Have u tried sports bikes & decided they are too fast?

[stevo as b4]

The Aerodynamics are obviously horrible on an MX bike, and you'd struggle to gear one for even 110mph with the chain run and usable sprocket sizes.

Anyway power to weight is great for low end acceleration superiority, but it's no help at 100mph when air resistance is the enemy, and a 180bhp engine and slippery fairing are a much more worthy opponent. Having a 75bhp, 100kg bike shaped like a tall block of flats isn't going to be comparible or useful.

But I know which one I'd rather be riding, and anyway think of the wheelie potential it's immense and then some!

[AldridgePrior]

Never been into sports bikes but appreciate what they're all about and have huge respect for guys that compete in the likes of the NW200, the TT and the likes. I think most people like a bit of speed and I'm no exception. The couple of sports bikes I've had a blast on, were ok but I haven't the talent to get the best out of them ( not on a public road or otherwise). That plus being too big for the fuckin things and not being comfortable on them doesn't help.

[B0ndy]

My gripe with sports bike is not that they're too fast but that they want you to go fast, almost egging you on "give me more, more powahhh" - and without hesitation I give in and then find in myself in triple digits.


Blessing and a curse, fun but...
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CBF 125 -> CB400SF -> GSX600F -> ZX6R (G1) -> GSXR1000 K4 -> ZX6R (B1H Stunt bike) -> VFR800 -> R1 5PW -> Sprint 1050 -> Fireblade 929 -> ZX10R C2H

[MarJay]

[Evil Hans]

[Easy-X]

Never ridden a "proper" sports bike but everyone I know who has one always complains about comfort rather than the speed.

And I always get the same reaction when they see my bikes: longing for a casual and comfortable bike...

"When I'm old and past it, I'm gonna get a bike like yours."
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[chickenstrip]

[stevo as b4]

Only thing in this thread I don't like is the cruisers aren't fast bit, well of course they aren't in A-B through the twisties, over bumpy roads etc etc.

But in essence any bike with 100bhp or more is '' open up the throttle and go quickly from low speed to illegal speeds''. I know a 110bhp cruiser at 320kg isn't fast in comparison to a 180bhp 180kg bike, but they are all outright fast enough to get you down the road quickly if you want.

Also it's bollocks those saying that the Ducati Diaval isn't a cruiser style bike. Of course it is, as engine performance doesn't change the class of a bike, like geometry, riding position, ground clearance etc does.

The V-max is also a cruiser too.

A muscle bike has to look something like an XJR1200 or similar with fairly normal geometry and sit up wide flat bars. It's something that a Diaval or V-max etc can never be.

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

[Fin]

I rode with a cruiser that was decently quick around corners and straights although It had a sports bike engine and was heavily modified. I was thoroughly impressed though, sparks flying everywhere on corners but he had some serious angle, not the typical cruiser slight lean and the pegs are scraping either.

[G]

[Undinist]

OTOH the Diavel has a world record for fastest acceleration. The 240 rear tyre probably helps.

[ThatDippyTwat]

[stevo as b4]

Not all Japanese factory custom bikes have Forwards either, so do you call those muscle bikes too?

The Diaval has a long low wheelbase and fairly raked out forks too. It is no XJR or ZRX and therefore is no muscle bike. OK so the geometry, wheelbase and riding position might put it good for getting off the line, except it like a V-max will spin up the rear tyre instead of getting away quickly. You might say it's more drag bike in influence, but it's too comfy, heavy and well equipped for that too.

Unless a bike has naked road bike geometry, is completely unfaired, and has wide flattish bars it can never be a muscle bike. A Triumph 1050 speed triple is the right shape to be a muscle bike, but a V-max or Diaval is not IMO. Next you'll be saying that a Harley V-rod is a muscle bike too. It's only ever been a cruiser with a 120bhp engine, but as I've said before bhp or size of the back tyre, or the 0-60 acceleration times have nothing whatsoever to do with muscle bikes.

G, I did say that I don't think a 100bhp cruiser is fast in relative terms to a GSXR etc, I know that on a track, corners or against a clock that 100bhp/320kg won't beat 180bhp/180kg bike. But it still stands that any 100bhp is quick enough to get you really moving to illegal speeds without effort, and is real world quick enough to be useful and capable on the road generally.

I still remember seeing a KTM525EXC get annihalated in traffic up to 40-50mph by an 1800cc Suzuki cruiser. It would have been well over 300kg, but away from the lights it would pass all cars and keep up with other bikes up to the 40mph speed limit. I know that these sort of bikes don't encourage riding like that and you'll never be quick across country or round a track, but it still stands that it wasn't slow.

And I know you'll say that a Honda CB500 is also an equally valid traffic destroyer etc, but it's kind of my point that these bikes can be too, and once your past the level of bikes that struggle to keep up/ahead of traffic then it doesn't matter. It's only small capacity machines and learner bikes that can't easily do the above. Everything else it's a non issue.

[chickenstrip]

For me, "muscle bikes" need to be just that - you have to be a bit physical with them to get the best out of them. This probably means that they're never going to be as precision a tool as the latest super light sports bike, never going to achieve the most amazing lap times, but they're equally, if not more engaging to ride. Perhaps even daunting for some.

I'm not even sure that anyone makes them anymore. Maybe the GSX1400 was the last of the breed.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[MarJay]

[chickenstrip]

[Undinist]

When I win the lottery I'll get someone to build me Z1300 streetfighter.....a frame from Spondon or Moto Martin or Bimota or someone...radiators out of the way to put all the headers on display.

[chickenstrip]

[martin734]

I rode sports bikes for a number of years, but after a serious accident made riding one extremely uncomfortable I now ride a sports tourer. And tbh, unless I am on a very twisty road with no other traffic on it, I'm no slower on my ST1100 than I was on my Ducati. Not because my ST1100 is anywhere near as fast as my Ducati, but because on the road I couldn't get anywhere near the limit of the Ducati's power and handling.
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Current bike: ST1100 "Big Red"

[steve the grease]

Well the fastest Ive ever been was about 5-600 miles an hour in a 777 over the pacific. There is virtually no sensation of movement or speed unless there is abit of turbulence.
It's changes of direction or velocity ( that old first law of motion then) that give us a sensation of acceleration we all find so exhilarating and you don't have to be going crazy fast to enjoy that. Sports bikes have been too fast for ages.... Yes I am old,

[Robby]

[chickenstrip]

And there goes the neighbourhood
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[1198]

Back to the original question - kind of -
I figured a GSXR600 was ‘enough’ for the road many years ago. Since then I’ve had another five or six, getting progressively more ‘enough’ and still think it. I’m not dashing back to a 600 though, perhaps I’ve a small cock but there’s no replacement for displacement...

[Enduro Numpty]

My last sports bike was a 2012 Fireblade. It made going very very quickly very very easy. It's maybe just an age thing but the normal checks and balances in my riding that have sort of evolved over the decades and kept me alive seemed to be disregarded. It was so easy to ride fast it became worrying. The limits of what it would do were so hard to find that fearing jail or death I sold it. Had I been close to a race track I may have kept it for track days.

My Fireblade had 175bhp which is more than the GP bikes of not that long ago. The latest incarnation has around 215bhp. It really is hard to see how anyone can use all this power and capability on the road.

My bike of choice these days is a 2016 V-Strom 1000. I know, only 100bhp and pot ugly, but it handles well and is ideal for long days on Scottish Highland roads where it's used. I can scratch on it, I can carry a passenger in comfort and I can carry luggage and tour Europe on it. All of this for little over 1/2 the cost of the latest sports bikes.

All of that said, I think modern sports bikes are engineering marvels but IMO they are infinitely more suited to race tracks and those with the skills to do them justice