Motorcycle Speeds Are Limited Over Fears of Getting Out of Hand
Have you ever wondered how quickly a motorcycle was moving after hearing it tear down the road with its engine roaring? The current estimate is 186 miles per hour, even less. But it wasn't always like that. Motorcycle manufacturers once engaged in a speed competition, and it wasn't until they became concerned about the consequences if it went unchecked that the big firms agreed to limit the top speed of all production bikes to 186 mph.
Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-11 had a top speed of 175 miles per hour in the 1990s. The bike was the swiftest in the world. Before Honda introduced the 179 mph Super Blackbird. The 193 mph Hayabusa from Suzuki entered the fray. Then Kawasaki made a second appearance with the reported 200 mph ZX-12R. People started to worry even before the bike existed. They worried that if businesses kept outpacing each other, the extraordinary speeds would cause death and mayhem. As a result, the "Gentleman's Agreement" came into being.
Though not all sides acknowledge it, rumors have it that BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki all came to an agreement to cap the top speed of their motorcycles at 300 km/h (186 mph). Since then, a number of European manufacturers have disregarded this rule, but Japanese manufacturers continue to limit their street motorcycles at 186.
