RACING BIKES
1. 2008 HAYABUSA
Faster than a fighter pilot. Smoother than a sake bomb. It’s the 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa — completely overhauled for the first time since it raced out of the gate and flattened the competition.
When Suzuki wheeled out the Hayabusa in 1999, the goal was simple: Blow away every sport bike on the planet with the fastest production motorcycle ever built, which it did. For the Hayabusa’s 2008 redesign, that goal has been slightly re tooled: Blow away Kawasaki’s ZX-14 and do it with a ride that’s user-friendly, a slightly more difficult task.
The new 1,340-cc Hayabusa claims 194 horsepower at the crank. That’s almost dead even with the 193 horsepower Kawasaki claims for its 1,352-cc hyperbike, the ZX-14. Both are snot-nosed fast, so consider the competition ended, as far as speed is concerned.
“Fastest production motorcycle” has lost much of its meaning anyway. A gentleman’s agreement among manufacturers prevents them from building bikes that exceed 186 mph. In the case of the new Hayabusa, it isn’t the bike’s capabilities but an electronic limiter that will stop riders from joining the 200-mph club.
Suffice to say, the 2008 Hayabusa is the fastest bike Suzuki has built. The product of several years’ R&D plus an extra kick in the pants from Kawasaki, the new Hayabusa incorporates so many minuscule upgrades, you would need a magnifying glass and a thick notebook to take stock.
Suzuki was able to add 41 cc of displacement to the Hayabusa by increasing the stroke on each of its four pistons by 2 millimeters apiece. That’s a 3 percent displacement increase over the old Hayabusa, so why does the new version crank 12 percent more horsepower?
Gear heads whose minds turn on machined parts and motor oil might say it’s the modified piston crowns (which upped the compression ratio), the shot-peened connecting rods (which helped accommodate the longer stroke) or titanium valves and lightened valve springs that make the new Hayabusa explode into action like a rocket-propelled grenade. But the biggest gains came from updating the engine management system and fuel injection to the type used on Suzuki’s GSX-Rs.
The 32-bit microprocessor is twice as fast as the old one. The advanced digital fuel injection system is also more efficient. It uses two butterfly throttle valves and two 44-mm throttle bodies, instead of one apiece, while the number of holes in each injector has been tripled, from four to 12, for a finer spray of fuel and a bigger bang of power. Whatever’s left over from that explosion heads out the back through a maze-like 4-into-2-into-1-into-2 catalyzed exhaust.
The Hayabusa is that rare breed of bike that’s broken through the motorcycling miasma from fan boy to regular Joe. Stop an average man on the street and ask him what a Hayabusa is, and he’ll answer like a caveman: Motorcycle. Fast. Dangerous. The Hayabusa is synonymous with speed and excess, so improvements to its engine were expected.
But the Hayabusa was also sent back to the wind tunnel for ergonomic tweaks. The fairing is slightly wider to cover riders’ bodies more fully as they slice through the wind.
The turn signals have been moved below “the hump,” instead of hanging below the Hayabusa’s telling tail, as they had been on the old version. The windscreen is also taller and its upper lip curved so the wind flows above and around a rider’s helmet instead of turning him into a bobblehead.
With his head tucked for laminar flow, a rider’s better able to check out the five intertwined circles that form the redesigned dash. The gear indicator’s new.
So’s the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector, which debuted on the 2008 GSX-R1000.
For those who’ve missed the hype: The S-DMS allows riders to choose between three power delivery settings — which are varying degrees of fast.
Which is what the Hayabusa is all about.
Base price: $11,999
Powertrain: Four-stroke, fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-cylinder, four valves per cylinder, six-speed
Displacement: 1,340 cc
Bore and stroke: 81 mm by 65 mm
Maximum horsepower: 194
Torque: 114 pound-feet
Seat height: 31.7 inches
Dry weight: 485 pounds
2. Kawasaki ZZ-R1400 [tech/spec]Price/availability: £8,995 on the road.
On sale now.
Contact Kawasaki Motors UK: 01628 856600/www.kawasaki.co.uk.
Engine/transmission: 1,352cc,
four-cylinder four-stroke with 16 valves;
197bhp at 9,500rpm,
114lb ft of torque at 7,500rpm.
Six-speed gearbox, chain final drive.
Performance: top speed 193mph, average fuel consumption 38mpg.
I wish I could own this machine
3. GSX1300R HAYABUSA
One fateful Friday afternoon, members of the product planning and engineering departments met at Suzuki headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan. The product engineers wanted a motorcycle so advanced that it didn’t fit into established machine categories. A machine that would redefine street performance. A machine that drew upon lessons learned in endurance and drag racing.
With breath taking acceleration. Nimble handling. Strong brakes. State-of-the-art suspension. A comfortable riding position. World-class fit and finish.
A machine that exemplified effortless performance and instilled pride of ownership in its rider.
A machine so advanced that it demanded an entirely new performance category: Ultimate Sport.
Meeting the engine performance goals would be no problem, the engineers replied. Building an excellent chassis would be no problem. Brakes, suspension, comfort, fit and finish, all no problem.
The challenge, the engineers added, would come in making the performance seem effortless. They would think about the project, the engineers said, agreeing to reconvene the meeting the following week.
The answer came to a young member of the engineering team on a family wilderness outing that weekend. Walking along a trail, the engineer spotted a streak in the sky, high above the trees lining nearby cliffs. Startled, he watched as it swooped at an impossible rate of speed, then turned and whirled back over the treetops. He recognized it as an indigenous falcon the Japanese call Hayabusa. It is not the biggest bird in Japan, nor is it the strongest bird in Japan. But the Hayabusa has a unique ability to cut through the wind to reach top speeds over 300 kph (186 mph).
As he watched, the engineer reflected upon the fact that the Hayabusa does not spend its entire day at 300 kph. But the ability to slice through the air at such a high rate of speed makes its normal flight seem effortless.
Effortless performance! Suddenly, the engineer knew he had the key to designing the advanced machine the product planners wanted! Make it able to slice through the air like a Hayabusa, and normal performance would be almost effortless. As he reached for his notebook, the engineer was already sketching the new machine in his mind.
It would be the most aerodynamic Suzuki ever built.
And it would be called Hayabusa.
The GSX1300R is an integrated design by a team of talented designers and engineers working together. Aggressively styled aerodynamic art, a powerful, compact 1298cc engine with Suzuki Ram Air Direct induction, and precise fuel injection combined with a rigid twin-spar frame and quality suspension components define the term "effortless performance."
4. LAMBORGHINI Design 90
I've seen Lamborghini making tractors, boats but not bikes.
AUTODROME Cannes is proud to present an extremely rare Lamborghini Motorbike designed in collaboration between Lamborghini and the French leading-edge racing bike constructor Boxer-Bike.
Boxer Bike has been famous since the seventies for their racing and sophisticated motorbikes, hand-built with extensive use of aerospace-technology, ultra lightweight frames and offering the highest performance on two wheels. In 1986, when Lamborghini decided that a motorbike would bear their name, Boxer was chosen as the only partner capable of building the most desirable motorbike of the period : the Lamborghini Design 90, powered by a state-of-the-art, 4-cam, 4 valve per cylinder straight-4 engine.
The price asked when this machine was presented was twice as high as the one of a famous high-end motorbike of the period. This price factor, in addition to the availability in extremely limited series contributed to establish the myth of the Lamborghini bike. As specialists know, the Chief Engineer for this bike was Claude Fior, famous for his unique high-tech racing bikes, and that unfortunately died too young a few years ago
5. MV Agusta F4 R 312
The evolution of racing bikes is the result of many small steps. the underlying concept is never abandoned, rejected or turned upside down. It is only meticulous little changes that finally lead to perfection. It is for this very reason that the F4 has made history in the annals of sports bikes and gone on to become a legend.
The F4 of today is a symbol of this legend. The R312 where "three hundred and twelve" is the top speed. To go fast means, tests, hard work, sweat and winning on the track with all the sacrifices and dedication that calls for. With the F4 1000 R MV Agusta was the protagonist last season in the Superstock production series. Unlike others, it is style that adds to the MV machines lined up on the starting grid. More words seem hardly enough to describe the beauty and appeal of a model that, still today, leaves the competition unable to answer.
It is not just its streamlined elegant looks or prestigious name, this time it is also a record holder - 312 km/h. To win on the track you always need more speed. This is why the production MV F4 1000 R 312 now has an evolved professional suspension system. Huge 50 mm Marzocchi forks provide all the stability that an incredibly powerful bike needs.
The forks are carbonitride treated and feature 13 compression and 22 rebound settings. The Sachs monoshock absorber has double hydraulic compression settings to deal with acceleration stress. Compression settings can relate to high speed use for tracks that have small uneven sections on the curves and for low speed handling to make shock absorption more progressive on accelerating out of a bend. The real beauty of monoshock absorbers is the fact that they offer spring preload options. To improve the gyroscopic effect of a motorbike that wants to be "Top Gun" has meant superlight forged Y- spoke aluminium Brembo wheels fitted with 190 tyres of which a full 6 inches comes in contact with the ground at the rear. It has meant Brembo brakes on the R312 with 320 mm front discs with P4/34 radial calipers.
The F4 R 312 puts out over 180 CV at 12,400 rpm. This too is a record if you consider the Euro 3 limit. It is the result of painstaking development work on the 4 cylinder MV engine with special work done to the cylinder head. New 30 mm Del West titanium valves with reinforced springs were fitted and cams given redesigned raised profiles. Throttle bodies had their inner diameters increased from 46 to 48 mm and longer intake horns were fitted. All this provided an increase of 8 CV "sweetened" by the Magneti Marelli 5 SM Eprom Flash Memory CPU that not only manages the power output but the EBS (Engine Brake System) too. This anti-bounce system is controlled by a solenoid valve that allows the second cylinder to provide power even on deceleration with the valves closed.
The only thing left to do is decide on a colour scheme to make the dream come true. There is the innovative white livery that highlights the geometric form of the machine, "Bodoni" black that leads for style and elegance and lastly, the classic MV Agusta red/silver.
6. HONDA CBR1000RR FIREBLADE
The Honda CBR1000RR is a MotoGP race replica with many of its features taken from Honda’s top-end racing bikes. The result is a high-performance track and racing superbike that also makes for a perfect street bike.
The 2007 Honda CBR1000RR borrows many technologies found in the Honda CBR600RR, but has added advancements, such as a reworked chassis and exhaust system, reworked front and rear suspension and a lighter swingarm. The CBR1000RR’s strong but light die-cast aluminium chassis has an inverted fork, Unit Pro-Link rear suspension and radial-mounted front brakes. The chassis is a reinforced version of the CBF600’s frame, but a longer swingarm gives better traction when accelerating. Honda’s advanced Unit Pro-Link rear suspension completes the impressive list of features and adds to the bike’s impeccable handling.
The Honda CBR1000RR’s fuel-injected 998cc engine is modelled on the Honda Fireblade superbike but has been adapted for road use. The engine is powered by Honda’s advanced Dual Stage Fuel Injection (DSFI) system for superb power and response at all speeds. The electronic steering damper keeps the bike steady on corners to improve handling and performance even more.
Some bike enthusiasts have said that the Honda CBF1000RR looks relatively plain against its competitors, and other Honda motorcycles, but this simple styling is more than made up for by the bike’s power capacity considering its compact size. Although the bike has enough power to satisfy an experienced thrill-seeker, it is still not too overwhelming for the less-experienced rider.
Offering the best of both worlds, the Honda CBR1000RR is a true champion that pushes the limits of Super Sports riding enjoyment.
