Racing

XtraPix: Turn & Burn

Wringing out the world’s most-powerful production bikes.

June 11, 2008

We have to admit, it was fun. Sure, this job is almost always a good time, but when you get to wield this much horsepower at Miller Motorsports Park, on some of the best mountain roads in the world and get a private test day on Naval Air Station Lemoore's vast and loooong and smooth concrete 3-mile runway, it really doesn't get any better.

We rolled with all the heavy hitters in the sportbike class, our aim to find which of these 1000cc-plus machines would sprint from 0-180 mph quickest, which could lap fast (and make the rider feel good about it!), and which was the most competent and well-rounded streetbike, to boot. For extra flavor on the mega-acceleration runs, we invited John Hennessey of Hennessey Performance Engineering to bring out one of his 1000-horsepower (at the crank) Ford GTs, plus land-speed-record-holder John Noonan and his 590-hp turbo Hayabusa. Dream time for speed junkies, folks!

The full story is in the current July issue, but for now tune up your monitor and check out some XtraPix in the ample photo gallery. You can also listen to me talk about the test on CW Radio.

Lean and believe. Mark Cernicky at the controls. FAN THE CLUTCH!

Associate Editor Conner feeling the pressure...

Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki ZX-14 at play on the racetrack.

The Japanese 1000s. These are miracle motorcycles, folks, the best performance value for the money in the world. The Big Four deserve massive credit for bringing us such unbelievable motorcycles at such amazing prices.

Dirt Editor Dudek figured out this pavement thing quick!

Tools of the trade. Shims to left adjust rear ride height on the ZX-10R.

About $75,000 worth of Italian exotica. These bikes are ultra-powerful, with the MV's 1078cc engine one of the most brutally impressive powerplants we've ever sampled. 1098R's big Vee also runs.

Power curve: CBR-RR finds the apex.

Executive Editor Hoyer getting preloaded.

The CBR1000RR was impressive. Very, very light, too.

That's all, folks. See you at 180!

Your basic stop-and-go mechanisms on a Navy jet: thrust outlets with tail-hook between.

Standard 1098, warm and cozy. Ambient temperature in Utah was in the 20s first thing in the morning. Luckily it warmed up quite a bit outside later on!

Go! ZX-14 likes a fast winding road more than the track, but was still quick and fun.

Miller Motorsports Park is in quite a picturesque setting. A very fun track to ride on, too.

Standard Ducati 1098 and MV Agusta 1078 RR 312.

The refined yet more powerful than ever Kawasaki ZX-10R in repose. This thing rips to 180 mph.

Straightaways are nice, but cornering on these agile machines is really where it's at.

A Suzuki GSX-R1000 is your friend at speed.

Focus! Cernicky flying on the swift and smooth Yamaha YZF-R1.

Moving mountains on the Hayabusa.

Sure, an F-18A Hornet has some thrust, but so does our rapid group of the world's fastest streetbikes.

It wasn't just streetbikes. We also had a 590-horsepower Hayabusa and a 1000-horsepower Hennessey Ford GT1000. Both went way over 200 mph...

John Noonan at the controls of his record-setting 'Busa. "That was one of the fastest runs I've ever done," he said. The bike wheelied in fifth gear well north of 200 per.

Up in smoke goes some very expensive rubber. John Hennessey's highly modified Ford GT ran really, really fast. Not as quick to 180 mph as the bikes, but it kept on pullin'!

Who's your wingman? All-new for 2008, the Kawasaki ZX-10R poses with the equally new Honda CBR1000RR.

This is about 1400 horsepower of bone-stock motorcycle. Super impressive. Two Ducatis? Heck yeah! The Ducati 1098R was fun...

How is it at 180-plus-mph on the new-for-'08 'Busa? Windy! Seriously, all these bikes were amazingly stable at top speed.

Prepping the baddest 'Busa in the land. It's got a Very Large Turbo. In fact, it is the same turbo as used on the Hennessey GT1000! The latter has two of them, though.

Space, the final frontier. No suicidal opossums, inattentive drivers or other hazards, just concrete and a wide-open throttle on the light-and-powerful 2008 CBR1000RR.

Kawasaki ZX-14 launched like it was taking off from an aircraft carrier. Sweet clutch.