In the last few days there have been a number of stories about the fastest production sedan (Brabus Mercedes, 225.19mph), the fastest production pickup (Holden HSV Maloo R8 Ute, 168.66mph, no, I never heard of it either) and not long ago, the fastest production car (Bugatti Veyron, 253mph). Nothing wrong with touting the abilities of cars and trucks but it seems so politically incorrect to talk about motorcycles the same way. How come?
Whenever one of these vehicles sets a new record, everyone gathers around for a photo with big smiles, writeups appear in the automotive press and these become the object of lust and envy for the four wheel crowd. Motorcycles are treated differently, … a lot differently. Talk about motorcycle top speed and very quickly, someone gets his nose out of joint, talking of how dangerous motorcycles already are and how irresponsible it is to make motorcycles able to reach such velocities. Isn’t it time for this paternalistic nonsense to go away?
No one is suggesting the owners of these cars or trucks should go out and wind the speedometer all the way around but some of them try and a few dip into the performance a bit and promptly crash their high dollar exotics. Ferrari Enzos seem to be particularly afflicted. Perhaps there is concern motorcyclists will do the same and someone will get hurt, hmm …, fancy that, but drivers are routinely killed in cars as well and yet a car’s top speed is still used as an achievement worthy of note, as I think it should be. No one is suggesting someone should get on his derestricted Hayabusa or ZX14 and run down the road flat out, though a few certainly will try, but “restricting” a motorcycle to 186mph (300km/h) makes no sense. Crashing at 150mph or 200mph will probably make little difference in most cases except for the fact that the number makes some bureaucrat feel like he’s done something to keep those awful motorcyclists in line, for their own good, of course.
I’m definitely not suggesting that this should be some new design parameter for normal streetbikes, the manufacturers could make a limited production special version of something like the ZX14 with no restrictors but still street legal and produced for sale at a high price. That way there’s no flood of 200mph street bikes around but a company could get the top speed halo from the machine.
A lot of writers seem to tiptoe around the subject of this top speed issue, the manufacturers always talk about things like “the most powerful motorcycle we’ve ever made” without being too specific. Everyone seems concerned some government busybody will make it his new crusade to rid the world of this menace. Enough already!
Riding motorcycles, skydiving, SCUBA diving and lots of other activities can be dangerous, there’s a news flash for you, but choosing to take part is a personal decision. Restrictions placed on these activities or the manufacturers of related products by non-participating bureaucrats is tiresome. If you choose to participate, you take the risk and no artificial top speed limit will make any difference. If you buy hot coffee, don’t spill it in your lap. If you buy a circular saw, watch your fingers. If you buy a motorcycle, dress appropriately and stay rightside up. If you crash, don’t whine.
So how fast is the new ZX14, anyway?
Link: Holden HSV via Jalopnik
Link: Brabus via Autoblog
Vladimir says
It’s a pitty that everyone is seeing bikes as the most dangerous thing on the roads.
FX14 is fast enough!
Vladimir says
I mean ZX 🙂
Ricky says
The writers tiptoeing around the subject that I have read recently have made it clear that the 300kph limiter is a sort of ‘gentlemans agreement’ among the major bike manufacturers, and not the result of any legislation in any district. I think you’re off base here. How well a bike handles at 186MPH is much more important than whether or not it can go any faster, or how quick it can get there.
aaron says
I think cars and bikes are treated the same, if you look at the proportions involved… if some jackass in a stupidly fast car endangers himself and others by pretending the road is a personal racetrack, he makes dozens of papers and is still in the news (ericcson and the enzo wreck). a squid will never get this level of coverage, but there’s ten to the block in a big city…
the problem is, stupid fast on a motorcycle leaves body parts on the road at 100 mph (a co-worker lost his leg on a signpost when he decided to be silly, and then there’s my often mentioned reason for full face helmets: a picture of a lower jaw torn off in an accident) while even stupider fast in a sports car just leaves some concussed swede mumbling about an imaginary driver who was far more sober then he. combine high volume with bloody gore at the accident scenes, and compare the relative ability of anyones 16 year old boy to buy A: a Ferrari Enzo (about half a million) or B: a sportbike (ten grand, with financing available to anyone with a weekend job)
throw in the need for the special safety gear and training required (in the darwinian sense – no squid is legally required to take action to prevent his limbs from flying off in a bloody mess in his first ride) and there you have it – the public perception of bikes as unsafe is at least partially justified under the present circumstances. a 5 year old sportbike (lets say a scuffed up gixxer 1K) can be bought and paid for in full by a sixteen year old with a part time job. this bike is one of thousands like it in the city, and his mother has probably driven past a bloody wreck involving a motorcycle at some point. he is not required to wear a jacket, boots, protective pants, eyewear, or is some states – a helmet. he is not required to prove he can handle a machine like that, and most likely borrowed his uncle’s virago 250 to pass his road test. no training is required, and next week everyone in his community has to drive past the bloodsoaked patch of road where his shrine is erected. (funny, but blood soaked can be literal – one or 2 street signs i’ve seen weren’t washed after an accident and still have little spatters for weeks or months after)
bottom line – 170mph for 4-5 grand is available to any idiot. there are a lot of idiots. in a car, people with the money to get an exotic usually have a higher education as well as a million passive safety devices to prevent injury. there are few rich people than poor, and their injury rates are far lower in the car accidents they have vs. squid accidents we bikers get tainted by. and just because honda won’t build a 200mph bike, that doesn’t mean your local tuner won’t give you a 210mph bike for the price of a mr. turbo kit….
aaron says
oops, 2 more things….
several automakers offer high performance driving lessons as an option with the flagship exotics – the dealer has you check the little box, the pricetag rises a little, and you and your car are properly introduced to each other by an expert. I’m amazed honda and others don’t take this little display of responsability seriously. partially subsidizing matching safety gear at the point of purchase wouldn’t hurt either.
my problem isn’t the performance of motorcycles – at some point I will own a turbo bike, maybe even a car engined bike is in my future (rx-8, anyone?). I’d buy a MTT millenium superbike if I had the cash, and would trade an organ to have a current motogp bike in my shed. my problem is that the small price difference between high performance motorcycles and standard ones makes temptation too much for many inexperienced riders. (plus many dealers are also extremely unscrupulous about those they sell to – see that quote about first time riders and hayabusas from the football player concussion study)
in addition, america’s (and canada’s) bigger is better attitude means that the “entry level” bikes we have available are getting bigger and faster. is a 400 pound 85 horsepower 130 mph bike (which only retails for about 2K less than the company flagship line) an entry level machine? my favorite of these “entry level” bikes, the sv650, has two major problems – it is passed up by many new riders for a gixxer 600 due to the small price gap, and it (the SV) is already far more capable than just about any “hypersport” bike of 20 years ago. where are the cheaper, smaller bikes? (and the 20 year old virago 250 and rebel don’t count.) with the gas situation as it is, there is a huge market for people who want a light, stylish bike that is affordable and fun. right now (in canada, anyways) they are buying scooters because most bikes are an intimadating jump in price/weight/performance. market a low, light 250 capable of 80 mph for the price of a premium scooter and see what happens – hell, bring the italjet americord scooter/bike hybrid over and see how it does!
hoyt says
Aaron….your post includes references to the auto side in only the context of exotic cars. What about the tuner goons in their lowered Japanese compacts or VWs ? They can’t perform like the bikes or cars mentioned, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. The young squids are highly annoying. But, the goons in their tuner cars are more annoying and more dangerous – a squid on a 400 lb. bike is less likely to hurt SOMEONE ELSE than a tune-goon in a 3500 lb. car.
If the debate wants to rage over the “safety” factor, let’s focus it on the harm done to others, too. Maybe this would help enlighten those people who lose sight of the real problem — it’s not the bike, it’s the operator.
I agree with your points that the young squid has easier access to high performance machines, but the level of harm that can be done to others is more likely to come from someone in a cheap tuner car than someone on a bike or an Enzo. I also agree with the %’s that would pursuade the general public towards bikes being the problem.
So, the original point is that bikes are still being held out of context of reality….and there are people within our own sport that are responsible for that misconception.
I would like to hear from the French readers….they have the hp mandate and would probably have good input on this subject.
—-on a side note—:
now that Ducati has their V4 for street legal sale, does this mean an ” * ” needs to be placed next to Hayabusas or ZX-14s? The * would indicate they are the fastest street-legal bikes (*except for that wild Ducati).
Maybe that will help Kawasaki build that limited-edition run? I can care less, really, because I like torque over hp. I should say I care less up until the point that the bureucrat gets his nose out of joint and limits hp.
aaron says
my bad – for those who are interested in googling it, I misspelled the italjet model – it’s “amarcord”, a 4 stroke 150cc – just add a few horsepower and it would be a great scooter alternative…
http://www.italjetdragster.com/images/misc/amarcord.jpg
kneeslider says
Ricky – you’re correct, it is a “gentlemen’s agreement” but it was instigated by the strongly hinted at prospect of government action if the companies didn’t do something like that. Top speed in a car is no more relevant than on a motorcycle, handling is certainly important in both cases, but top speed bragging rights give a little boost to a company until someone surpasses their mark.
Aaron – you, too, are correct, high speed motorcycle crashes tend to be messy but as I said, 150mph or 200mph makes little difference. Your arguments would apply just as well if motorcycles were limited to 100 mph. But the crux of the issue is where you said, someone’s mom drives past the bloody site where her boy died being stupid and what does she do? Run to a lawyer and sue everyone. Her son was still stupid, whether she wins her lawsuit or not, but everyone suffers as a result.
Hoyt, great point about tuner cars and throwing that iron at someone else.
I didn’t say change the speed limits, I said let’s just derestrict motorcycle top speed and stop whispering about it. Bikes are fast, riding can be dangerous, that’s not news.
If pure safety is our concern, let’s just start a list. There is so much that isn’t perfectly safe, we could be stopping activities of all sorts. Let’s make it a nerf world with padded everything.If all activities that could cause injury or death to the participant were outlawed (as some would love to do) where do we stop?
Why is it so hard for people to say we should be free to try dangerous hobbies or sports or even to be stupid or careless? It’s because so many are waiting to sue someone or some company for their own stupidity. Individual responsibility is a wonderful thing but so few accept it, it’s why lawyers make money.
This whole issue is the elephant in the room no one will talk about, it’s as though many are willing to concede the idea of freedom as being somehow irresponsible. In talking to my son, I’ve often said there is one difference between a child and an adult, responsibility. As soon as you accept responsibility for what you do, you’re an adult, as long as you keep pointing your finger and blaming someone else, you’re a child. Obviously, some never make the leap.
Restricting motorcycle top speed treats motorcycle riders differently and it’s easy to do because there are far fewer riders than drivers. Non riders are more than willing to limit those crazy bikers because drivers are what, more responsible? Right.
aaron says
hoyt – I was trying to compare “real world” performance apples to apples – that is, very few get into accidents above 170mph, and you need a super-exotic to get similar acceleration to a sportbike. the “fast and the frivolous” crowd definately is a greater menace than the drivers of the exotics, but except for a very few (there are less full on monsters around here than porsches and ferraris – besides, a porsche cayman is cheaper than some fully tweaked imports!), most modified civics and integras will not have impressive “on paper” numbers (they impress me, don’t get me wrong, but not too many tuned 4 bangers are making more than 300 horses, and the “all motor” 6 cyls like the 350z will rarely get more than 400. mommy’s 300C sedan and daddy’s new escalade make more horsepower than that, hell – european uncle yaris has a diesel luxury car with 321hp, while grandma’s new lexus hybrid makes 420hp when the electric motor kicks in….on paper, nothing to panic about – the press can’t hype 300-400hp cars as a “threat”, not when auto journos complain about “only” 140 hp in a bare bones entry level car)
aaron says
ahhhrrrrgggghhhh! another response! I need to get on with my day, so I can’t keep typing on this topic – I’m playing more of a devils advocate here, inspired by an event last summer here in victoria – just after passing a written test for his learners permit, a would be squid took his scuffed up 5 year-old gixxer 1K for a ride with his “full patch” squid friends. they went as fast as their limited skills would allow, and he tried to keep up. (their 8 months of riding skill being so vast, you know)
dead, with only 1-2hrs seat time in his life. best guesses average about 180kph on a twisty road (probably unfamiliar to him) when he turned himself into worm food. a great bargin on a recent sportbike becomes scrap metal, I have to pay higher insurance, and the public gets another reason to think that any motorcycle injury/death will have nothing to do with them, no matter what the circumstances, because “those crazy motorcyclists just try to get hurt”. people pay less attention to motorcyclists because the average motorist believes what they want to, and I get more people tailgating me and cutting me off. great. another jackass that is even more usless as a corpse than he was when alive. and I still have to see his family and friends cry on the news about how smart he was. and I have to drive past another shrine every time I tackle that great piece of road.
It’s all politics, and the european manufacturers haven’t bought into it. any euro manufacturer (except the french – maximum hp=100) can do what they want. but straightline aero efficency may hinder track function – the hayabusa makes less power than many sportbikes but it’s aero should still see off many in a straight line. the rc211V, on the other hand, is less efficent, because of aero effects in changing direction etc… plus, look at the styling – fast may be considered ugly (as the hayabusa was/is by many) and they really just want to sell bikes….triumph scrapped a 1300 200mph bike a few years ago, because it couldn’t justify its development costs.
(so much for not taking much more time here 😉 )
finally – regarding motorcyclists being treated differently – go out and buy a $20,000 BMW k1200s motorcycle, and a $100,000 BMW M6 car. one (the motorcycle) will go 175+mph, while the other (the car) is restricted to 155mph, despite a 500+hp v10 engine…food for thought – the germans (excluding porsche) restrict their cars to 250 kph, but bikes are a different story…
Blair says
Just a little info on the Holden HSV Maloo Ute for those who were wondering. Holden is an australian off shoot of GM, they use Chevy sourced V8’s, the one in the Maloo is a corvette based engine I believe.
America got a taste of Holden when they rebadged their coupe, the Monaro, and called it a Pontiac GTO. Rhys Millen was drifting one last year.
HSV is a performance off shoot, like Brabus is to Mercedes.
aaron says
bah, that came out slightly wrong – i wish we could edit past posts…
I’m AM all for removing top speed restriction, but I understand why they are in place. it’s a weird time when high performance is so cheap and available, and the japanese makes derive so much of their sales from crazy-fast bikes. if only 4 or 5 bikes were capable of the top speeds, as is the case with cars, not much of a problem. but a 1300cc bike caused the controversy, and a 1200cc bike got screwed by the restrictions. now all the 1000cc bikes are hitting 300kph, and I think the gixxer 750 hits the limiter now because of speedo error. 600s might make it in 5 years, and many people consider a 600 to be a good “first bike” – and if the public gets too wrapped up in top speeds and requires *BY LAW* that top speed be limited, do you think 186mph would be the number they pick? how about 150? 125? wait – is a law that restricts speeds, yet allows people to double the speed limit an endorsement of speeding? 75mph it is….
and there is your (plausible) worst case scenario.
Richard says
Regarding negative attitudes towards motorcycles that can go fast, it’s likely to get worse after the debut last night of the egregious show, “Super Bikes!”, on SpeedTV. This show glorified illegal stunting on the street, fight gangs, and various other activities that are almost universally frowned upon by the general population. I say “almost” because there is bound to be a segment of young males who are going to think it’s extremely cool– but they won’t live very long after they attempt to emulate what they saw on this show.
kneeslider says
I was actually going to save my comments on that show for another post, I watched it, too. High speed lane splitting, wheelies down the street, yep, just the sort of thing to spiff up the rider image. I’m curious what SpeedTV is aiming at here.
Jason says
I maybe on totally the wrong lines here but surely if you have a 250mph car or 200mph bike, does this mean that you HAVE to drive / ride it that fast ?.
And it isnt the cars or bikes that are dangerous it is the drivers or riders of said vehicles.
Just to digress here a bit I hate it when I get into a conversation and the other party says “Motorbikes are dangerous” so I ask them why ?, they are too fast, so I reply, “Do you think the bike goes that fast on its own ?”, I also add that my front and rear suspension can be set up for differant types of ridind, “Can your suspension on your car be tweeked to suit road conditions etc. ?”, this soon shuts them up.
Have a nice evening folks.
palegreenhorse says
in NV we have to pay a motorcycle safety fee when registering a bike. the gov., i think, uses this money to subsidize courses and pay for ads promoting motorcycle safety. i think one way to improve rider education and safety on fast bikes (which in turn i think would allow for a lifting of the gentlepeople’s agreement to limit bike speed) would be to do targeted mailings. i know everyone hates junk mail… BUT if everyone who owns a bike that has the potential of going above say 90 mph got a flyer for a local track that is open for bikes, a flyer for clubs that take advantage of track days, a brochure on how stupid street racing is, and a brochure on the safety courses available. and they got this info a few times a year, it MIGHT help some. i think people shouldn’t be told don’t go fast, after all it IS fun. they should be told, ‘please go fast where it is appropriate and have fun while doing it.’ basically riders need to make it cool to go fast on tracks or closed streets not with regular traffic.
Craig says
in regards to the “Holden HSV Maloo Ute” to call this a pick up is a misnomer. This is what we north americans would call an “El Camino” style vehicle. Think a camaro with a pick up bed on the back – not something like an F-150.
In regards to the speed cap issue, I think that it is ultimately up to the riders to control themselves.
I feel that what is lacking in the motorcycle market right now is affordable small displacement models of all kinds. For new bikes you have 250 rebels, ninjas, and the odd 250 size dual sports. I would love to see some 400cc sport/standards. As mentioned before the sv650 is considered by most to be the best starter bike going… I find it more fun to be able to push a small displacement bike to it’s limits with my skills as opposed to taking a litre bike to the track and barley even scratching the surface of it’s capabilities with my limited skills.
Zac says
I’m surprised that after Aaron’s post about a low light 250 capable of 80 mph no body mentioned the still for sale Kawasaki Ninja EX250. Still priced at $2999 retail after 20 years in production, yeah the styling is dated (a lot). But for the price of a regular scooter you get a real motorcycle that will do 80 all day long (I’ve done it for hours on end, so what if its at 9000 rpm, thats where the power band starts anyway) will top out well over 100 mph (downhill helps), gets 60+ mpg, and with very few mods ($10 ebay shock anyone) Will show its tail lights to all but the most skilled riders, regardless of machine, on a twisty road. I’ve been there on the 250, knee out in the twistys, embarassing riders on much more expensive, higher displacement bikes. My only complaint is the skinny tires and somewhat vague suspension make road hazards such as sand much more dangerous. The main argument people have is that they will outgrow the bike in 3 months anyway. My theory is you only outgrow the bike when you can understand and apply everything the bike, frame, suspension, and tires are telling you and you understand how you want them improved and can’t get that out of your current bike. I’m at 2 years and 11,000 miles on my 250.
todd says
Fast bikes don’t sell that many bikes. Most people in the US (by a HUGE margin) are buying cruisers and choppers. The last I looked a 1200cc HD puts out a little over 50 hp for its 700 pounds and barely reaches 100mph because of it. So Kawasaki advertises a ZX14 but they sell Vulcans all day long, probably 4 cruisers to each sport bike.
High speeds don’t attract me to a bike. The little ninja 250 previously mentioned does everything a ZX14 can and will in every day life and do it much easier and cheaper too. It is just as much fun to take a ride on a 30 hp bike as it is on a 180 hp bike. Heck, my experience tells me a bike gets more fun with the LESS power it has. Do yourself a favor, go ride a Derbi or Aprilia 50 and a ZX14 around a city for a day and tell me which is more fun.
-todd
kneeslider says
Small displacement bikes are great, 250s and mid sized 650s are more than most really need but that doesn’t mean a flat out, no holds barred hyper bike doesn’t have a place. For Kawasaki, maybe a ZXX for ZX Xtreme or something. Very limited production, very high price for a bike, a halo bike. Takes nothing away from all of their other bikes but there’s no reason a company shouldn’t build one and be proud of it.
aaron says
there I am in agreement. if that RC211V replica actually had materialized, I would have been disappointed if honda had capped its top speed. with every sportbike over 750cc hitting 300, I’m just a little afraid that a law may one day be passed REQUIRING that top speed be capped. cars or bikes, it doesn’t matter – a domino effect could follow once the precedent was set. the maximum speeds would slowly get lower and lower, and should you get nailed for speeding after derestricting your ride, how harsh would the penalties get? call it “illegal modification of a motor vechicle for the express purpose of evading police and street racing” or something similar, and the judgement could be on par with drug charges…
funny enough, I’ve been shopping 250’s lately – but I’d put a tzr250 farther into the realm of “experienced riders only” than many larger bikes!I envy those in the states who have imported rs250’s – up here, a bike not sold in canada by the manufacturer must be 15 years old to be imported….
Zac says
Its not easy to come across 250s here in the states either. Still pretty much limited to the three or so that are currently manufactured. Street legal RS250s are very rare and command huge price tags (like 8k-20k depending on location). Other two stroke 250s that may have been affordable such as NSR250s and TZRs are often restricted so that if they weren’t titled before 2000 they are not able to be titled (often depends on state laws as well) an untitled NSR that would make a nice race replica street project goes for like 3-5k whereas titled bikes take 2000 dollar premiums or more. But like you said those bikes are probably more for skilled riders, they don’t have horsepower curves, they have horspower spikes. I’m still holding out for a nice 450 from Aprilia using their v-twin motocross engine, there were tantalizing spy photos like two years ago but then the buyout occured and who knows what they are doing now.
As far as Kneesliders comment about them being allowed and proud to build bikes like the ZX14 I totally agree. I just think these posts have highlighted the lack of an interesting sub 600cc bike available in the western hemisphere. I think there are a lot of us that would love to have a 400cc or so bike that could spank a 600 with a skilled rider at the controls and still be fun for everyday riding.
guitargeek says
I’m not a big fan of the nanny state, but I do think it’s WAY too easy to get a license in the US.
Specialgreen says
I agree regarding the fun of the smaller-displacement sportbike. I’ve heard that the Hyosung Comet 250 has better componentry than the GS500, which is popular among the lightweight racers in my area. As you say, the biggest deficiency of the small-displacement bikes is the quality and components. The Breva was a nice change, although smaller than the traditional 500cc models.
TBYamahaFZ1 says
Compensation should not be made because of ignorance. You can wreck a bike at 40mph and die, if your one of these guy on sport bikes doing wheelies with no helmet on. If the machine can do 200mph there is no reason to restrict it’s performance. It’s about time we start taking responsibility for our own actions and stop trying to point the finger. I’m all for riding fast, if it is done at the right time and the right place, and no it doesn’t always have to be on a track, take the autobahn for example. Riding fast on a straight highway with little traffic is exceptable. Riding fast in rush hour traffic, not too smart. Let the manufacturers do their jobs and build their machines to their best abilities and let us try to ride to ours.
Carl says
Motorcycles with 600cc doing 156 mph is considered a starter bike. What are we thinking. These bikes have more HP than my car and can run 3 times the legal speed limit on most roads, and you only have to be 16 or 18 to buy one. worse yet, the Hayabusa or zx12 or even the new zx14 can be purchased by an 18 year old with no experience what so ever.
I think bikes should have age restrictions as well as riding experience restrictions. Don’t get me wrong, Ive been 175 on a busa and I am saving for the new zx14. But I have almost 30 years on bikes. and in no way do I consider my self an expert. although I have had training and alot of experience I can say that these new bikes are beyond my capabilities. But I have no intentions of riding them that fast on the street.
We need to stop restricting bikes and start limiting who can own them. and of course education is a key factor. Training, Training, Training. And I am a big fan of smaller bikes like the sv 650 or Fz 600 which are more than capable of giving the average person more thrill than they can handle.
we tend to think that we will out grow these bikes. We fool ourselves. Most of us cant push the bikes we own to their limits. We confuse our limits with the bikes limits. I would bet that 99% of riders out their cant push the bikes their on to the bikes limitations. They push it to their limits and assume that it’s the bike that can’t handle that corner any faster. When in reality its our own limits.
It just takes a little common sense. But hey you can’t cure stupid.
Nick says
The system is fine as it is. If some idiot wants to go faster than 300km/h (186mph) on the street, he can easily have his motorcycle derestricted. He can also add a turbo charger, remove the muffler and so on.
Since no stock motorcycle is “permitted” to exceed 300km/h, it allows the motorcycle makers to focus on handling rather than pointless top-end speed. It benefits eveyone quite a lot more that way.
It is common, by the way, for cars to be speed restricted these days. The VW GTI is, the WRX STi is, Audis are and so on. Only the expensive exotics are not, since there are relatively so few of those on the road. Basically anything that falls into mainstream pricing gets speed-governed, and that goes for motorcycles too.
William Scherer says
The World’s Fastest Production bike is a ZX-14– 195.107 mph set at Bonneville Sep, 2006 for a World and AMA record.
jay says
does anyone know how to fix my problem with my rev limiter on my yamaha R6? it pretty much cutts out one cylinder once i get out to about 175mph. right now my only option is to try to digg up a racing ECU. does anyone have suggestions?
jay says
you were talking about getting your bike “derestricted” how would i go about doing that? i’ve been on bikes my hole life, i finally jumped up onto a R6 rescently, i love the handeling ability and light weight, but i want a little more ass for the straight aways, can anybody help me out?
Skip says
The ZX-14R isn’t the fastest bike anymore. Not by a long shot. The fastest production bike is a MTT-Turbine (top speed at 227 MPH). But it does run you about $150,000 so the kid next door isn’t going to be flying down the street on one. To be fair its not really the same compared to a ZX-14 or any other street bike. Why? Well it’s powered by a Rolls Royce Turbine engine capable of 320 horsepower. And apparently they are making one that will have over 420 horse the top speed of that I do not know but we can only guess how fast it would be.
And apparently there is a concept bike that has been made (not mass produced) and its a Dodge Tomahawk. It would make a ‘Busa cry in the corner. It’s not a 1300 cc not a 1400cc but a Dodge Viper V-10 8.3liter engine. Its ugly as sin compared to the rest of sport bikes. I don’t even know if you could classify it as a bike – it has four wheels but they are real thin and right next to each other. To ride it your pretty much in a drag bike position. The 500 horsepower engine can get this “bike” just shy of 400 MPH. It’s been rumored that they might make a very limited number of these but I doubt it seeing how the car companies aren’t doing so hot. Well if you have an extra quarter of a million dollars why not?