Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128162
Honda CBR11 OOXX vs. Kawasaki ZX-12R When I was making my runs on the XX, it just wouldn't even pull close to the 10,750-rpm redline, stopping short at around 10 grand. I tried to hold fifth longer, but then I banged into the limiter. I would time my shift perfectly from fifth to sixth, and it would still just fall on its face. All of this doesn't mean a thing in the real world, however. No one goes this fast on a regular basis - or ever, for that matter - and the fact is that, as far as street bikes go, it really works well in most riding situations. Bottom Line 1. Kawasaki 2. Suzuki 3. Honda CRAGSTRIP The dragstrip element of this test was the most fun because it involved several nights of attending Los Angeles County Raceway's grudge night. For $15, you show up and make as many passes as your heart, or clutch, desires. I'll be honest with you, I'd never ridden a bike down the quarter-mile until this test. But my good friend Peter Jones (editor of Motorcycle Street & Strip magazine) is always talking about drag racing this, and drag racing that, blah blah blab. So it was actually really fun to get to do it for the first time. The only thing that I hate about drag racing is that you have to slow down after a quarter-mile - well, I guess you don't have to, but it's a good idea. The thing is just getting up some speed when you have to chop the throttle. Oh, well. The one thing that I learned was: that I suck at reaction times. However, I now know why: It's my 13 years of riding street bikes that is messing me up. I mean, if you jump the green at a traffic light, you're going to get mowed down. If you don't jump the green in a drag race, you'll get mowed down by your competition you're supposed to cheat. What works to your advantage is that most people's reaction times are too slow to beat the light, so it tends to work out perfectly. We used a pro tree every time we ran the bikes, which was good practice in correcting my bad habits. After staging in the starting beams, a pro tree gives you all three amber bulbs simultaneously and then, .400 of a second later, the green. Like I said, I really sucked at this until I realized that there weren't any housewives in minivans talking on their cell phones trying to kill me. The bottom line is that the RT (reaction time) makes no difference in testing because the clock doesn't start ticking until you break the beams. So the only elements that matter are ET (elapsed time) and your speed through the lights at the finish. . Associate editor Scott Rousseau and I went to a couple of the LACR grudge nights and had a ball, and although our times were semirespectable, they weren't earth-shattering. So, in an attempt to make this story cool, we enlisted some help from a professional to knock out some truly impressive times. Our ringer is Larry Laye, pilot of the Nxt Level Racing Turbo Suzuki Hayabusa (see sidebar). I had seen Larry in action before and figured he was the man for the task. Anyone capable of riding a 475-horsepower Hayabusa without a wheelie bar is capable of throwing down times on these anemic little U1trasport bikes. We ended up renting out the LACR facility on a weekday, because the sheer number of people showing up at the grudge night was keeping us from getting anything accomplished. What transpired was truly impressive. I'll go out on a limb and say that our times are the quickest of any maga- 5 Dynojet Research Inc. 125 · · , , 100 [; 75 :I: W eli . . , , , , , , , -----~-----~-----~--, , _ _...J", , ' 0 0. m , , cue • e n __ s m ~ . . . . , ·50 ----~-----~-----r----- , , , , , , , , , , , 25 I · I I 2 I I I I . , , , I I I I 3 I I 4 , I I I I I' 5 , • I I I I C' .!!!. , . , . , ·25 ._---~-----~-----~-----~-----~----- , .a c d , · · · , 50 ~ - 7S , , , , ;t III • 100 -----~-----~-----~----- Q; , , I I s I 1'1' 7 , 8 9 10 11 12 RPM (x1000) zine around. If not, they're the quickest I've seen published. Once again, we had to take the elevation into consideration (2,710 feet above sea level), but we've run both the uncorrected and corrected times to show you how good they really were. Another thing: We didn't mess with the tire pressures or lower the front ends, or pull any other monkey busi- i 85113001 183.0 mph II 184.9 JULY 10, 2002' Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa The XX Is available In one color· sIlver. Kawasaki ZI·12R 36 VS. ness. These times are on absolutely stock bikes, just like they come off the showroom floor. The times reflect the skills of a very talented rider (Larry) and what is possible from these amazingly quick bikes. HONDA The funny thing about the Honda is that, when you first launch it from the line, the excellent clutch tricks you into thinking that you're going to have a great run. The problem is that the power just isn't there. Larry felt that the clutch was easy to manage, and that the transmission not only shifted smoothly but had well-chosen ratios. His biggest complaints were pointed at the power and weight - the gap between the two is too great to make for a really quick bike. On the other hand, he said it would be a great bike for a longer trip, as the bike offers a lot of comfort. We second that motion. Larry's best run on the XX would still make the car guys weep as they struggle to get their cars into the 13s, let alone the lOs. Larry ripped off a 10.638-second run at 130.83 mph. This translated into 10.296 at 135.238 when corrected for altitude. Not bad, but keep reading.