In the late 1980s, Japanese car manufacturers limited their cars to a maximum of 276 hp. Often referred to as the Gentlemen's Agreement, this limit was imposed on cars by a few concerned automakers in an attempt to avoid a costly horsepower war. With increasing rates of road fatalities, and with high-performance vehicles becoming more and more common, they could also see the wagons of government regulation circling. So, before the government could step in, they decided to regulate themselves. Car manufacturers weren't the only ones to limit output though -- motorcycle manufacturers saw the same writing on the wall and made a Gentlemen's Agreement too. Or at least that's how the story goes.
Around the same time that Japanese automakers limited cars to 276 hp and a top speed of 112 mph (numbers that were generally adhered to, but not regulated by any written law) motorcycle manufacturers were shooting for the moon. Bikes like the Honda CBR1000XX Super Blackbird and the Suzuki GSX-1300R Hayabusa were fighting for the top speed crown, inching dangerously close to 200 mph. Early Hayabusa models threw a big punch in the fight for top-speed champion, with an upper limit of 194 miles per hour until calmer heads prevailed. The motorcycle manufacturers decided to make a handshake deal of their own.