sportbikes

I have owned 11 sportbikes including 8 GSX-Rs, a Katana, Interceptor and lastly the '99 YZF R1. The R1 was when I got it, for a very short lived period prior to Suzuki's release of the Hyabusa, the fastest production bike on the road with somewhere around 150 at the rear wheel, so around 170-172 at the crank and it was FAST, weighing about the same as the ZX10 with a full tank. It did 1/4 around 9.8-10. if memory serves 0-60 was in the 2.4-2.5 range depending on how big your balls were because it was a struggle to keep this bikes front wheel on the ground. That was bone stock from the factory at 1000cc. Now I had a custom built GSX-R where we stuffed an GSX-R 1100 motor into a GSX-R 750 frame and the motor was built to full-on superbike specs by Fast By Ferraci, who is a tuner for Ducati. That bike had too much done to it to get into here but suffice to say that it was on par with the Moto GP bikes in terms of hp and weight. It weighed less than 300lbs thanks to full race carbon bodywork, lots of titanium goodies internally and had a 14:1 compression ratio so I needed to buy 103 or higher octane from a privateer Pro-Stock drag race shop, I actually ran from them 112 octane "blue" which cost at the time around $3.50 a gallon. That bike could pull with the proper conditions over 200 mph and I had it at Talledega on the banks at 185-190 (radar clocked) on track days but I was too chicken to really "twist the wrist" because of its lightness. Now that's a full-on race bike with the engine, top and bottom worked over.

Stock on the showroom floor nowadays, it's amazing what is available. It's actually a dangerous trend IMHO. Since the late '80s they have been putting bikes on the street that 99.999999999% of riders have NO BUSINESS being on at all!!! A stock 600cc GSX-R or YZF R6 puts out in excess of 130hp which, when combined with their light weight, can spell disaster for all but the most experienced rider. I have been down twice, bith times due to autos, and I have been riding for 15 years and started out on a 80cc dirt bike. I had a friend who used to run a dealership where I bought 3 of my bikes and we used to sit out in the parking lot and watch these 18 yr old kids come in and get someone to co-sign a loan for them and buy 750 and 1100 cc GSX-Rs and half of them had never ridden before!! They would pull out of the drive revving up to 13,000 and tearing off down the street and we would look at eachother and say: yeah, they'll be pavement pizza (our term) before too long. Sad but true. There are absolutely NO requirements for demonstrating any technical or practical profficiency (at least in Georgia) before you buy one of these potentially lethal rockets. Don't get me wrong, I love them, I will probably ride as long as I can still hunch over the tank, but I know what I'm doing.

 

A good friend of mine just bought this bike. It is supposedly the last one coming in. He is STOKED!

DL

 

I bought a new 2001 Honda CBR600 F4i (sold last year). The magazines put the 0-60 somewhere in the 2.7/2.8 sec range. Top speed was around 170. I grew up riding motocross bikes but this was my first road bike. A 600cc is more than enough for a first-timer!

 

Why would it be the last one coming in, its just been launched and surely Yamaha want to sell thousdands of them???

 

Numbers? I don't really know much about numbers. I ride bikes that really speak to me and have a certain appeal beyond all out speed of power. I have a Ducati 998 street bike that has been dynoed to put out 130 hp at the rear wheel and while it's "only 130 hp" I got on a new ZX-10R and it didn't seem quite as fast. A lot of it has to do with the fact that it's a Vtwin vs. a four cylinder but I think that some of those numbers are padded from the manufacturers.

I also have a Ducati 998RS racebike that is from the Ducati Austin factory AMA superbike team. That puts out about 180 hp and weighs 355 lbs. That is a real bike. Obviously it's strictly a track only machine but that's night and day compared to an off the shelf "180hp" Kawasaki.

I have never ridden an AMA spec Suzuki superbike but Art Chambers has and has ridden tons of 4 cylinder (and twin) race bikes so hopefully he will chime in.

My thoughts, although after only a couple rides on one, is that you won't find nearly 180 hp if you put one of those ZX10R's on the dyno.

 

Here's a pic of my 998RS.

The first pic is of me with it and the second pic is of it's original rider.
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The new R1 is supposed to have 180 HP.That's what they said on 2 wheel tuesday anyway.They didn't say if it was at the crank or wheel though.Still pretty impressive numbers for a steet bike.

 

Here's the 998 street bike.
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I could be wrong as I do not follow the production...or perhaps I misunderstood him. In any case, the bike looks awesome!

??

DL

 

I wish I had kept up with bike technology, but alas
I still dig the old stuff...
I had a Yamaha RD 350 and RD 400 2-stroker
from my buddy Don Vesco in San Diego years back.
Both bikes did 0-60 in under 4 sec, and would smoke a 750cc
out of the hole.
And this was back in the 70's

 

Thats awesome. The 998 is the nicest bike on the plant, IMO.

 

0-60 in 2.4-2.7s are routine with a rider capable
1/4 miles in 9.6-9.8 range with a rider capable

Absolutely bone stock.

If you remembe bikes from the 1980s, you are in for a shock, the bikes (same displacement) have basically doubled in HP and lost between 150 and 100 pounds!

 

Bimota v-due had two of them first one broke down after 100miles,they had
it back gave me another that chewed the starter ring gear up after 70 miles
great looking bike, engine was 2-stroke v-twin 500cc 110bhp at 9000rpm
bike weight 145 kg, direct fuel injection,i was gutted id waited so long for it,
£14.500 i paid for it, they took the second one back and had a R1 instead

Dale.

 

Sherpa, how do you like the twin? I have owned 11 -4 cylinders and decided against a 996 when I bought the R1 because I was unsure if I would like the sound and smoothness of a twin. I know the twins are torque monsters but I don't like the sound.

 

the 998 is far nicer than the 999 to look at...but the 888 still rules!!

 

The off the shelf Kawasaki's are dynoing over 160rwhp, they are genuine 180 crank hp bikes. Your 998RS should dyno 165rwhp, on a fresh motor. A GSXR1000 superbike dynos 180rwhp. The inline 4 are faster than the Duc in a straight line shootout, but the Duc seem to be able to hold a faster turn speed and more importantly, get off the turn quicker. It is not an issue of torque either, as the GSXR's are torque monsters. My Duc with all of its mods, is only as fast as a GSXR1000 with a pipe.

 

When are the sport bike wars going to end ? It is already difficult to ride
when your eyes are being pulled over the back of your helmut, and your brain is being pushed back into your skull. I think a turbo kit might help with this
problem.

 

I bought my very first bike last summer, a '99 Yamaha YZF R6. It has around 100bhp. A lot of people said I was crazy to start off with a bike like that, and after going down in a curve, I may have agreed with them. Believe me, I now have the respect that this bike deserves, and am cautious when applying the throttle. It is still an absolute blast, but I realize that I still have a lot to learn.

I don't know what kind of numbers this bike can achieve, but it is much faster than anyone really needs. It probably hits 60mph in the high 2 second range.

 

Kidzan

Oh don't worry. My first bike was a new ZX-7. I went with a friend to
purchase the bike. When I got home he told me not to ride in the middle
of the lane where the oil is. Four sport bikes later; I still have no artificial
limbs.

 

The Kawi does the big numbers because of the ram air effect.

My Hayabusa does 228 Rwhp because of a turbo-charger. On pump gas, depending on the launch 0 to 150 in around 6 /7 seconds. Everything on the road is slow in a straight line compared to it . That said, it's a big fat pig in the corners, but we saw 207mph out of it during a SCCA timing event. My 954RR is my track-canyon scooter. Claimed dry weight is 370lbs, less hp than the Busa but a fun little beater in the corners.

Watching bike racing on Speed right now from Daytona. Bostrom on Pole for the 200 .

 

Do i see a ferrari badge on your bike Kizdan?
MD

 

That was my earlier point. Superbikes + inexperienced rider = CERTAIN DEATH !!

 

Gotta love that Bostrom !!

 

Good eye! Yup, gotta have "Scuderia shields"!