The history of the gentlemen’s agreement that limited the speed of motorcycles – Jalopnik

Have you ever wondered why a bunch of powerful superbikes from different brands all mysteriously reached a top speed of 300 km/h? No, it’s not a physical limitation that even Emmett Brown couldn’t overcome. That’s because motorcycle manufacturers did what people do when adults looked at them funny: they calmed down.

What became known as the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ was a completely voluntary agreement to limit the top speed of motorcycles to 300 km/h (or about 186 mph). This was in direct response to the top speed arms race that took place in motorcycle production in the late 1990s, punctuated by the Suzuki Hayabusa’s ability to reach a speed of 310 km/h in tests by CycleWorld. To take a step back, those four-wheel speeds can feel vague. The industry saw the writing on the wall and decided they would rather police themselves than be policed.

It wasn’t a paranoid imagination either. A movement focused on high-speed bicycles emerged in Europe, specifically to limit motorcycles to 300 km/h. Kawasaki USA even admitted this CycleWorld that his 2000 ZX-12R could go faster, but had to be throttled to stay within these proposed limits.

Before the deal, the sportbike world did that classic thing where no one says they’re in, but everyone is definitely in. Kawasaki’s ZX-11 reached a speed of 300 km/h and held the ‘fastest’ crown for many years. Honda then responded with the CBR1100XX, reaching a speed of 300 km/h. Then Suzuki came into the room at 190mph – the Hayabusa was fast, fast. And before you go checking Craigslist to see how cheap a used ‘Busa is, this is just the beginning of the story.

The next salvo came in 2000: Kawasaki’s ZX-12R, which strangely bottomed out at 186 mph. And here’s the part that’s important for our history lesson: Kawasaki USA admits the bike is neutered. However, that didn’t seem to stop Suzuki’s 2000 version of the Hayabusa, with CycleWorld testing reaching a top speed of 190 mph. Obviously the testing conditions could be part of the story here, but it was clear that the proposed limits were not immediate and sweeping – it was informal, after all.

If the Hayabusa was the catalyst for change, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R was the martyr. Kawasaki had a motorcycle that was said to reach a speed of 310 km/h. However, it was launched in 2000, just as the deal was finalized. Kawasaki was stuck. They had put all their chips on black and it came up red. They had built a bike that could go 200mph, but could only sell a 200mph one.

Cycle World reported that Kawasaki canceled a planned introduction to the world press, while new electronic control units were created to keep the ZX-12R within the proposed speed limit. To avoid embarrassing the brand, rumors spread that the car was aerodynamically unstable at high speeds, but most insiders knew this was just politics. Although it had more horsepower than the Hayabusa, the limited ZX-12R could not beat it in top speed tests. In 2001, the cap was unofficially official, and the Hayabusa’s 350 km/h speedometer was later replaced by one that “only” reached 300 km/h.

For years, the manufacturers played by the rules, but as the threat of regulation subsided, so did the agreement. In 2007, MV Agusta released the F4 1000 R 312, specifically named after a claimed top speed of 312 km/h (194 mph). This song sounded better on paper than it did in the song Cycle Worlds testing at top speed, however. For what it’s worth, MV Agusta wasn’t part of the original group that made the deal, but it was unofficial after all.

Nowadays, some manufacturers use a digital speedometer that simply stops at 180 mph (299 km/h) and shows dashes even as the bike continues to accelerate. Kawasaki finally won it all in 2014 by creating the super-fast Ninja H2R, a monster that can only reach a speed of 400 km/h on the track. And if you want to see what a purpose-built land speed car can do with a motorcycle drivetrain, just look at SuperfastMatt’s construction – because apparently just 430 km/h wasn’t enough, and now he’s talking 300-plus and chasing 325.

The gentlemen’s agreement saved the superbike, but ultimately it proved that you can’t really stop people from wanting to go fast.