Kawasaki H2R production bike world record anyone?

[Wuffles]

By bike I mean bike, not some new age penny farthing.

https://youtu.be/6aIjDY-bReQ

Not sure what speed he's doing when he pops up from behind the bubble, but anything over 150mph is going to hurt the old arms right?

 

[Claymore]

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[Claymore]

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[Wuffles]

Maxed out an RSV-R Factory back in 2007 on a lovely road somewhere in the middle of Spain. Drag racing some Police on the way to a MotoGP - they kind of asked us for a race - gotta love the Spanish for their attitude to bikes.

 

[StevieB]

Hmmm - not quite sure that is a road legal version of the bike. It has fins on the front for downforce, scalloped rear seat cowl for the same reason and 400kph equates to 248mph - in excess of the (self imposed) manufacturers limit of 200mph for bikes - many litre sports bikes have limiters for this purpose. Slick tyres, lack of wing mirrors etc. If you asked any manufacturer to tweak a bike for flat out speed they would be able to achieve similar results. don't get me wrong - it is incredibly fast, but isn't that what you would expect from a deliberately prepped bike built for speed?

Seems a bit like running a Le Mans supercar but claiming it is just an Audi - not quite comparing apples with apples is it?

Steve

 

[doctor Bob]

I given up on bikes for a while, trouble is for £10k you can get a cracking bike that does 3 x the speed limit and unfortunately I was never able to ride sensibly, only a matter of time before the licence went.

 

[Wuffles]

Hmmm - not quite sure that is a road legal version of the bike. It has fins on the front for downforce, scalloped rear seat cowl for the same reason and 400kph equates to 248mph - in excess of the (self imposed) manufacturers limit of 200mph for bikes - many litre sports bikes have limiters for this purpose. Slick tyres, lack of wing mirrors etc. If you asked any manufacturer to tweak a bike for flat out speed they would be able to achieve similar results. don't get me wrong - it is incredibly fast, but isn't that what you would expect from a deliberately prepped bike built for speed?

Seems a bit like running a Le Mans supercar but claiming it is just an Audi - not quite comparing apples with apples is it?

Steve

Just says production, no mention of road legal. No comparisons being made are there?

 

[bugbear]

I given up on bikes for a while, trouble is for £10k you can get a cracking bike that does 3 x the speed limit and unfortunately I was never able to ride sensibly, only a matter of time before the licence went.

Or injury/death, of course.

BugBear

 

[Racers]

I find you start to sit up then you are sitting up, I can lie on the wind at 100MPH and take my hands off the bars!

Pete

 

[Wuffles]

I find you start to sit up then you are sitting up, I can lie on the wind at 100MPH and take my hands off the bars!

Pete

Jerez to Santander in 20 hours including an overnight stop once upon a time, only to avoid a number of divorces if we'd missed the ferry. Slowing down to stretch legs out at 100mph.

 

[StevieB]

Just says production, no mention of road legal. No comparisons being made are there?

But it's not a production bike is it - it is a highly modified bike that takes the H2R production bike as its starting point. Maybe I am splitting hairs, but to me it is not a bike that I would or could ever own as it is a bespoke custom ride designed specifically to reach 400kph.

Bob - you don't have to spend anything like £10k to get that fast, for the speed and power bikes are still incredibly cheap compared to cars. I find it is the breaking that is the biggest problem however, and where cars really excel over bikes.

Steve

 

[Wuffles]

Just says production, no mention of road legal. No comparisons being made are there?

But it's not a production bike is it - it is a highly modified bike that takes the H2R production bike as its starting point. Maybe I am splitting hairs, but to me it is not a bike that I would or could ever own as it is a bespoke custom ride designed specifically to reach 400kph.

Bob - you don't have to spend anything like £10k to get that fast, for the speed and power bikes are still incredibly cheap compared to cars. I find it is the breaking that is the biggest problem however, and where cars really excel over bikes.

Steve

No I get your point, I have no idea how it comes stock, I'm just going on the title of the video really. You brought up road legal that's all.

Tell you what though, bike prices have rocketed - not sure when. My last sports bike was an 08 plate 636, the last 636 they made...until they decided to make them again. Pre-regged out of DK in Stoke and I think I paid £5k new, can't get anything south of £10k nowadays for the same sort of bike. When did that happen? Or am I looking in the wrong places for a new bike these days (not that I am really going to get one).

 

[Claymore]

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[StevieB]

Tell you what though, bike prices have rocketed - not sure when. My last sports bike was an 08 plate 636, the last 636 they made...until they decided to make them again. Pre-regged out of DK in Stoke and I think I paid £5k new, can't get anything south of £10k nowadays for the same sort of bike. When did that happen? Or am I looking in the wrong places for a new bike these days (not that I am really going to get one).

Yeah, new bike prices have risen significantly over the last 3 years or so. Suzuki are still the cheapest for 'new' bikes but their build quality is not the best. I think they upped the price when things like ABS became the norm and the prices for new big tourers can rival a family car. I ran Yamaha Fazers for a while as they were cheap and fast but am now getting old and fat and need something a little larger!

<Gross generalisation alert> There seem to be 2 types of bikers - the sort who ride in summer, when the chance of rain is <0.001% and then spend longer polishing and cleaning the bike after a run than the run itself (interspersed with 3 hours at the ACE cafe looking at bikes); and the sort who ride bikes as a mode of transport and don't care about depreciation, dirt, rain or looks </end alert>

I am one of the latter - currently running an 04 plate FJR1300 at approx 30,000 miles per year as a commuter. Its bashed, got tape on it, after market heated grips, hand guards from a Suzuki and is what one might call fugly as well as dirty as anything. Its worth approx £1k (on a good day) and will reach 60mph in less than 4 seconds - enough to see off almost any car away from the lights! Second hand prices are creeping up, but for the money you can still get some insane machines for less than 5k - the polishers (and born again's) sell bikes with a few thou on the clock for peanuts in comparison to new prices.

My only regret is that bike tyres don't last longer - £120 for a rear that lasts 12k max is a hit to the wallet I could do without. Put a soft rubber on a sports bike and you can wear a tyre out in a couple of thousand miles easily. Servicing is also another bug bear at 6k intervals. Honda's new Pan is 12k, but my eye is on the new Triumph explorer with 10k intervals and a decent kick to it. Just need them to up the tank size a smidge to ensure a 220+ range, otherwise its the dreaded BMWR1200GS Adventure - 35l tank and 350 mile range!

Steve

 

[Adam9453]

Its interesting reading peoples perspectives on different bikes etc.
My father in law loves older bikes, not classics but certainly not new.
I'm a fan of sports bikes and would love a ducati but don't trust the roads to get one. The problem isn't whether i'm any good at riding, as you can be so easily wiped out by cars. I'd love one to ride on track days though..... hmmn what a nice thought.
I used to have a heavily tuned subaru impreza which would out accelerate any supercar on the road, it did 0-60 in circa 3 seconds which was quicker than anything a 'few' years ago. It was always fun when a bike came along as it was the only thing that kept up, did surprise the bikers though when they couldn't get away.

 

[Wuffles]

I used to commute on that 636, and did a couple of trips abroad on it too. I loved it and bizarrely it became my favourite ever bike, even though the sprockets were made of fudge or something and I destroyed them in under 1k miles.

When I lived in Clifton in Bristol and commuted to Chipping Sodbury (locals will understand) I could get around the ring road and avoid the massive queues on the M32 making my journey 15 minutes at pretty much any time of day. Now I live in the sticks with no traffic, things take longer if you're on a bike with the getting ready each end, so I manage with a van

 

[mailee]

That will be the track version of the H2 which is around 300 BHP! I think the road version is only 250 BHP, LOL....only 250! Got to admit modern bikes have to be the cheapest way to get the performance of a supercar. I have a 600 Hornet and that goes like a stabbed rat when you get heavy on the throttle and that's a 20 year old bike now! I have no intention of getting anything bigger though as this is capable of 135 MPH so I have been told.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

125mph on my baby was fast enough for me -