What Bike is Best?

[prosh]

the '04 R1 claims 180 hp at the crank.. its prolly still in the 140-150 range at the rear wheel. dunno why ppl believe marketing advertisement hahah

[Ducati]

There is a big difference between the two. The only things that matter to me are (in this order) 1) is the bike comfortable enough for me to enjoy a fast 4 hour ride on it without going into spaztic muscle seizure afterwards; 2) handling; manoeverability and predictable braking; 3) torque where I want it, and enough horsepower to entertain me on the street. I am not Carl Fogerty! My 101 rear wheel horsepower (according to 2 dyno runs that indicated 100 and then 102 hp, - at in excess of 60,000 km on the motor at the time - so I average them) is enough to terrify me silly. I have owned several dozen motorcycles in my 31 years of riding, and find "Terror" and "Fun" to be synonyms. 142 hp really is a lot of horsepower. Yeah, I like lots of power, but the R1 is a veritable gluttons smorgasborg of horsepower. Unless you are a one-in-a- million talented rider and are racing, (which I am not) the difference between 100 and 142 will not make you faster on the street.

I have taken the weekend beer money from several guys who rode big sportbikes', wagering on who gets up the highway to the parking lot at the top of Mt. Baker first - Limping, nearly crippled old me on my old ratty Ducati, or Mr. Tentacles, on his latest and greatest world beater, riding in his brand new set of scuff-free Spyke one-peice racing suit.

[bikrbabe]

I guess we'll find out about the R1's hp output pretty quick... I want one of the guys at work here to dyno one and see what she can do...

I heard rumours that it'll pull out apprx. 160-165 at the rear wheel.

Way too many ponies for me...lol

[Ducati]

Yeah, I am sure it will turn out that kind of horsepower too, turning itself into a Grenade waiting to Blow Up in the process.

Horsepower is nice but Reliability is better.

My guess is that the horsepower wars have peaked, and that future refinements in motorcycles will be in stability, predictable easy handling enhancements, braking control, new suspension setups, new types of brakes, like rim brakes; styling, convertability (making a bike convert easily from a Standard frame into a race-crouch setup for those fast ride days) and I see the eventual fading of sportbikes, being replaced by urban assault vehicles like the KTM Duke etc.

[HillBilly]

Originally posted by memystealthandi

It's way too much bike for anyone...him to obviously...

I dont know about that.... You get used to the power and find yourself wanting more. I know I do. I ride an '03 Hayabusa with ECU mods and exhaust mods and I want more. Call me crazy but I want more acceleration.

[Ducati]

There is a clique of guys out here on the West Coast who have much modified Busa's and Kaw 12's, that report 250+ hp. I have never seen them dyno'd, but guys at the dyno trailer say its real.

I don't personally know those people, but their reputation for high speed runs on public highways is notorious. I've seen the bikes at the Tsawassen Swap Meet and at the Ride for Sight.

A lotta Money...

[5t3v3]

ANy bike that can't power wheelie will do you just fine.... like my POS, EX500, I can yank the throttle all I want and it still won't come off the ground .... unless of course, you rev to 9 grand and drop the clutch from a dead stop like a moron then you'll loop it.

If you have the dough, 600cc is the max you should go.

[Ducati]

Today I just rode to Birch Bay and back on my 1971 Ducati Scrambler 250 single cylinder - all 27 throbbong horsepower of mighty Italian macho machine!

PukkaPukkaPukkaBraAAAAAAAAAPPP.....

I had a blast.

[bikrbabe]

:P

quit bragging... it's s'posed to snow like 3 million feet here in calgary over the weekend

ahhh.... can't wait until spring, when all of the gravel is off of the road.

duc, do you have a pic of the scrambler? I can't say I've ever seen one...

[Ducati]

I do not have a scanner or a digital camera. I will try to find one on the Net'. Mine is yellow & black , common livery for the 71'.

To give your minds' eye an image, old Scramblers sort of look like a cross between a flat-tracker and a dirt-bike.

Not every day out here on the Wet Coast is a riding day. The old electrics don't like humidity much, and the 888 is in my living room with a broken oil pump, being used as a coat rack, at the moment.

[Ducati]

[url=C:\Documents and Settings\Ducati\My Documents\Ducati 250 Scrambler_files\image001.gif][img]
I hope this picture turns out, Bikrbababe
If so, there are certain pictures I want you to send me, heh heh heh...

Arrgh, Damn my luddite'ness. I can't seem to attach a picture of The Scrambler...