[Night Hawk]

At one time, the Blackbird was the king of speed. It could reach in stock form 170 to 180 mph. From what I read regarding the Ninja, it tops out around 150 mph. This seems perplexing if you compare the specs. So I wonder what accounts for this.


Blackbird
137 hp
563 lbs. wet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CBR1100XX



Ninja...Well you know

 

[luciano136]

Speed limiter.

 

[Lag 4]

The N1K wasn't designed for top speed,,. I don't know about the Blackbird but the N1K engine was designed with a flattened torque curve to maximize torque at all RPM's and they have done an excellent job of achieving that,,. If you want to go faster then the N1K's 165 mph, Kawasaki's got lots of bikes that will take you to that magic 200 mph number,,.

 

[luciano136]

And then there's the gearing too. I'm sure you can make it do a high top speed but indeed not the purpose of this bike. ZX14 is what you need for that.

 

[Rickifumi]

Blackbird and Ninja 1000 are both members of that vast and nebulous category called sport-touring, beyond that the similarities are few. The former, like the ZX-11 which preceded it and the Hayabusa that toppled it, were major combatants in The Top Speed Wars of that era. The lighter and more compact (not to mention modern) Ninja 1000 should see those monsters off on a winding backroad.

 

[rcannon409]

Along with Lucianos speed limiter, which is true, there's also the magazine emphasis. Back when that Blackbird was I introduced, or Kawasakis zx9, they sold a lot of magazines with those power/speed figures on the cover.

By the time the Ninja 1000 was introduced, that superbike category moved on. By the time it was tested, no one really cared and I dont think they spent days, or weeks looking for that perfect test condition.

Back then, the manufacturers knew they needed great times to sell the motorcycles. I always thought this was a great cover. That specific zx9 was 464lbs and 132 hp. Good figures, but about where a ni ja 1000 is , with a full exhaust. No zx9 owners really saw power like that, when they dyno'ed their stock bikes.....

 

[motoman]

At one time, the Blackbird was the king of speed. It could reach in stock form 170 to 180 mph.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CBR1100XX

Yeah, well that didn't last too long...

In 1999 the first Hayabusa was introduced with a top speed of 199 mph... :surprise:

Which led to the 'Gentlemen's Agreement' of limiting top speed to 186 mph.

As stated previously, the N1K is not a Superbike. And it does not concentrate its power at the top end of the RPM range.

Which only means that when you are stopped for gas and some yahoo asks for the umpteenth time "How fast will it go?" you only need answer "Fast enough."

:wink:

 

[Rickifumi]

Quarter-mile times and trap speeds sold motorcycles in those days...I remember the stir when bikes started running 10s...holy crap they were getting quick. All the manufacturers realized they needed expert dragracers for these runs, and none was quicker than PeeWee Gleason- the gold standard for headline-grabbing numbers at the strip!

https://ridermagazine.com/2017/02/14/r-i-p-racing-legend-jay-peewee-gleason/

 

[Rickifumi]

As stated previously, the N1K is not a Superbike.

Luckily for us, we don't have to precisely categorize this bike to enjoy it!

 

[Lag 4]

Yeah, well that didn't last too long...
Which only means that when you are stopped for gas and some yahoo asks for the umpteenth time "How fast will it go?" you only need answer "Fast enough."

:wink:

My panted-ed answer is "faster then me" and that's speaking the truth,!!:surprise:
Ive got nothing to prove, when I can look it up!!,,,?

 

[Night Hawk]

Well, I am not specifically looking for a 200 mpg bike. I think that would be far beyond where I would go. I was just puzzled by the numbers. Back in the day, bikes like the Blackbird where god-like and I worshiped to their idols like most riders. These days people are still interested in top speed, but there is less emphasis to it.

 

[luciano136]

The fun is in the corners anyway

 

[jr_tx]

The fun is in the corners anyway

And having the range to ride far away from town to find new corners

 

[rcannon409]

Honda made a second edition Blackbird. It never went into production because they said it was not a better bike than the first gen. True or not, that's how much they thought of that motor. It was smooth, fast and powerful.

With that in mind, did you ever see this bike? The Honda x11? And How cool would it have been With a ninja 1000 like fairing? It loks dated, now, but it is a 1999 bike.


https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/honda/x11/1999/

 

[57x]

If you were going to compare the Blackbird to a Kawasaki it would be a ZX12R in my opinion. They were much closer in that category. ZX12R was an incredible bike. I still miss mine and wish I did not have to sell it.

 

[Biddles]

When I got my first car(Lexus SC400) I cared a lot about speed. I don't know why, but I did, and I wanted to either swap to a 2JZ or turbo charge the V8 and do a slew of mods. Then I started looking at costs, and $2500 for a motor, and $900 for a tranny, and $$$ for this and that and then somehow I stumbled upon a motorcycle on craigslist and that completely killed the car ideas. I bought a bike and never looked back. I gave up on the idea of a fast car, and that's because I got a fast bike. But even with a fast bike I didn't really ever care about going faster than what my CBR600 could do. How much more do you need? At max I've done 160 on the CBR, and I've had this Ninja up to 140 a few times. Anyone who ever pulled up with a "fast" car got smoked by my 600. I just don't see the need for anything faster. Sure there are people who could beat you, but at what cost?

 

[Jojje09]

The N1K wasn't designed for top speed,,. I don't know about the Blackbird but the N1K engine was designed with a flattened torque curve to maximize torque at all RPM's and they have done an excellent job of achieving that,,. If you want to go faster then the N1K's 165 mph, Kawasaki's got lots of bikes that will take you to that magic 200 mph number,,.

What you forgot here is, that still today the super Blackbird has the lowest co cofficient ever made for a motorcycle. That's why it has that high top speed.

 

[Jojje09]

At one time, the Blackbird was the king of speed. It could reach in stock form 170 to 180 mph. From what I read regarding the Ninja, it tops out around 150 mph. This seems perplexing if you compare the specs. So I wonder what accounts for this.


Blackbird
137 hp
563 lbs. wet


Honda CBR1100XX - Wikipedia



Ninja...Well you know

That's because the super Blackbird has the lowest co cofficient ever made for a motorcycle. That's why it has that high top speed.

 

[MarkOne]

I don't really care about top speed. I have a bike that's faster than the Ninja but would never go there because it would have to be perfect conditions. No road snakes, deer, squirrels, police lol etc... I got to 130 on the ninja once and that's was fast enough for me.

 

[Jojje09]

At one time, the Blackbird was the king of speed. It could reach in stock form 170 to 180 mph. From what I read regarding the Ninja, it tops out around 150 mph. This seems perplexing if you compare the specs. So I wonder what accounts for this.


Blackbird
137 hp
563 lbs. wet


Honda CBR1100XX - Wikipedia



Ninja...Well you know

Blackbird 140 at the wheel, Ninja 140 at the crank, plus the aerodynamics that is to Blackbirds advantage.