V twins

[Clivoris]

I want a big V-Twin so I can join in the conversation - My V Twin is 250cc and is therefore pretty gutless all over the range.

An admirable sentiment he whose name must not be spoken. They are more fun than a pair of shorts full of blow flies, but track days are littered with sub 400cc bikes scalping big boys on their V2 thous'.

[98tls]

An admirable sentiment he whose name must not be spoken. They are more fun than a pair of shorts full of blow flies, but track days are littered with sub 400cc bikes scalping big boys on their V2 thous'.

mate you other islanders are into some weird shit.................

[JimO]

I want a big V-Twin so I can join in the conversation - My V Twin is 250cc and is therefore pretty gutless all over the range.

why dont you have a more manly bike McJim are you on restricted???

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Dead right mate............about 6-61/2 it just roars away............kind of addictive.

Pretty much the same on the VTR

[nudemetalz]

The Guzzi is like that....cruising at 100km/h, go to overtake, no need to go down a gear, just pull out and roll on the throttle, then look down, hmmm...150km/h,...better slow down !!!!
(Big) V-twin's are the way to go.

[spudchucka]

Pretty much the same on the VTR

I've owned a VTR and a TLS, the TL had mad top end compared to the VTR.

[Shadows]

Take off your fairings and you won't have so many nasty surprises.

[thehollowmen]

Dead simple. You're listening to the noise and feeling the vibration. Twins only have half as many firings per rotation so you get a lower pitch for the RPM

I have owned a couple of 4 cyl bikes and in comparison the boxer twin is deceptivly fast on the open road and on more than one occasion I have been caught out doing 140 when I could have sworn I was only doing around 110 Ks, I am not to sure as to why twin cyclinder bikes seem to do this?

[Grahameeboy]

Agree the SV is deceptive and now and then I get caught out but one good thing is that the engine braking saves you so there is no panic.

When you look at 0 - 60mph the SV is actually on a par with the Gixxer thou.....

But I will never go back to a IL4....

[jade]

I ride a twin but not so much like your ones.. a 2stroke 250
I think that bigger twins are sweet - they are fast by most peoples standards but I found at pukekoe that a couple sv 1000's werent really faster than my bike at the speeds we were doing - I imagine from 180 up they would keep pulling but a il4 600 smokes me going into 3rd
Ill be upgrading to a suzuki il4 but If I had to own a twin it would be the vtr sp1/2
Hondas best looking bikes.. and they sound good too
Also the 1098..

[RC1]

I found with my TLS that it had massive top end for a twin. It didn't do much until mid way through the revs and then it just pulled like pubescent school boy all the way to the red line.

totally agree, seem a bit boring around town under 5K revs ,once out of town riding from 5k- redline just puts the biggest grin on your face and before you know it you hit 220+ just seems to only take a few seconds,i luv the twins i dont think i will ever go back to a il4 after riding one for the last year,

[Kelem]

Pig around town speeds, but great out in the open as the white lines flash bye, speeds tend to creep up around the walk home zone before i realize it.
Luv the induction roar thru the airbox.

[idleidolidyll]

Are jolly deceptive when it comes to judging your speed. I must admit that I've been caught out a few times on the SV.

Pull out to overtake a car (on the motorway of course), look down and find I'm doing 145 ks. On all my other bikes I've always 'felt' the acceleration, but the V twin just doesn't seem to give you the impression that it's actually accelerating. (You do notice that the cars in front of you are getting close really fast and the cars behind are receding at a similar rate).

What do you chaps reckon?

I remember the commisar of police on tv a few years ago being challeged about speed in overtaking.
essentially some research proved that we HAVBE to speed most of the time to overtake safely. One figure was something like it would take 1 kilometer to overtake a car doing 90 if you stuck to the speed limit but since you must keep a 100 metre extra clearance AFTER the move, it could never be done except south of Chch or highway 27.

The commisar stated on tv that "Of course we won't book people for speeding when overtaking......"

Bullshit! happens all the time.

[desmo dave]

i love the vtwin power. ive never ridden a big bore multi to compare the rush. the biggest jap bike ive ridden was a xj550 years ago.the motor sounded like it was doing a couple of hundred mile an hour.but the bike was going know where fast.all noise no go...... on ya Casy Stoner

[blueblade]

Had fireblades and suchlike in the past but cant imagine myself ever going back to an IL4. They are way too easy to cruise on at ridiculously high speeds but for real world riding in the twisties I find the v twin way quicker and easier to ride. Massive low down grunt and traction coming out of corners. And the engine braking means you hardly need to touch the brakes - which in my opinion makes them a much safer bike for sporty twisties riding, particularly in the wet. Top end is more than enough for road riding and even on the track, it takes a very good rider to be able to use the 150-160 hp of a four and get away from the 120ish hp of the vtwin who will be on the gas way earlier coming out of the corner.