Harley rider on a Superhawk
 

So we had our annual car and contraption show today. Cars, Motorcycles, tractors, Washing machines(gas powered I swear) and the like. There was my SH parked in a sea of black, 6 or so old beemers. Standing like a ray of sunshine in all it's Yellow Glory. My buddy who's a harley guy says, "can I take your bike for a spin"? I say sure but use my helmet cuz yourz don't match. After 30 minutes or so I hear the rumble climbing the hill. He pulls in and parks. Big grin on his face and says, "Holy Shit! What a blast" He said he blipped the throttle in second and the damn thing came up on him. Whooda thunk it? Earlier someone asked him how much his harley and another friends '78 Goldwing weighed. 718 for the Harley and 650 or so for the GW. Then he started my SH and said it sounded rough. I said it is actually purring like a kitten. ( idling at 950 rpm) . It's an Ltwin not an I4 i told him, Not your grandma's Gixxer. I think he's gunna switch sides.

good story, love how people fall in love with the V-twin torque

btw its not an Ltwin (which stands for line) but a V-twin.

Ltwins are the 650ninja and the 250ninja

An L twin is a 90 degree v-twin like the Super Hawk's engine. Twins like those in the Ninja 250 and 650 are referred to as vertical or parallel twins.

way off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-twin

as stated L-twins is a general euphemism for 90 deg twins, like you Ducs and what not. More so because its canted forward in that the front jug is near parallel to the ground.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducati_V-twin_motorcycles

The super hawk is a v twin.

the 650 and 250 ninjas are parallel twins.

If I where you I'd go out and measure the angle on the engine in your bike... You'll probably find that like the rest of us it's a 90 degree V-twin... Mine certainly is a 90 degree and hence can be described as both a V-twin and an L-twin...

Altough an L-twin is an V-twin, but a V-twin isn't an L-twin...;)

Mmmmm.... Twins ;)

Oi... Not those kinds of twins...;)

Dammit... Now I have to go look through the PWNT and see what k-d has posted recently... :lol:

Then of course you got the other "v" twins, which are not Vee twins but vertical twins, which of course are all parallel twins which aren't however all vertical twins.

Just wanted to be clear about that.

You mean, just so we are clear about what we are confused about? :crackup:

Exactly!

Guess you buddy`s not used to riding a real motorcycle (instead of a posercycle)...

He's been enlightened. He's going through a rough divorce and that was the first smile I've seen on him for some time. The funny thing was the way he toyed with the bike. First sitting on it, then starting it, then asking to ride it and finally taking it for a ride. This took all day.
I'll now refer to it as a twin.
I should have pics from the event soon. I'll try to post

I wanna see the gas powered washing machine!

I thought they where oil dripping cement mixers :confused:

I own both. A electra glide classic and a SSS Hawk. Best of both worlds....

The Washing machine is a late 20's Maytag with a small Hit n' Miss engine. Foot pedal to start and a 20 foot hose to exhaust through outside window. It was a Modern Convenience for the "Modern Farm Wife" as quoted in the Saturday Evening Post of the period. the guy who brought it operated it throughout the day. He also brought a 58 Cub Lowboy, 41 John Deer, 20's Model T, Willys Pick up and a bunch of other stuff. The bikes that showed up ranged from early BMWs, old and new Triumphs, 1 Duc, a few old Guzzis, Mint BSA, et al...
The original owner Plymouth Roadrunner was the car of the day. Beyond mint complete with black fiberglass hood and hood pins(Factory) This car took best in class at Greenwich Concourse last year. The Sunbeam Alpine was sweet as well. A '73 BMW 3.0 CS resto-mod, as was called was sick. A '73 with a new Alpina 3.5 motor, Transmission from a new 7 series beemer and Alpina Seats and rims. A real sleeper. Looks like a nice vintage car but runs like a Ferarri.

what? heaven and hell? I kidd...

The Washing machine is a late 20's Maytag with a small Hit n' Miss engine. Foot pedal to start and a 20 foot hose to exhaust through outside window. It was a Modern Convenience for the "Modern Farm Wife" as quoted in the Saturday Evening Post of the period. the guy who brought it operated it throughout the day. He also brought a 58 Cub Lowboy, 41 John Deer, 20's Model T, Willys Pick up and a bunch of other stuff. The bikes that showed up ranged from early BMWs, old and new Triumphs, 1 Duc, a few old Guzzis, Mint BSA, et al...
The original owner Plymouth Roadrunner was the car of the day. Beyond mint complete with black fiberglass hood and hood pins(Factory) This car took best in class at Greenwich Concourse last year. The Sunbeam Alpine was sweet as well. A '73 BMW 3.0 CS resto-mod, as was called was sick. A '73 with a new Alpina 3.5 motor, Transmission from a new 7 series beemer and Alpina Seats and rims. A real sleeper. Looks like a nice vintage car but runs like a Ferarri.

if you ever get a chance....a nice touring bike, radio and the open road. its nice. not the speed of the hawk, but much more comfortable.

wait what?

i didn't say the superhawk is not a v twin. It even says in the fac. manual its a 90 v twin.

semantics i tells ya! :)

Cool. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it. I like to swap bikes/cars with others for exactly that reason (assuming I've been around them enough to trust their abilities.) Most people still seem to be very against sharing the keys though.

It's juvenile to hate on something you have no experience with.

But FWIW, I rented a new Heritage Softtail for a day. Lets just say I won't be trading my Hawk in on one anytime soon.:p

And since it is a 90 degree V twin it is also an L twin...;) Confusing I know...:)

Not to be mistaken with those 7 twins and ^ twins.

v twins are all v motors, no matter the angle, except 180* which would be called a boxer. v twins are: guzzis, hardleys, buells, aprilias, etc...
L twins are 90*. i think the front cyl is near parallel to the ground. ducs are the prime example but i would think superhawks, rc51s and svs would be included.
i don't think there is such a thing as a vertical twin.
is a parallel twin actually a 360* twin?
hahahahahahaha

i bet that hardley dude loved the hp of the hawk. big smile!

Ok, but if a V-twin goes down a hill, does it become a L-twin since bystanders are standing straight ??
What if the Duke goes up the hill ??
Damn my head hurt, please someone put an end to to our engine identity crisis !!

;)

gboezio is too bright to be in crisis over this. It's very simple. "L" twins (90 degree Ducati, VTR etc.) are a subset of the category called "vee twins" in the same way that "vertical" twins (old Triumphs, CB 350s and TX/XS 650s) are a subset of "parallel twins".


If gboezio's head hurts, he probably drank too much beer before he fell asleep.

...If a Moto Guzzi spontaneously starts in a garage and there is no one around to hear it, is it a Transverse or Longitudinal V-Twin?:)

v twin going downhill doesn't become an L twin because the front cyl is still not parallel to the ground! same goes for duc going uphill!!! hahahaha ;) hahahaha

i have too much time on my hands. i should go have a few beers with gboezio! beer is cheap in quebec!!!

does anybody hear it! hahahahah

where's that beer? is "fin du monde" any good?