Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R

The ZX-12R was a sport bike made from 2000 to 2006 by Kawasaki. It was known as a contender to be the fastest production motorcycle, and for its role in bringing to a truce the escalating competition to build a faster motorcycle.

Before the introduction of the ZX-14 , the ZX-12R was Kawasaki's flagship sport bike and a competitor to the Suzuki Hayabusa. The ZX-12R was a fuel injected (four 46 mm throttle bodies) 1,200 cc hyper sport motorcycle, generating around at the rear wheel. Handling and braking match the power of the engine resulting in a motorcycle that was docile at low speeds and very easy to handle in heavy traffic, but has strong acceleration and a top speed limited by a motorcycle manufacturer gentlemen's agreement.

Pre-production models of the ZX-12R revealed a motorcycle that was indeed faster and more powerful than Suzuki's Hayabusa. Several notable motorcycle publications tested the pre-production ZX-12R and found it to be superior to the Hayabusa in terms of straight-line performance. In Japan, pre-production tests revealed a top speed near 200 mph. However, the 2000 release of the ZX-12R proved to be somewhat of a disappointment, as the production version of the ZX-12R was delayed for weeks without notice. Many in the industry reported that European governments had threatened to ban the ZX-12R altogether due to its top speed and outlandish acceleration. These threats were apparently taken...
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