Among the Ninjas, a Faster New Master Emerges
WHILE 175 horsepower is just adequate in most cars, a 175-horsepower engine in a motorcycle that weighs 560 pounds — the recipe kawasaki used to create its Ninja ZX-14 — results in performance that is simply over the top: 0-to-60 miles an hour in 2.7 seconds and a maximum speed just shy of 190.
Power to burn: Warming up the rear tire of the ZX-14 for a run against the clock.
For the moment — these titles can be fleeting — the ZX-14 is the acceleration king among street-legal motorcycles according to those numbers, recorded in a test by Sport Rider magazine. The crown is a comfortable fit for kawasaki, whose past includes reputation-making models like the H2, an overpowered, evil-handling model from 1972, and the Z-1 from 1973, a bike whose twin-cam engine was a leap forward in mechanical sophistication.
Many contenders have schemed to dethrone kawasaki through the years. Since 1999, suzuki has held claim to being quickest with its Hayabusa 1300R, a motorcycle that developed a devoted following among power-hungry riders. Acknowledging its emphasis on brute acceleration, suzuki classifies the Hayabusa — the name translates to falcon — as a sport-street bike, less hard-edged than its GSX-R family of racetrack-ready machines.
motorcycle makers generally do not publish specifications for the horsepower and top speed of bikes in this class, but some exaggerated claims — for instance, a 200-mile-an-hour capability for the Hayabusa and now the ZX-14 — are widespread; both are electronically limited to about 186.
Tests by enthusiast magazines can fill in other blanks. Sport Bike measured the output of a 2005 Hayabusa at 163 horsepower at the rear wheel. (The engine is unchanged for ’06.) The ZX-14 produced 175 horsepower to regain supremacy handily, and it reaches its power peak 500 r.p.m. sooner than the Hayabusa, at 9,250 r.p.m.
kawasaki engineers developed a substantially new engine for the ZX-14, building on the foundation of its predecessor, the ZX-12R. First, they increased the displacement of the in-line four-cylinder to 1,352 cc. Then they designed ducting that at high speed force-feeds fresh air to the intake of the fuel injection system — and called the system Ram Air, borrowing a name from Pontiacs of the muscle-car era.
“At speed, the intake becomes pressurized from the rush of incoming air,” Jeff Herzog, a kawasaki spokesman, said. “That creates a supercharging effect, good for almost 10 horsepower at top speed.”
Essentially, the faster the bike goes, the more horsepower it makes.
Finally, they improved the aerodynamics of its bodywork. Generally speaking, motorcycles at speed are as aerodynamic as a pallet of cinder blocks being pushed down the road.
“A big part of attaining the high top speed of the ZX-14 is achieved through aerodynamic design,” Mr. Herzog said.
That’s why I was a bit surprised when I noticed rather more wind buffeting than expected as I started my test ride. Then I looked down at the speedometer; it said I was already going 110 miles an hour — in third gear.
Zero to 60 m.p.h. acceleration in less than three seconds — akin to, say, Danica Patrick’s Indy racecar — is matched by the bike’s pull at higher speeds. Experienced test riders have been timed in the mid-nine-second range at 145 m.p.h. on a quarter-mile drag strip.
Climbing on this humped-back rocket for the first time, I felt like a rodeo rider settling in on a Brahma bull, a result of an unusually tall 5.8-gallon fuel tank. Still, the ZX-14’s proportions are similar to the ZX-10R and the ZX-6R in the Ninja line, though when parked next to the baby of the family, the Ninja 250R, the ZX-14 looks like Paul Bunyan standing next to a Boy Scout.
The rider is well positioned in cozy quarters, but not cramped; arms and legs are properly angled to minimize rider fatigue. Many sportbikes have the rider leaning too far forward, with too much weight on the wrists. The handlebars are well-angled and the controls are easily reached.
Gauges are front and center, the readouts are brightly lighted (a welcome touch is an indicator that displays which gear is engaged). The narrow width of the ZX-14’s nicely sculptured seat makes it easier for the rider to place his feet flat to the ground, despite the seat height of 31.5 inches; at speed, the rider can keep his legs closer together, for greater comfort and control.
Bodywork of the ZX-14 has been designed for improved aerodynamics. The speedometer usefully reads past 180 m.p.h., though most owners will never test it.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006...
issued: Tuesday, July 25, 2006
updated: Tuesday, July 25, 2006
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