South Auckland Thursday Night Ride

**idleidolidyll** · 1st December 2006, 06:27

Those who didn't come out last night missed a great ride.
We were a small group of five who trusted the skies not to open and we were rewarded with mainly dry roads and not a drop of rain while we were riding.

As usual we stopped at Clevedon to enjoy each others company and swap stories about our rides and our lives.

Thanks to those who did come, I for one enjoyed your company immensely.

**idleidolidyll** · 2nd December 2006, 07:41

Here's something interesting.
I'm sure most people realise that the figures quoted for horsepower and weight by many manufacturers are stretching reality to its breaking point.
I mean, what use is a dry weight figure when the bike is drained of water, oil, fork and shock oil, brake fluid etc? You can't start that bike up, it would seize in a minute and you certainly can't ride it
.
Well in the latest issue of Rapid Bike there's an article on the new CBR600. In the article the weight issue is discussed and the dry weight number quoted by Honda for the 07 CBR is just 155kg. HOWEVER, Honda has now come clean and is quoting a ready to ride kerb weight of 184kg! That means to get the 'dry weight' figure, they drained almost 30kg of fluid from the bike! 30kg!!
Some Euro marques only quote ready to ride weights, notably BMW and KTM.

In comparison to the new CBR600's 184kg, my new KTM 950 Supermoto weighs 191kg ready to ride. I always knew the Japanese, Italian, Brit numbers were bogus but I didn't think they were quite THAT bogus!
If this formula is correct, an R1 Yamaha and Suzuki GSXR really weigh more like 200kg ready to ride! NOT their quoted weights of 165-170kg.

Of course there's another number most factories lie about too: horsepower.
Again, the Japanese factories test their motors with all ancillary equipment removed (alternator etc) and measure at the crank not the back wheel where we use that power. A Yammy R1 quoted as having about 180BHP therefore may only have 150 at the back wheel (still a lot but not what we are lead to believe).
Again, KTM and a tiny few others differ from the practice of fudging figures. KTM quotes horsepower at the back wheel on a run in motor. My bike is rated at 95bhp at the back wheel which is probably pretty much the same as that new CBR600 which is rated at 118bhp at the crank. Of course the 950SM is built for torque and has way more than the CBR making it much easier to use on the road.
I think KTM and BMW may suffer sometimes for their honesty. The KTM SuperDuke for instance only claims 118bhp while its opposition say Aprilia for the Tuono claim 130bhp+. I recall a Tuono on the Dyno at AMPS getting 114bhp at the rear wheel which is not a surprise given that both the Tuono and the Superduke are fuel injected 1000cc Vee Twin motors.

Life would be a lot simpler if all the manufacturers used the same method to quote weights and bhp; I'd suggest the reality based methods used by KTM are what we need to hear, not the outrageous numbers we'll never feel beneath our bums.

**The_Dover** · 2nd December 2006, 08:01

i hope that wasn't supposed to be breaking news?

did you think dry weight meant that it hadn't been ridden in the rain?

**Scouse** · 2nd December 2006, 08:50

Originally Posted by idleidolidyll

I think KTM and BMW may suffer sometimes for their honesty. Life would be a lot simpler if all the manufacturers used the same method to quote weights and bhp; I'd suggest the reality based methods used by KTM are what we need to hear, not the outrageous numbers we'll never feel beneath our bums.

Nah BMW suffer from just plain pig uglyness

**idleidolidyll** · 2nd December 2006, 08:59

Originally Posted by The_Dover

i hope that wasn't supposed to be breaking news?

did you think dry weight meant that it hadn't been ridden in the rain?

yawn, how boring.
don't you have anything intelligent to offer?

**idleidolidyll** · 2nd December 2006, 09:00

Originally Posted by zrxer

Nah BMW suffer from just plain pig uglyness

agreed except for a very few like their new HP2 and its supermoto version.
on the whole though I also reckon they're ugly but ya know what? So are most Suzukis, Yammy's and Hondogs.

**Qkchk:Me** · 2nd December 2006, 12:27

Originally Posted by idleidolidyll

.............
Life would be a lot simpler if all the manufacturers used the same method to quote weights and bhp; I'd suggest the reality based methods used by KTM are what we need to hear, not the outrageous numbers we'll never feel beneath our bums.

Fancy that, we had just the same dicusssion last night on the ATNR....... Yeah I agree, I wish they would just make it a universal measurement instead of bhp from the back wheel or from the crank etc... Would make our weekly discussion a bit more level.......

**Dai** · 4th December 2006, 14:08

For the second week out I will not be on the ride.

Last week wet and windy, plus a knackered back.

This week coming I am off doing the cultural thing with Sarron.

We have tickets to a production of Giselle.

Dover

I will be looking for you there as everyone has told me you are just a big girls blouse and the ballet would be a perfect outlet for your repressed urges.

**adiddy** · 4th December 2006, 19:32

in tribute to the fallen 3 , i feel we should ride from the papakura autobahn to kohi hell in which bruce ran/worked/owned??!!

**The_Dover** · 4th December 2006, 19:49

Originally Posted by Dai

I will be looking for you there as everyone has told me you are just a big girls blouse and the ballet would be a perfect outlet for your repressed urges.

I'm the one in the pink tutu and tights

**Finn** · 4th December 2006, 20:21

Originally Posted by The_Dover

I'm the one in the pink tutu and tights

Everything is tight on The_Pudding.

**The_Dover** · 4th December 2006, 20:38

How's that new toupee Finn?

What's five foot tall and skips like a schoolgirl?

**boomer** · 4th December 2006, 20:44

Originally Posted by idleidolidyll

... My bike is rated at 95bhp at the back wheel which is probably pretty much the same as that new CBR600 which is rated at 118bhp at the crank. Of course the 950SM is built for torque and has way more than the CBR making it much easier to use on the road.

Pops...you have 351cc's more than the cbr and 20lb's more torque..so why you so slow?

Marketing has always been about putting a spin on things and always will be; horses for courses me old

missed last week, on hols.. may or may not see you all this week