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Which fast production motorcycle is faster: Suzuki Hyabusa or Kawasaki ZX-14?
Results so far:
| Hyabusa | 55% | 77 votes | Total: 140 votes | |
| ZX-14 | 45% | 63 votes |
Hyabusa
by John Wallie
Created on: November 22, 2010
For the sake of debating, I have to go with the Hyabusa as the faster bike of these two monsters. What you need to realize is both bikes now are regulated for top speed. Here where I live they both will go 299kph. But if you were to go back to 1998 when the Hyabusa first came out, Suzuki had its press release in Spain, and not just Suzuki was there, they had invited a few motorcycle magazines to come to the debut of their flagship bike. During testing of the bike, which incidentally handles well for its size, the question of top speed came up. They took the bike out to the high plains and ran the bike up through the traps. One number that came up was 317kph! That stands today as the fastest the bike has run in bone stock form. When the ZX came out, the factories, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha had all started limiting the speeds of their respective bikes. So, the ZX never had a chance to reign as the fastest bike over the GSX.
Granted, for arguments sake, the ZX may have had a chance to run up over 317kph. The thing we have to look at is the fact that the "Bus" may have continued to get faster as its production went on. Back in 1998 I had a chance to dyno test a Hyabusa and the results were 160 hp. at the rear wheel. Recently I ran a 2009 Hyabusa on the same dyno, and the horse power was 176 at the back wheel. Add the increased horse power to the new lighter bike along with increased arrow dynamics, and the result would be a faster bike yet. The ZX has found more power along the way as well. So with the fact that the "Bus" has been recorded at 317 in Spain, and the fact that with all the searching I have done on the Internet, and talking to people in the trade... I have not found a test showing the ZX to be faster.
Alas, with the agreement among the manufacturers, we may never see a bone stock ZX1400 go faster than a bone stock GSX1300R. That alone is all the proof I need to state the fact that the Hyabusa is faster than the ZX1400. SUZUKI 4 LIFE!
Keep your feet on the pegs and your right hand cranked!
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ZX-14
by Cindy Krebs
Created on: September 02, 2010
Upon seeing this debate, and being a sport bike rider myself, I had always heard that the Suzuki Hyabusa would be the faster of the two models. However after I checked out the specifications of both models, technically speaking the Kawasaki ZX-14 has 1352 cc engine where as the Suzuki Hyabusa has a1340 cc engine. You may think this is no big deal, but have you ever watched a race where both racers crossed the finish line at almost the same time? It made a difference, right? You can only have one vehicle in first place and the next is in second place, it is just the way it is. Now if this was the only deciding factor, then it would leave one to believe that the ZX-14 model is the faster of the two. But, there are several different factors to consider when looking at this debate.
First, the Kawasaki ZX-14 was built for racing on a track as the Suzuki Hyabusa was built as more of a street bike. So those are two different conditions in which these motorcycles perform and excel at.
Next, you would have to consider the rider. No two riders are exactly the same weight, height or have exactly the same riding experience or technique. For example, some riders apply a small amount of brake going into a curve because they know their machine and how it handles, where others apply more because they are afraid of the results if they do not. Also some riders are faster on the throttle then others, because they are not as distracted or maybe just more ready then another.
They are both built slightly different so the wind drag would vary some between the two motorcycles, along with the center of gravity per motorcycle. Also the Suzuki Hyabusa is the heavier of the two motorcycles, again because it is built more for a street bike then for racing. You also have to take into consideration the tires, once again the Kawasaki ZX-14 is a racing bike so the tires are bound to complement speed as opposed to road handling.
And the last factor that I am adding in is that I have been to the Daytona 200 more then once, and the first year I went it was won by a Kawasaki ZX-6R and a Kawasaki ZX-10R (both in first and second place). I'm sure if the Kawasaki ZX-14 had been in the race, it would have won. So taking all things into consideration my vote remains in tack, that between the Kawasaki ZX-14 and the Suzuki Hyabusa; the Kawasaki ZX-14 is the faster of the two stock motorcycles.
Learn more about this author, Cindy Krebs.
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