How will the H2 SX compare to other bikes

[cOoTeR]

I think everyone is expecting the H2 SX to perform better than the other sport touring bikes on the market as far as handling and acceleration goes. I am hoping that it will perform equal to or better than the liter bikes on the market in terms of acceleration and come close to them in handling. Where do you guys think it will fall?

[DeRox]

For me I hope it will be almost as quick as the H2 and just as comfortable as the Z1000SX (Ninja 1000).
It will obliterate every other sporttourer like the SuperDuke GT
I expect

[cOoTeR]

After some digging I found a link to the article that originally reviewed the SX SE. It looks like its not as quick as the H2 but that in the authors opinion is superbike fast.
"Back to sanity, the H2 SX isn’t as quick and doesn’t have the top-end lunge of an H2 at full-song, but it is supremely usable everywhere in the powerband and delivers abundant thrust in an easily accessible manner. It’s either a civilized superbike engine or a fire-breathing sport-touring powerplant, and those are two great options for a motorcycle like this one." "Folks it was impressively fast, beyond fast, but with absolutely zero drama. This bike was made for autobahns, but be aware: The H2 SX is so drama-free that its acceleration is truly deceptive… maybe it’s the supercharger masking the angry intake howl, or the smooth compliance of its suspension, but this thing makes crazy speed feel perfectly sane."

The Author of the article only had the bike for a couple hours and didn't have it side by side with any other bikes and was just going off of how it felt. So the article isn't proof that it'll run with the liter bikes but it is a promising start. Hopefully someone else can run this alongside some of the top 1000's maybe even the 2 big bore bikes before I need to commit to the SX.

The author seemed pretty confident in saying it is faster and handles better than the Concours which is a pretty good benchmark for sport touring.

Hopefully his description of the bike is accurate.

[BoostedOne]

The author seemed pretty confident in saying it is faster and handles better than the Concours which is a pretty good benchmark for sport touring.

This is probably a safe bet. It's 100+ pounds lighter than the C14 and is up 50 ponies as well.

the problem with trying to compare the SX to true sportbikes is that it's a good 100 pounds heavier than many of them. I doubt it will accelerate as fast, but on the road with variations in rider skill it's probably spliting hairs. The thing will be extrastupid fast instead of superstupid fast.

[cOoTeR]

So with as much money that's involved with this I've really been thinking about this A Lot! Pretty much over analyzing it and making theories based on information I can dig up online.

If my calculating is right the H2 SX has a ratio of 2.885 Lbs./ Horse Power based off of a full tank of fuel.
I get 2.886 Lbs./ Horse Power for the ZX14r based on a full tank and using 207 hp.
But I think the 14 has 12 ft/lbs more torque which I think will factor in to the overall acceleration as well as the geometry of the bikes. Also this assumption doesn't factor in the low and mid range power. But I think its safe to assume they will be in the same ball park as each other.
As a side note it looks like the 2018 ZX10-R SE ABS will have a ratio of 2.345.

[UFO]

SX 564 lbs, 207 hp (max) = 2.725 lbs/hp
ZX14R 593 lbs, 207 hp (max) = 2.865 lbs/hp

It's a fair comparison between those two bikes.

No comparison to the ZX10-R. It weighs 100 # less than the SX, and 130 # less than the 14R. acceleration is a function of weight and torque (a = F/m), so depending on how torque is delivered (basically F in Newton's equation), will dictate how each accelerates. But 100+ lbs is a hell of a lot of mass to overcome. But mass really has little affect on top speed, it's primarily cross sectional area (drag), peak hp, and gearing that limits top speed.

Yes, you can analyse this stuff to death. Somtimes it's fun.

One thing to consider is that the C14 and ZX14R will probably go away. I heard C14 production was stopped, and they are not being delivered to the EU (there's no 2018 listing). EURO4 emissions killed it. The ZX14R is probably next as the SX seems to live smack dab in the middle between the two...and Kawi has an immense line of streetbikes now.

[cOoTeR]

SX 564 lbs, 207 hp (max) = 2.725 lbs/hp
ZX14R 593 lbs, 207 hp (max) = 2.865 lbs/hp

It's a fair comparison between those two bikes.

No comparison to the ZX10-R. It weighs 100 # less than the SX, and 130 # less than the 14R. acceleration is a function of weight and torque (a = F/m), so depending on how torque is delivered (basically F in Newton's equation), will dictate how each accelerates. But 100+ lbs is a hell of a lot of mass to overcome. But mass really has little affect on top speed, it's primarily cross sectional area (drag), peak hp, and gearing that limits top speed.

Yes, you can analyse this stuff to death. Somtimes it's fun.

One thing to consider is that the C14 and ZX14R will probably go away. I heard C14 production was stopped, and they are not being delivered to the EU (there's no 2018 listing). EURO4 emissions killed it. The ZX14R is probably next as the SX seems to live smack dab in the middle between the two...and Kawi has an immense line of streetbikes now.

One thing I couldn't find online was the drag coefficient of any of the bikes. I guess that's because the riders positioning and shape will have such an effect on it.

I did the calculations with a full tank of gas on the SE ABS models. Kawasaki lists their wet weights as with a 90% full gas tank.

I've heard about them getting rid of the c14 due to Euro emissions but I haven't heard anything about the zx14r. I don't really see them getting rid of the zx14r it's their flagship sport bike. That is unless the SX is actually as fast.

I'm terms of overall acceleration low and mid range power numbers are going to have more of an effect on acceleration than the peak numbers correct? That's how the zx14r it's able to make up the power to weight difference on the zx10r.

I'm not sure about stock vs stock but a friend I met at the half mile drag races out here had a zx14r with identical mods to my zx10r. Lowered (mine was adjustable his was a solid link) , strapped, air filter, slip on, gears, tune, quick shifter, stock wheel base and we both weighed about the same. At the end of the event most people cleared out and we were able to hot lap about 10 runs together. We were pretty much dead even barely edging each other out on the runs it just came down to who was getting the best starts. Although I did get a higher top speed when it was said and done. The next event he came in with an extended swing arm lowered seat and was able to beat me but I also wasn't run as well as the first event either for some reason.

If I remember right Kawasaki as Suzuki used to list their big bore bikes as sport touring correct? Maybe this will be a replacement for the zx14r?

[UFO]

I'm terms of overall acceleration low and mid range power numbers are going to have more of an effect on acceleration than the peak numbers correct?

Yes. An easy thing to remember is Torque = acceleration and Horsepower = top speed...in general.

Acceleration is a function of torque and mass.
Top speed is a function of horsepower and coefficient of drag.

And both are functions of how that torque and power are delivered...which we really know much about with respect to the SX.

A real Cd is difficult to find, as it requires a wind tunnel and instrumentation to measure. You can calculate one based on cross sectional area and a lot of assumptions, but it won't be very precise.

[cOoTeR]

Zx10r has 83ft.lbs. vs the H2 SX with 101ft.lbs. Is the 17ft. Lbs. enough to make up the weight difference at peak power? With the supercharger the SX should have a higher more linear power curve to help make up the weight. My 2012 ZX10r was all about the peak power and had to be kept above 7-8k to really pull hard.

[UFO]

It's still a little more complicated than that, as torque delivered to the rear wheel is also a function of gear ratio.

Here's a google spreadsheet you can play with. Gear ratios and published torque and weight are available for both bikes. I've not played with this spreadsheet, but I'll look at it this weekend.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... UNFgrkT7HA

But, if I were to predict I would say the ZX10R would probably slightly out pull an SX due to the large weight difference.