The Motorcycle That Led To A Gentleman’s Agreement
In 1999, a motorcycle was made that was so far in advance of any other, that all major manufacturers hastily agreed to end an escalating competition that could have had major ramifications for the motorcycle world as a whole.
Most motorbikes that learners ride at a
motorcycle driving school focus on comfort, ease of use and safety over speed, but at one point, a major focus of motorcycle manufacturers was a century-long competition to find the fastest production bike in the world.
The first generation of the Suzuki Hayabusa GSX-1300R in 1999 was one of the last production motorcycles made without an electronic speed limiter, which allowed it to break the production speed record of the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird by up to 14mph depending on the metrics used.
It featured innovative and sophisticated aerodynamics more reminiscent of a superbike alongside a ram air system and the largest displacement ever found in a sports bike.
Despite this, it was also shockingly easy to ride for its speed and it quickly not only found success in the self-imposed high-speed contest but also in terms of sales, leading Suzuki’s rivals to start developing alternatives.
Kawasaki had developed the Ninja ZX-12R that it was claiming would travel faster than 200mph, an unthinkable speed for a motorbike given that the production car record at the time was 221mph set by the McLaren F1.
This led to controversy and calls for high-speed motorcycles to be banned in order to avoid increasingly fast bikes from driving on public roads. This led to a mutual decision nicknamed the “gentleman’s agreement” to limit bikes to 186mph, ending the production bike speed contest.
Whilst there have been a few bikes to break the agreement in the two decades since, none managed to beat the original Hayabusa’s speed, making it likely to be the faster production motorcycle there will ever be.
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