Which Motorbike do you have?

[Neeyik]

It's like Honda was the Ford of the motorcycle market to me - nice enough bikes, but they just didn't grab me for some reason.

That's why I've always owned either Yamahas or Suzukis - crap build quality but oddles of character. Mind you, the original FireBlade was utterly barking (first bike I ever properly
scared myself with) so Honda can get it right when they want to!

I feel a bit out of place here. BTW, which bike is has fastest (acceleration) and top speed?

Not sure if this is global or not, but in the UK all of the bike manufacturers have taken an agreement to cap the top speed of their big models to 186mph - previous to that it was the Hayabusa that claimed the fastest top speed; however, the acceleration crown belongs to the GSX-R1000 K5 (~3.0 seconds for 0 to 60) - a bike that not only produces more power at the rear wheel that the Busa (in stock form at least), it's also roughly 50kg lighter.

 

[Guden Oden]

Don't have a bike myself, but I did see this little old lady with grey hair and all clad in black leather and bike helmet on her head starting up her big-ass HD and drive off from work at the children's day-care center today. She looked cool as anything on that bike I have to say, damm!

I also saw THIS baby standing parked outside a downtown café earlier today, and man, it looked sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet....

 

[Powderkeg]

the acceleration crown belongs to the GSX-R1000 K5 (~3.0 seconds for 0 to 60) - a bike that not only produces more power at the rear wheel that the Busa (in stock form at least), it's also roughly 50kg lighter.

Surprisingly, the GSX-R600 can do 0-60 in 3.1 seconds, and it's more nimble than the Busa ot R1000. Lacks the top speed though. Can't beat the raw horsepower of the bigger bikes on a long straight line.

 

[Neeyik]

Surprisingly, the GSX-R600 can do 0-60 in 3.1 seconds, and it's more nimble than the Busa ot R1000. Lacks the top speed though. Can't beat the raw horsepower of the bigger bikes on a long straight line.

Is that an official claim or an actual test figure? Best I've seen done in the UK is 3.4s but such tests are open to large numbers of variables. The current R1000 K5 model is so like a 600 in physical aspect (weight, wheelbase, rake, trail, etc) that it would take a serious rider to out-performance a K5 using a 600.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Not sure if this is global or not, but in the UK all of the bike manufacturers have taken an agreement to cap the top speed of their big models to 186mph

Yeah, but hasn't that gone by the wayside? I know when it came in, it was easy to get around. Some bikes needed new carburetta valves, the Kawasaki ZZR1100 just needed a washer taken out of the front of the exhaust. Still, 186 mph is plenty fast enough for most things.

 

[Neeyik]

Yeah, but hasn't that gone by the wayside? I know when it came in, it was easy to get around. Some bikes needed new carburetta valves, the Kawasaki ZZR1100 just needed a washer taken out of the front of the exhaust. Still, 186 mph is plenty fast enough for most things.

That was a different agreement - that was for limiting the power (in anticipation of EU regulations capping everything to 100PS; something that fortunately never appeared). This recent agreement uses the speedo (which are all electronic) retarted the ignition when it hits the necessary speed.

 

[Powderkeg]

Is that an official claim or an actual test figure? Best I've seen done in the UK is 3.4s but such tests are open to large numbers of variables. The current R1000 K5 model is so like a 600 in physical aspect (weight, wheelbase, rake, trail, etc) that it would take a serious rider to out-performance a K5 using a 600.

That's an actual test figure.

And I didn't say it would outperform the R1000, only that it was more nimble. The R100 can do a 2.56 0-60, has a higher top end speed, and better mid-range acceleration. Only on the tightest, most twisty tracks would the R600 be able to keep up.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

That was a different agreement - that was for limiting the power (in anticipation of EU regulations capping everything to 100PS; something that fortunately never appeared). This recent agreement uses the speedo (which are all electronic) retarted the ignition when it hits the necessary speed.

Are chipped rev limitiers available? You can get them for cars, so can you get them for bikes too?

 

[Neeyik]

That's an actual test figure.

And I didn't say it would outperform the R1000, only that it was more nimble. The R100 can do a 2.56 0-60, has a higher top end speed, and better mid-range acceleration. Only on the tightest, most twisty tracks would the R600 be able to keep up.

Do you have a source of those test figures? I would have doubts over how reliable that 2.56 figure is, if it cannot be substantiated via other sources.

Oh and by saying "out-perform" I included your comment of nimbleness when I referred to things like wheelbase, trail and so on. The R600 would only keep up on a tight track because the R1000 would have difficulty in getting the power down, not because it is less nimble.

 

[Neeyik]

Are chipped rev limitiers available? You can get them for cars, so can you get them for bikes too?

Yep - you can remove the speed cap but it's not cheap unfortunately.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Do you have a source of those test figures? I would have doubts over how reliable that 2.56 figure is, if it cannot be substantiated via other sources.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/122_0307_gsxr/

<edit> scroll down to the bottom for the performance numbers

 

[Deepak]

Do you need a special licence for driving such bikes? Shouldn't you, as you need special training for these bikes? Does anyone own heavy cruiser here?

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Do you need a special licence for driving such bikes? Shouldn't you, as you need special training for these bikes? Does anyone own heavy cruiser here?

Not in the UK you don't, though you do in some countries like Japan. Looking at accident statistics though, most accidents happen to smaller bikes and at lower speeds. Big bikes are safer than smaller bikes for many reasons.

Edit: More details for you:

In the UK with a full car licence, you can ride up to 50 cc. If you want to ride anything bigger, you need to get a provisional bike licence, which allows you to ride anything up to 125cc (iirc there is also a horsepower limit). On a provisional licence, you then have two years to pass your bike test. This involves a written exam, a practical ride through a bollard course, and a road test with an examiner following you on a motorbike and giving you instructions through a radio. Then you can ride any size bike you want.

 

[Farid]

Fwiw

Do you need a special licence for driving such bikes? Shouldn't you, as you need special training for these bikes? Does anyone own heavy cruiser here?

In France you only have the right to drive 50cc, when you're without a license. And when you you got a driving license (car) after two year, you earn the right to drive bikes up to 150cc.

Anything superior to that requires a motorbike license.

 

[Gerry]

In the UK with a full car licence, you can ride up to 50 cc. If you want to ride anything bigger, you need to get a provisional bike licence, which allows you to ride anything up to 125cc (iirc there is also a horsepower limit). On a provisional licence, you then have two years to pass your bike test. This involves a written exam, a practical ride through a bollard course, and a road test with an examiner following you on a motorbike and giving you instructions through a radio. Then you can ride any size bike you want.

Just a few additions. To get a provisional license you have to pass a CBT course, which makes sure you're not going to kill yourself as soon as you head off into traffic. Although it's true you need to pass your test within 2 years, you can keep taking the CBT every two years as long as you want, and keep riding on L plates. The full test didn't involve a bollard course when I took it, and unless you take a direct access test you're restricted to 33bhp for the first two years. Only then can you buy anything you want.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Just a few additions. To get a provisional license you have to pass a CBT course, which makes sure you're not going to kill yourself as soon as you head off into traffic. Although it's true you need to pass your test within 2 years, you can keep taking the CBT every two years as long as you want, and keep riding on L plates. The full test didn't involve a bollard course when I took it, and unless you take a direct access test you're restricted to 33bhp for the first two years. Only then can you buy anything you want.

I stand corrected. When I took the test (some years back), it was the part 1 test (bollard course), and then the part two, a road test (though before the examiners had bikes to follow you).

The bollard test was very difficult if you had a sports bike. I did it on an AR125, and you have to do more gymnastics than bike riding to get it around the figure-of-eight. Like all the Dept Of Transports "great" ideas, the course was layed out to a set size, not taking into account the length or turning circle of your bike. On a trials bike that part of the test was magnitudes easier.

 

[Neeyik]

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/roadtests/122_0307_gsxr/

<edit> scroll down to the bottom for the performance numbers

What do the * next to the figures refer to and why have they been corrected? You see this is why I made the comment about multiple sources - in the UK, as far as I have seen, there isn't a single instance of a K5 doing a sub-3 second 0 to 60 mph drag (and that's including ex-GP riders). Now of course that doesn't mean it's not possible but to be nearly a full 0.5 second faster than anyone in the UK is a significant and questionable margin.

The bollard test was very difficult if you had a sports bike. I did it on an AR125, and you have to do more gymnastics than bike riding to get it around the figure-of-eight. Like all the Dept Of Transports "great" ideas, the course was layed out to a set size, not taking into account the length or turning circle of your bike. On a trials bike that part of the test was magnitudes easier.

Road widths and the like don't change with the bike though - hence the uniform size. Of course, this makes it harder for sports bikes but then that's the nature of the beast(s); the trick with them is to trail the rear brake slightly and hunch yourself over the handlebars, rather than sitting back and upright.

 

[Gerry]

I stand corrected. When I took the test (some years back), it was the part 1 test (bollard course), and then the part two, a road test (though before the examiners had bikes to follow you).

The bollard test was very difficult if you had a sports bike. I did it on an AR125, and you have to do more gymnastics than bike riding to get it around the figure-of-eight. Like all the Dept Of Transports "great" ideas, the course was layed out to a set size, not taking into account the length or turning circle of your bike. On a trials bike that part of the test was magnitudes easier.

I think the bollard test is basically incorporated into the CBT these days. They make you do some figure of eights to ensure you have control of the bike at low speed. You just keep doing them until a) the examiners think you've mastered it or b) the examiners get bored.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Road widths and the like don't change with the bike though - hence the uniform size. Of course, this makes it harder for sports bikes but then that's the nature of the beast(s); the trick with them is to trail the rear brake slightly and hunch yourself over the handlebars, rather than sitting back and upright.

No they don't but if you were in a car and couldn't do a U-turn in a street, you would just make a three-point turn. You would do the same thing on a bike, but in the test that would fail you. You just had to really lean the bike and use the centre of gravity as you didn't have the lock.

 

[Neeyik]

I believe the argument used for producing a complete 3 point turn in a bike test is that since a bike is quite vunerable, taking several attempts to do a U-turn increasing the risks. Mind you, CBT training follows some pretty rigid instructions and some of them are quite restrictive, such as road positioning and the use of countersteering, where CBT dictates that they are to be used in a very narrow range of circumstances.

My SV has a pretty poor steering lock - the way to do a full, feet-up U-turn in one go is to push the bike down under you (motorcross style) whilst feathering the rear brake; one really needs to stay on throttle too, as chopping the throttle will end up changing the steering geometry too dramatically (and typically results in one needing to put a foot down).