In all fairness to the H2 Kawasaki, you'd have to be dragracing all day to get 20mpg or less. They used to say the tires would be bald within a short time from "all that horsepower". Like I said, I've had a H2 for 31yrs and it will get 40mpg. The main gripes I have is that stupid 5 up shift pattern with neutral at the bottom, and an extremely tall first gear. Really need to slip the clutch to get going. A friend of mine put nearly 50,000 miles on a 73 H2 without a topend rebuild so they are not all that bad. I wouldn't want to ride too far on one, but fun once every summer or two to get it out on the streets.
Best engine design for a motorcycle?
- Thread starter ZGRider
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Originally Posted By: bigbird_1
Originally Posted By: kballowe
OK, so someone educate me here. I always thought that the parallel twins would cool better than the v-twins, as the jugs were side-by-side.
I agree with you. The rear cylinder in a V-twin, though slightly offset from the front cylinder, does suffer from increased heat due to the blocking effect of the front cylinder. That being said, HD, Yamaha, Indian and any others that use air cooling for their V- twin engines also rely on a heavy dose of oil cooling to get rid of that extra heat. I would also think that parallel twins are much easier to cool than V-twins (except for Moto-Guzzi).
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Did someone say Moto Guzzi?
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Originally Posted By: kballowe
OK, so someone educate me here. I always thought that the parallel twins would cool better than the v-twins, as the jugs were side-by-side.
I agree with you. The rear cylinder in a V-twin, though slightly offset from the front cylinder, does suffer from increased heat due to the blocking effect of the front cylinder. That being said, HD, Yamaha, Indian and any others that use air cooling for their V- twin engines also rely on a heavy dose of oil cooling to get rid of that extra heat. I would also think that parallel twins are much easier to cool than V-twins (except for Moto-Guzzi).
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Did someone say Moto Guzzi?
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Flat six rules
Back in '77, I had a buddy with a '72 H2. He had a fiberglass mono seat, rearsets, Thomaselli clipons, and expansion chambers. That bike didn't corner for beans, but did awesome wheelies and sounded like a million mad Bumblebees. A really sick bike.
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Thanks.
I only got it - because the whole bike torques to the right when ya blip the throttle... how cool is that?
Just kidding. This is only my second Guzzi. I had one when I lived in Spain but that was a long time ago when I was a young man, and dinosaurs roamed the earth.....
I only got it - because the whole bike torques to the right when ya blip the throttle... how cool is that?
Just kidding. This is only my second Guzzi. I had one when I lived in Spain but that was a long time ago when I was a young man, and dinosaurs roamed the earth.....
I had a brand new 1982 BMW R100 that would lean to one side when spinning up the engine. It was also prone to grinding down the engine guard when cornering. One time I leaned it over so much that the engine guard grounded hard and caused the rear wheel to hop to the outside of the curve and change the actual direction of the bike. Fortunately, it was in the direction I wanted to go. I wasn't very fond of that bike. I probably would have enjoyed a Guzzi better.
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Love that ol' Guzzi!!!
Nice ride.
My vote goes to the two strokes. Simple and cheap to fix.
Nice ride.
My vote goes to the two strokes. Simple and cheap to fix.
I like my 1520 cc horizontally-opposed six cylinder.
The 1800 must really be nice.
Valve adjustments are few and far between,and are easy.
No shims required.
What I want to know is when are they gonna spend some time in seat development?
The 1800 must really be nice.
Valve adjustments are few and far between,and are easy.
No shims required.
What I want to know is when are they gonna spend some time in seat development?
Originally Posted By: XS650
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
why are there no 3 cylinder engines on a motorcycle? I know, laugh it up - but I love the 3 cylinder in my polaris snowmobile.
There have been quite a few.
I have owned 2 inline 4 bikes ('88 Yamaha FJ1200 & current BMW K1200S) as well as an inline 3 ('04 Triumph Sprint ST 955i).
I have to say that the inline 3 is one of the sweetest engines I've ever experienced. It has the best blend of the grunt of a v twin and the free-reving top end of an inline 4.
I believe it was Sport Bike magazine that said the best sport touring bike would be the Honda VFR 800 with the Triumph Sprint ST engine. They loved that engine too.
When it comes to SOUND, the best one I've ever heard was my friend's '98 VFR 800 with aftermarket pipes. It sounds exactly like a built small-block chevy with a moderate aftermarket pipe. Just shockingly great sounds coming from that bike.
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
why are there no 3 cylinder engines on a motorcycle? I know, laugh it up - but I love the 3 cylinder in my polaris snowmobile.
There have been quite a few.
I have owned 2 inline 4 bikes ('88 Yamaha FJ1200 & current BMW K1200S) as well as an inline 3 ('04 Triumph Sprint ST 955i).
I have to say that the inline 3 is one of the sweetest engines I've ever experienced. It has the best blend of the grunt of a v twin and the free-reving top end of an inline 4.
I believe it was Sport Bike magazine that said the best sport touring bike would be the Honda VFR 800 with the Triumph Sprint ST engine. They loved that engine too.
When it comes to SOUND, the best one I've ever heard was my friend's '98 VFR 800 with aftermarket pipes. It sounds exactly like a built small-block chevy with a moderate aftermarket pipe. Just shockingly great sounds coming from that bike.
Best sounding motorcycle I have ever heard was a Yamaha V-Max with an aftermarket exhaust -- It really sounded like a small-block Chevy V-8 on steroids. Awesome bike. Had a cool tribal green flame paint-job and my buddy bought it for $3000 off Craigslist.
Did bonnie john say "square four" yet ??
I still have my BSW tool set from my '65 Lightning Rocket.
When my buddy on his 250 Hustler took me in '66 ... my life changed.
Love your posts, John, you would be welcome here in Canada.
I still have my BSW tool set from my '65 Lightning Rocket.
When my buddy on his 250 Hustler took me in '66 ... my life changed.
Love your posts, John, you would be welcome here in Canada.
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Did bonnie john say "square four" yet ??
I still have my BSW tool set from my '65 Lightning Rocket.
When my buddy on his 250 Hustler took me in '66 ... my life changed.
Love your posts, John, you would be welcome here in Canada.
Yeah.... I think I was in grade 9 back in the late '66. A neighbour nearby that I knew, had a beautiful red/chrome BSA 650 Lightning. Occasionally, he'd pick me up while walking to school and drop me off. A total thrill for a young guy. On one occasion, some guy with a blue Yamaha YM1 305cc two stroke would ride by and wave at my friend with the BSA. One day, I asked the guy with the BSA if he ever raced the guy with the Yamaha. He said he had and he was surprised how easily the Yamaha had beat him.
All things considered, that BSA was so gorgeous, I would have pushed it if I had to.
Did bonnie john say "square four" yet ??
I still have my BSW tool set from my '65 Lightning Rocket.
When my buddy on his 250 Hustler took me in '66 ... my life changed.
Love your posts, John, you would be welcome here in Canada.
Yeah.... I think I was in grade 9 back in the late '66. A neighbour nearby that I knew, had a beautiful red/chrome BSA 650 Lightning. Occasionally, he'd pick me up while walking to school and drop me off. A total thrill for a young guy. On one occasion, some guy with a blue Yamaha YM1 305cc two stroke would ride by and wave at my friend with the BSA. One day, I asked the guy with the BSA if he ever raced the guy with the Yamaha. He said he had and he was surprised how easily the Yamaha had beat him.
All things considered, that BSA was so gorgeous, I would have pushed it if I had to.
My neighbor had "Squariel" (Ariel Square Four) That was a different sounding engine. Suzuki did the same thing with a 2-stroke - RG500. Absolutely the most vicious motorcycle you would ever want to ride. Instant wheelies. 340lbs and 110HP of super "peakie" power.
Originally Posted By: ZGRider
My neighbor had "Squariel" (Ariel Square Four) That was a different sounding engine. Suzuki did the same thing with a 2-stroke - RG500. Absolutely the most vicious motorcycle you would ever want to ride. Instant wheelies. 340lbs and 110HP of super "peakie" power.
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
My neighbor had "Squariel" (Ariel Square Four) That was a different sounding engine. Suzuki did the same thing with a 2-stroke - RG500. Absolutely the most vicious motorcycle you would ever want to ride. Instant wheelies. 340lbs and 110HP of super "peakie" power.
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
Originally Posted By: boraticus
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
Anyone who could or would ride one of those in a tight canyon deserved to be called motorcycle "stud." Not for the faint-hearted.
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
Anyone who could or would ride one of those in a tight canyon deserved to be called motorcycle "stud." Not for the faint-hearted.
Originally Posted By: ZGRider
Originally Posted By: boraticus
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
Anyone who could or would ride one of those in a tight canyon deserved to be called motorcycle "stud." Not for the faint-hearted.
I'm certain that many could ride them. They're pretty close to the race spec bikes of the day. Now, to run one of them to anywhere near the bike's potential, that's another thing. There are very few riders who can wring out those bikes or just about any of today's high powered well balanced sport bikes.
Shoot! I can't even wring out one of my old RDs. Nonetheless, I do like to get the adrenaline flowing on a twisty back road, way out in the sticks.
Originally Posted By: boraticus
That was one of the bikes on my wish list. Yamaha had their two stroke RZ500 V4 out around the same time as the 500 Gamma. I'd take either one!
Anyone who could or would ride one of those in a tight canyon deserved to be called motorcycle "stud." Not for the faint-hearted.
I'm certain that many could ride them. They're pretty close to the race spec bikes of the day. Now, to run one of them to anywhere near the bike's potential, that's another thing. There are very few riders who can wring out those bikes or just about any of today's high powered well balanced sport bikes.
Shoot! I can't even wring out one of my old RDs. Nonetheless, I do like to get the adrenaline flowing on a twisty back road, way out in the sticks.
t/y pb
i kind of like the WOOLER FLYING BANANA
check out THAT for an engine ...
i kind of like the WOOLER FLYING BANANA
check out THAT for an engine ...
Or you could just scoop up one of these BRAND NEW 500 cc ROYAL ENFIELDS as it rolls off the line.
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