you and you've been a real sport about it. Who would have thought we would end up discussing comparisions of top speeds of two STOCK bikes like this a few years ago?!
OB_VegasDude
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Todd you make a lot of sense but to be fair to fastzx9 lets see what happens when the bike gets released to the public.................then everyone will test it and we will see what the average top end, how fast in the quarter, ect. You know I think all of the top motorcycle companies are pushing the performance envelope for the current price range except for the new norton which will be 35000, Hell for that money ill by the zx12, keep the busa and then buy a f4 augusta...........and be a hell of lot happier..............
G
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But of course Vegas - nothing is really certain until the production models get the same rundown by all the know-it-all publications and testers that the Busa did. I'm not even sure of the details of the recent German writeup/top speed figure anyway.
OB_VegasDude
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Well one thing the german test told us so far is that it's not doing 200 miles per hour. I think its going to be a toss up between the busa and the zx12 and boy wont the fur fly then............I really cant wait for that.............I love to talk poop..........Only for fun of course..LOL
The German article I've read was an introduction of the ZX-12R, not a test. They
didn't drive the bike themselves, but their photographer met it by chance (a scoop).
I guess they've got the numbers about topspeed and horsepower from a 'reliable' source? So this 194mph figure is still not definite!
Within a few weeks we will know for sure.
didn't drive the bike themselves, but their photographer met it by chance (a scoop).
I guess they've got the numbers about topspeed and horsepower from a 'reliable' source? So this 194mph figure is still not definite!
Within a few weeks we will know for sure.
OB_VegasDude
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Just what i thought, more rumor b.s. The busa didnt have this type of b.s. There is no use paying attention to anything until the damn thing comes out till feb if then.............................
OB_Mr Bear
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Rumors? The Sept. issue of Popular Mechanics says the ZX-12 will be introduced as a 2001 model. I don't know what to think about that.
Actually Fastzx9, there are ways for the big factories to get 210+ out of a stock bike if they want to do it. And of course the rumor mill chews on those theories every day, claiming someone or other is doing it.
The most sensible thing I have heard about how the ZX-12 will cope with the Hayausa's aerodynamics and top-end is that Kawasaki paid big attention to the overall width of the ZX-12. It is supposedly 1.5 inches narrower than the Bus, which gives it a considerably smaller effective frontal area. It can therefore do more with fewer horsepower in the high end.
Again, until it is in the showroom and tested by the magazines, it ain't done nothing. Even if a preproduction version ran some hot numbers in Irvine or in Stuttgart, that is nothing any of us can buy. Therefore, again, it doesn't count.
The wildest rumor I have seen is the one about the new-millenium Honda CBX, supposedly a transverse V-6, due in 2002 or 2003. Such a machine could (in theory) cream everything to date in acceleration and top-end. No big factory has built one yet, but they build transverse V-fours all the time that are pretty strong, so there is no reason they couldn't.
I'd love to see such a bike...I'd love to own such a bike!! But if someone told me one was about to come out, I'd say I'll just wait until my local dealership actually has one. There's only one bike today with that qualification, that goes 190+ and runs a sub-10 E.T. It is called Hayabusa.
Actually Fastzx9, there are ways for the big factories to get 210+ out of a stock bike if they want to do it. And of course the rumor mill chews on those theories every day, claiming someone or other is doing it.
The most sensible thing I have heard about how the ZX-12 will cope with the Hayausa's aerodynamics and top-end is that Kawasaki paid big attention to the overall width of the ZX-12. It is supposedly 1.5 inches narrower than the Bus, which gives it a considerably smaller effective frontal area. It can therefore do more with fewer horsepower in the high end.
Again, until it is in the showroom and tested by the magazines, it ain't done nothing. Even if a preproduction version ran some hot numbers in Irvine or in Stuttgart, that is nothing any of us can buy. Therefore, again, it doesn't count.
The wildest rumor I have seen is the one about the new-millenium Honda CBX, supposedly a transverse V-6, due in 2002 or 2003. Such a machine could (in theory) cream everything to date in acceleration and top-end. No big factory has built one yet, but they build transverse V-fours all the time that are pretty strong, so there is no reason they couldn't.
I'd love to see such a bike...I'd love to own such a bike!! But if someone told me one was about to come out, I'd say I'll just wait until my local dealership actually has one. There's only one bike today with that qualification, that goes 190+ and runs a sub-10 E.T. It is called Hayabusa.
G
Guest
Kevin - You have made my point EXACTLY! Your last post reflects what I have been saying in response to some of the UNREALISTIC claims I've been getting from the 12 bandwagon even at the time that reports/rumors were indicating ~180 hp for the 12. Glad to see that you appear to have your feet on the ground!
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