I've just posted this for a bit of fun. Someone has matched up clips of the old four cylinder ZXR400 against the new (two cylinder) Ninja 400.
They both hit 100KPH at the four second mark but the extra 15 odd HP's of the ZXR kicks in after that despite the Ninja being slightly lighter.
If you pause the clip you will see the ZXR doesn't quite hit 180 on the clock either. Sneaky!
Never thought to go that fast on a motorcycle because of how unstable I already feel at around 110. I always assumed there are electronic limiters in place to prevent you from hitting max speed, I know the cars have that problem.
I cant even fathom having the courage to go that kind of speed on the freeway. It really wouldn't take much at that velocity to throw you off your balance. That being said, I'm pretty satisfied with the top speed potential of the 400...not that ill ever want to experience it aha.
Comfort at speed tends to go hand in hand with your level of experience. By modern motorcycle standards 180kPH (112 MPH) is not that fast. 180MPH definetly is!! That's 290kPH.
Speed is something you should work your way up to at a pace your comfortable with when your learning.
Unless there is strong side gusts blowing the new Ninja should be stable at close to top speed.
Generally bikes dont have limiters, esp smaller cc ones, although I believe the Honda CBR250RR in Indonesia and Japan is limited to 185kPH.
Agreed! The more comfortable you are with the motorcycle, the more stable you’ll feel. Most small bikes are limited by engine size, where as bigger ones like my S1000RR are limited to 186MPH or 299KPH. (Gentleman’s agreement in the motorcycle world.)
I was thinking of kph for myself, so that's a maximum of 110 kph I'm willing to go. CAn't imagine going at 180 mph on freeways on a bike when those speeds are shifty in a full sized and heavy car.
Well I don't really see the reason to ride a bike if you only plan on doing 110km/h, but I suppose every rider has different comfort zones. I'm glad to learn that stability shouldn't be an issue, even at the top end range; gives me something to slowly work towards. And at speeds on the high end, is there any difference in your field of view?
At high speed you need to increase your field of view further down the road so you have time to react to situations.
In New Zealand that is often a sheep wandering onto the road. :grin:
I find 110 is a nice relaxed cruising speed that doesn't upset the constabulary overly.
For me, I don't like to much exceed 116 kph / 72 mph (car or bike, 65 speed limit) wrt getting a speeding ticket. Unless everyone is going fast so I'm just in the middle of it all (not at the head or tail of the shinkansen). I mean, I do goose the throttle from time to time, but I bring the speed back down pretty fast after passing the car or whatever.
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