Interesting article on aerodynamics

aardvark · Post by **aardvark** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:48 pm

I didn't read it all. It made my head hurt.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:41 pm

the busa still reigns supreme hey??

its a shame is so farking ugly!! (and made by spewzuki)

HemiDuty · Post by **HemiDuty** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:48 am

Be interesting to see how much Suzuki payed for this article....

Busa still reigns supreme... What crap. Yeah it may be marginally faster if a plug is pulled on the 14. The 14's extra power will kill the Busa, yet this is not mentioned in the final statement.

Meh.

kellz · Post by **kellz** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:16 pm

though i ask how much does rider size and build come into this.
like i know if i sat on my brother 6 is race position id sit a hell of a lot lower than him and be under the screen almost fully where he doesnt he is over 6 foot and well built.

and what about mods like double buble screens, how much extra does that help.

Jonno · Post by **Jonno** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:49 am

What, no 12R?

rocketrod · Post by **rocketrod** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:33 pm

I still think the busa has the best road engine.From all the tests i have read about the kwak,they all say that things dont start happening until your over the 6 grand mark.FFS its a 1400cc,it should have grunt,if i wanted a revver ide buy a 600?Im sorry mr kawasaki but you have still missed the mark.

HemiDuty · Post by **HemiDuty** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:23 pm

Not so. They have engineered the bike to be rideable under 5 grand, and after that the thing destroys a Busa, and anything else on the road for that matter. If you are looking for a bike with power under 5 grand there are some great air-cooled v-twin machines around that peak about there!

I am sure you could always fit a PC and give it the berries in the low end, but I really don't see the point. It is not like it has no power there already, just not enough to be jumpy etc. in traffic.

For mine, on paper, I think they got it just right.

rocketrod · Post by **rocketrod** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:49 pm

HemiDuty wrote:Not so. They have engineered the bike to be rideable under 5 grand, and after that the thing destroys a Busa, and anything else on the road for that matter. If you are looking for a bike with power under 5 grand there are some great air-cooled v-twin machines around that peak about there!

I am sure you could always fit a PC and give it the berries in the low end, but I really don't see the point. It is not like it has no power there already, just not enough to be jumpy etc. in traffic.

For mine, on paper, I think they got it just right.

Im sorry but i have to disagree.Having owned a busa,one of the best things about the bike,apart from its supersonic speed is the way the thing grunts from low down.No need to change down gears to get the thing going,but it seems with the kwak,you do.
Also the kwak being a sports tourer and not a full on sportsbike,i would have thought the motor would have been more user friendly?
The busa is certainly ridable under 5 grand and doesnt need to be restricted.I know they did have a timing retarder in the lower gears on the busa and i put an elimintor on mine,but to be honest you could not tell the difference.
Also you are compairing a 7 year old design against something that is completely new,and i am a little dissapointed with kawasakis results.

I-K · Post by **I-K** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:21 pm

rocketrod wrote:Having owned a busa,one of the best things about the bike,apart from its supersonic speed is the way the thing grunts from low down.No need to change down gears to get the thing going,but it seems with the kwak,you do.

Nothing like a bit of perspective...

http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/hay_zx14torq.jpg

This is fairly typical of a ZX14 torque curve. It shows that the 14 starts to out-torque the Busa at 4500rpm. At that point they're both making just over 80ft-lb of torque at the wheel, which, according to...

http://photos.motorcycle-usa.com/53447s ... torque.jpg

...is about 3-5ft-lb of torque more than the same dyno was able to find at the wheel of any of the current litre sportsbikes anywhere in their rev range.

You're right. The thing makes more torque at the bottom-end than a current litre sportsbike makes at peak. It must be rubbish.

Also the kwak being a sports tourer and not a full on sportsbike,i would have thought the motor would have been more user friendly?

Well, one could argue that a user-friendly doesn't try to tip you off the back when you gas it off the lights and doesn't spit the wheel out sideways when negotiating a greasy roundabout.

HemiDuty · Post by **HemiDuty** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 9:30 pm

Yes, but I do remember the similarly aged design ZX7R being compared to the then new GSXR750. They are going to be compared, because despite how long they have been around, they are both current models.

I understand what you are saying regarding the bottom end, but I really don't think it is as 'lacking' down there as you might think. More relaxed in comparison to it's hideously strong midrange/top end than actually slow I think. And with a rev range from what, 5 to 10 grand + it's not like you really need to be shifting through the box all the time.

Mind you I am only reading into this what I can garner from the reports doing the rounds and such and talking to people who have ridden them. There are a few on here who have tried them out, I am sure they will have more to say on the matter.

But for mine it kills the Busa. Take the speed limiter thingo out and it WILL have a better top speed. Not to mention get there a lot quicker, as is already being seen at drag strips across America. When I become to old and/or injured to steer a bike well I will be looking for one. Hopefully they will just be a cheap old has-been by then.....

rocketrod · Post by **rocketrod** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:42 pm

The point im making here if you have owned one of these mega blasters is,there is no need to rev the thing,its doing 3500 rpm @ 100kph,so to me if you are on the highway and want to overtake,the torque is there where you need it.I hardly ever seen the top end of the rev range because there was just no need.I mean redline in 2nd is 180kph,how fast do you want to go one the road?