Horsepower & Weight - What's your bike like and is it enough?

[rocker59]

My sporty Guzzis produce RWHP in the 80bhp range and torque in the 70lb/ft range. Peak torque 6,000 rpm. Peak power 7,000 rpm.

The bikes weigh just under 500 lbs.

Where I live, power doesn't account for as much as a nice handling bike and an operator who can ride.

I like Italian twins because they are easy to ride fast on the roads here in The Hills.

[2tallnwide]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

There are also those that ignorantly think all HD's are turds but they have never ridden one.

One man's turd is another's dream-cycle.....

[windmill]

Originally Posted by blk-betty

What I find really interesting in this thread is that for the most part guys are saying 30-50 hp is fine for them yet HDs get bashed for being down on power and the modern Twin-Cams put out 60-70 hp and 70-80 tq. They do weigh more but torque is king for street riding and if we were to compare Torque to Weight, those big heavy HDs would have an advantge to similar HP bikes that weigh in 100-200 lbs less.

I'm not claiming HDs to be better than any other bike and they do have handling limitations but they can be alot of fun to ride if one insn't interested in street "racing".

The Issue I had with the Harleys I owned was when they were in their "sweet spot" doing what they do best power wise, it happened to coincide with their "sour spot" in the handling department.

Having to refrain from using those gobs of glorious torque when most needed and desired was very frustrating.

From what I understand, there has been fairly significant improvements in the big twins handling, but unfortunately the Sportsters have gotten worse.

[2handedSpey]

2009 KLR

27 HP. It is heavy, durable, decent mpg, sluggish and upright like riding a lawn tractor on mushrooms. Seriously, sometimes I giggle out loud when I ride the KLr. It's just so damn fun to ride, honk the horn, waive to neighbors. You know, act like a total goofball in my weird hivis dual sport gear. Who the fuck cares.

[Tripped1]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

There are also those that ignorantly think all HD's are turds but they have never ridden one.

In comparison ......they are if all you are talking is performance.

A built Sportster may hang with a 600cc Super Sport sub-triple digit and something along the lines of a fast liter-bike is completely in a different dimension. How much are guys spending on dominator kits and mods for V-rods to go 12 second quarters? I can do that on a stock length, stock motor 600....I've pulled 11 flats on a "heavy" stock Speed Triple

[xrguy]

02 xr650l
Plenty of power (40 hp-ish now for playing around and general commuting. Love how light weight it is, that is compared to the

02 Fz1
About 140hp now, weighs 515 pounds wet?! It is way more than enough to get you in trouble, just enough to give your hands to shoulders a good rip out of sockets when you open it up. Also, it loves to be on one wheel ;evil

I love then both for sure, the inline 4 power is just the greatest thrill for me though. The xr is fun when you feel it wind up with a massive few thumps, then it slowly takes off.

[Wraith Rider]

Originally Posted by Grainbelt

My FZ6 is rated at 97hp at 12k RPM and weighs 423lbs.
Previous Ninja 650R, was rated at 65hp at 9k RPM and 393lbs.

They both make 45 lb/ft of torque, but the 650R does it at 7k RPM and the FZ6 at 10k RPM.

And there's the rub: The 650R was quicker, but the FZ6 is faster.

High rev high power bikes like to be driven one or two gears lower and than, by using the right gear for the bike, it is faster AND quicker.

[Grainbelt]

Originally Posted by Wraith Rider

by using the right gear for the bike, it is faster AND quicker.

Sure, if you want to be 'that guy' running around town in 1st and 2nd gear. I have adjusted to it and can ride it quickly if I need to, but it doesn't have that point and shoot simplicity.

Neither is better, just different in their delivery.

[Wuwei]

This guy obviously had a very good power to weight ratio--plenty to put him in jail.

[Pantah]

The fastest bike I own is a 2 valve desmo 900. It makes 71hp and weighs under 400lbs. It's good for high elevens in 1/4. I've had it for 14 years and it has 11k miles on. 2nd fastest was my KTM950 that I just sold. It made a little more power than the Duc, but was a lot heavier. Still, I rarely used the power it had and rode it some 60k miles.

My present rides weigh low 300's. One makes about 25hp and the other in the 60's. I'll report back after I've had some seat time on the latter...

I like a bike to be quick up to 60 or so. I like a bike to cruise at 75 and be smooth there. Most street motorcycles can do that. I've never ridden a cruiser, but they seem too heavy and slow turning to be very sporting.

I did a track day about 10 years ago and there was one fellow with a sportster. I had a hard time passing him on the front straight because it had so much torque out of the last turn. I was amazed.

[NJ-Brett]

My bike is 320 pounds wet, makes maybe 17 hp at the rear wheel after mods, gets 80 mpg, and seems to have no problem running faster then traffic anyplace 99% of the time.

Heavy high speed traffic is VERY fun, tuck in, draft, plan passes, dart from lane to lane into a big wind hole, its road racing without tickets. You are always mid pack and always slowly moving up to 1st place (but never get there).

If I had 20 hp at the rear wheel, I would likely start getting tickets.
I might only be able to do 60 mph up hill into a headwind, a small price to pay to no tickets yet riding around like a mad man ALL THE TIME.

[fonztheyeti]

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

My bike is 320 pounds wet, makes maybe 17 hp at the rear wheel after mods, gets 80 mpg, and seems to have no problem running faster then traffic anyplace 99% of the time.

Heavy high speed traffic is VERY fun, tuck in, draft, plan passes, dart from lane to lane into a big wind hole, its road racing without tickets. You are always mid pack and always slowly moving up to 1st place (but never get there).

If I had 20 hp at the rear wheel, I would likely start getting tickets.
I might only be able to do 60 mph up hill into a headwind, a small price to pay to no tickets yet riding around like a mad man ALL THE TIME.

that does sound like fun, but riding mid-pack is dangerous enough... can't imagine doing it w/o enough hp to put the bike where i want, right now. you get the "giant balls award".

[Jim Moore]

HP and torque numbers don't really interest me per se, but I would like a comfortable, sub-450 lb bike with hard bags and modern suspension that can do a 1/4 mile in the tens. I don't think it exists. Any ideas?

[Jim Moore]

Originally Posted by itsatdm

What the dyno sees and what your butt feels is torque. That is what turns the wheels. HP is a calculated number that tells you how fast the engine can make torque.

Laugh at HD if you like, but they make a ton of it. But at low rpm. If the pirate bunch could tolerate a multi speed auto on the bike, they would blow away some of these high HP at 15,000 rpm wonders.

This, of course, is completely wrong. Torque is nothing more than a force applied at a distance. It means nothing until you apply rpm, which creates power. Consider two shafts, both creating 50 ft-lbs of torque. One is spinning at 2000 rpm. the other is spinning at 10,000 rpm. Which one is creating more power?

Engines can be designed to create their maximum power at different rpms. It is also dependent on engine configuration. When someone says an engine "feels torquey," he is simply feeling the effect of an engine which creates maximum power at low rpm.

The only way to compare apples to apples on motorcycles, power-wise, is to compare 1/4 mile times. It's the only measurement that takes power and weight into account. Actually a standing half mile might be better because it would remove the launch variable to some extent, but aerodynamic effects would start to play a big part.

[Grainbelt]

Originally Posted by Jim Moore

HP and torque numbers don't really interest me per se, but I would like a comfortable, sub-450 lb bike with hard bags and modern suspension that can do a 1/4 mile in the tens. I don't think it exists. Any ideas?

How close did the ST4S come to that? Wait. The internet is sure to know. 10.74 in the quarter, but 520lbs wet.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/es...t4s/index.html

I'm assuming you need a liter bike to hit tens. FZ1 with Givis will hit tens and is 487 wet.

I'm kind of in the same boat - I ride solo, dont' really need the liter+ sport tourers, but I'd like some at least midlevel suspension, hard bags, and a strong motor. Sprint ST is 530# wet... ugh. Wish they'd make a 675 or 800 sprint now that the GT is out.

I keep thinking about how inexpensive the ST2 is now, but a ten year old Duc seems like a bad idea.