The Next Volley in the “Ultimate Sport” Wars
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An Artist’s Impression of the ZX-12 (credit Ninja Club Japan) |
Suzuki’s recently introduced Hayabusa defines, according to Suzuki, an entirely new category of motorcycle: the “Ultimate Sport” category. Suzuki’s point, of course, is that this is a category of one.
Things are about to change. Reports throughout the motorcycling press indicate that Kawasaki is about to introduce a new motorcycle, the ZX-12. This is the successor to Kawasaki’s long standing “fastest production motorcycle”, the ZX-11. The ZX-11 stood at the top of motorcycling’s food chain much longer than Honda’s CBR-1100 XX (quickly eclipsed by the Hayabusa after its 1997 introduction). By all accounts, Kawasaki intends to retake its place at the top of this category of motorcycles – well, let’s just call it the ultimate sport category (thanks, Suzuki).
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Suzuki’s Hayabusa |
Suzuki’s formula for success with the Hayabusa was simple, and consisted of three main ingredients (1) lighter weight (the Hayabusa is approximately 18 pounds lighter than the CBR-1100 XX), (2) more displacement (the Hayabusa is 1298 cc’s vs. the CBR-1100 XX’s 1137 cc’s), and (3) more horsepower (one publication’s dyno tests indicate the Hayabusa has 157 rear wheel horsepower vs. 140 for the Honda).
If press reports are accurate, Kawasaki’s formula for toppling the Hayabusa is somewhat similar. Although the Kawasaki has a smaller displacement motor (reported to be 1198 cc’s) than the Hayabusa, it is expected to be significantly lighter (approximately 40 pounds) and equally , or more, powerful (one publication indicates crank horsepower of 180 – translating to approximately 156 rear wheel horsepower or nearly the same as the Hayabusa).
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Honda CBR1100XX |
Kawasaki undoubtedly re-designed aspects of the ZX-12 after seeing the Hayabusa for the first time earlier this year. Since the magazines make a big deal out of top speed (and, apparently consumers are influenced by this statistic), Kawasaki is intent on bettering the Hayabusa’s approximately 190 mile per hour top speed. To do so, Kawasaki has employed both traditional and new technology – with a particular emphasis on aerodynamics.
The now-traditional technology consists of ram air induction (increasing air pressure in the air box to feed the hungry carburetor), a lighter, smaller motor (similar in design to the motor in the new ZX-9), light weight chassis materials (including aluminum and magnesium – also used in the ZX-9) and fuel injection (something Kawasaki’s competitors employ in several sport bikes, including the Suzuki GSXR 750, the Hayabusa, and the Honda CBR-1100 XX).
The new technology relates to the design of the ZX-12 frame. Manufacturers have frequently employed a motorcycle’s engine as a stressed member of the frame (which Kawasaki has also done), but Kawasaki achieves new efficiencies with it’s unique ZX-12 frame.
Kawasaki utilizes a hollow section of the frame above the engine as an air box, and wraps the frame over the top of the engine (similar to the location of a steel backbone frame – except Kawasaki uses aluminum), rather than employing twin spars on either side of the motor (the most common sport bike design of late). The result of these two frame innovations is lower weight and, even more important in this ultimate sport category, a narrower motorcycle.
If the narrower ZX-12 has dramatically better aerodynamics than the Hayabusa, the top speed of the ZX-12 will be significantly higher. The frontal area of the ZX-12 (its outline when viewed from the front of the bike) will reportedly be significantly smaller than the Hayabusa or the 1100 XX, thanks largely to the innovative frame design. Pictures don’t necessarily impart a narrowness that an in-person inspection may reveal, but Kawasaki clearly went to great lengths, and innovation, to reduce the frontal area of this motorcycle.
In purely engineering terms, the frontal area of a motorcycle becomes increasingly important as speeds rise. After a motorcycle is traveling more than 150 miles per hour, for example, the amount of increased horsepower necessary to raise top speed is far greater, as a percentage, than a corresponding reduction in frontal area (leading to an improvement in aerodynamics). In other words, a sleek and aerodynamic shape, with a small frontal area, more readily translates to a higher top speed than does increased horsepower as bikes reach these incredible velocities.
Kawasaki has a history of being pretty good at the aerodynamics part. The ZX-11 is still considered an aerodynamically efficient design (nearly as good as the 1100 XX -which is a far more recent design).
Expect to see the ZX-12 introduced at a European motorcycle show later this year, with corresponding reports in Motorcycle Daily and other astute motorcycle publications. This astonishing bike should be available for purchase from your local Kawasaki dealer sometime next year at a price competitive with the Hayabusa and 1100 XX (in the $11,000.00 range).
For the largest collection of ZX-12 Pictures on the net, visit this site.
