How fast is too fast ?

[JC Viper]

Didn't notice that... Yeah unless you're talking a 10 second flat bike I don't think so. The busa is a torque motor yet still has the horsepower to nail 200 MPH.

Personally, I love torque more than horsepower, there is nothing like the sense of acceleration rush.

except that huge amount of torque will eat chains/ sprockets* and tires for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Still, nothing's more satisfying than having the back wheel spin and leave a darkie pulling away from a light.

*the guys at BIKE and Visor Down stated that the Hayabusa does such things. If anyone's got a 'Busa lying around give it a try as a fact finding mission...

[High_Side]

The GPz900R recorded 1/4 times in the high 10s stock form and one managed to get 10.55. Considering mine has been modified it possibly can either run with it to an extent as many publications stated similar 1/4 for a stock 'Busa.

Don't get me wrong, I've always been a fan of your bike, the 900 Ninja. But saying that it is in the same league as a Busa with a few mods is really off-base. Consider that a stock '84 Ninja 900 put out in the neighborhood of 100hp at the rear wheel. They got there by being somewhat peaky compared to the competition and gave up torque as a result. A stock 'Busa puts out in the neighborhood of 155-ish rear wheel hp stock and has boat loads of torque. Unless there is a ZX-11-12 motor or a Supercharger between your frame rails there is no chance that it will be even close.

You also have to consider quarter mile times and keep it all in context. Back in the eighties cheater bikes for magazine tests were all of the rage. As a quick quarter mile time meant big sales the manufactures (and sometimes the magazines) would pull out all of the stops by hiring dwarf-quarter-mile ace Pee-Wee Gleason and massaging the test bikes for good result. This resulted in bikes like the V-65 Magna getting a time like 10.79 for advertising purposes but in reality it was more of a high 11s type of bike. And don't forget that 1 second over a quarter mile is a major difference in performance.

To really understand though you need to ride a 'Busa, ZX-12 or 14. Your bike feels super-quick (they all do until you ride a faster one), but you will be blown away by the difference. Not that anyone really needs 'Busa power on the street though....

[Markg1]

Let's throw in the Gen2 Vmax into the topic. I owned a v65 while I was in high school and then college. Probably not a bike a young man should have, but I lost only one race. That was to a modified gsxr1100. Now I have a Gen2 vmax and that is on another level. I've never ridden a busa, but the vmax has way to much power and I like it! I'm a little older now and respect the power but if you like high performance bikes or bikes in general you have a duty to respect that power! If you like horsepower and torque then you have to test ride a vmax, nothing like it!

[zeligman]

back to the original question - on my -02 suz vl800, i got up to almost 90 mph on rt. 128 here in boston. It was an accident since I was trying to get away from some traffic and bonehead cagers, and when i looked at the speedo i almost flipped out...

I'm a big guy, and couldn't believe that it got me going that fast and it was only an 800cc. in general, on the hwy i stayed around 60 mph - i could get to 75 fairly easily - as long as i had the windshield installed!

[Wrider]

back to the original question - on my -02 suz vl800, i got up to almost 90 mph on rt. 128 here in boston. It was an accident since I was trying to get away from some traffic and bonehead cagers, and when i looked at the speedo i almost flipped out...

I'm a big guy, and couldn't believe that it got me going that fast and it was only an 800cc. in general, on the hwy i stayed around 60 mph - i could get to 75 fairly easily - as long as i had the windshield installed!

Heh told you when you bought it it'd move!
I got mine to 105 one time when I was trying to pass a guy doing 55 in a 65, he decided to gun it (LS1 Camaro). He and I ended up having an acceleration contest, and I was leaned over on the tank, going downhill, with a 30 mph tailwind. I think it freaked him out when he saw that I was still not backing off the throttle and he eventually slowed down and let me in...

[waterbuffalo750]

I think I just kissed 100 on my bike, maybe got to 105, before I let off the throttle. I think she was about topped out, and it was pretty scary. No windshield, no facemask, upright seating position... it felt fast.

But then I got my buddy's 750 rocket('92 yammy, not sure the model) up to 100 and it felt like I was doing about half that.

[Markg1]

I had my Vmax on a road that is rarely used. 140 mph! It handled that speed perfectly! Is that too fast?

[High_Side]

I had my Vmax on a road that is rarely used. 140 mph! It handled that speed perfectly! Is that too fast?

Yamaha thinks it is. For some reason your bike has a factory speed limiter at 138mph.

[RhadamYgg]

Fast is such a relative term. Today, my wife in her minivan with the mob was doing 50 mph on a small road just outside a park with a posted speed limit of 50 mph, and I thought she was going wayyy too fast. It was night time, unknown street, hilly with lots of sharp turns.

I've reached 100 mph on my Suzuki B-King. The fastest I could get my Ninja 250 was 90 mph - but continuously for a trip out to PA (and in a bit) and back on Route 80. I haven't really pushed my FZ6, but I've seen speeds of 95 mph on it.

But when you are talking fast, there is the 1/4 mile or from a traffic light fast and there is top speed. Above you guys were comparing a Ninja 900 to the Hayabusain 1/4 mile terms. Well, the B-King had the 2008 Hayabusa engine in it - and the few times I rode it in 'A' mode... Its really just quite shocking. The FZ6 I think puts out around 100 hp, and the feeling when from a stop just giving it all up, compared to the B-King not even part way on the throttle is almost not comparable.

The FZ6 is quick, but the B-King literally stole my breath away. You could have it (B-King) not even all out (no wheelies or burn out) and it would feel like your body was 50 feet behind you. The FZ6 I can push almost all out (again, no wheelies or burn outs) and it doesn't feel anything like that. For once, I'm not being very scientific. This was all about feeling.

[Markg1]

Fast is such a relative term. Today, my wife in her minivan with the mob was doing 50 mph on a small road just outside a park with a posted speed limit of 50 mph, and I thought she was going wayyy too fast. It was night time, unknown street, hilly with lots of sharp turns.

I've reached 100 mph on my Suzuki B-King. The fastest I could get my Ninja 250 was 90 mph - but continuously for a trip out to PA (and in a bit) and back on Route 80. I haven't really pushed my FZ6, but I've seen speeds of 95 mph on it.

But when you are talking fast, there is the 1/4 mile or from a traffic light fast and there is top speed. Above you guys were comparing a Ninja 900 to the Hayabusain 1/4 mile terms. Well, the B-King had the 2008 Hayabusa engine in it - and the few times I rode it in 'A' mode... Its really just quite shocking. The FZ6 I think puts out around 100 hp, and the feeling when from a stop just giving it all up, compared to the B-King not even part way on the throttle is almost not comparable.

The FZ6 is quick, but the B-King literally stole my breath away. You could have it (B-King) not even all out (no wheelies or burn out) and it would feel like your body was 50 feet behind you. The FZ6 I can push almost all out (again, no wheelies or burn outs) and it doesn't feel anything like that. For once, I'm not being very scientific. This was all about feeling.

You bring up a good point. The topic of this post is 'how fast is too fast'. Well what's the definition of speed and acceleration? In order to define speed, we must look at the units. Most of us think of speed as miles per hour or kilometers per hour. While acceleration is the rate of change of speed. So acceleration is the time it takes you to get to a certain speed not a certain distance. So the total time that it takes your bike to go from 0 to 60 mph is acceleration. The time it takes your bike to travel 1/4 mile is average velocity (displacement / time).

Now my vmax can accelerate with a busa, I think the vmax has a quicker time in 0 to 60 mph. ( I just opened a can of worms) But it's not faster! I believe that the ninja was top speed king for some time. But the fastest production motorcycle is the busa. So when I think fast I think top speed.