blight

Hi y'all...all this talk of drag-racing numbers led me to follow the links of others and I noticed SportRider's documented 60-80 roll-on (like when you're passing a garbage truck) times on the SuperHawk are impressive indeed @ only 2.78 sec!!

Out of all the other stock sportbikes there are only a handful that can beat it, and the vast majority are simply left in the dust!! I can attest to that as well...whenever I swap bikes with friends I am generally left unimpressed with their torque availability in these similar roll-ons, and they are simply left slack-jawed by the VTR's mid-range GRUNT!

Check it out, and bookmark the page to impress and embarrass your buddies if you feel the urge.

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_perf_nums/#top

Cheers,
B. Light
'98 SuperHawk 996

mikstr

Hi guys,

the figures listed by SportRider are impressive indeed. AS the owner of a VTR, I definitely want to think that my bike rules the roll-ons. In truth, I have had very little opportunity to ride other (similar) bikes and so really have nothing to compare it to. The only exceptions are a dealer try-out day where I rode both a VFR800 (2003) and a 919 and both felt "soft" in roll-on acceleration (especially the VFR).

To play Devil's advocate, however, have a look at the stats listed in Motorcyclist magazine (SportRider's sister publication). The numbers are not so encouraging as they state 5.0 seconds to do the 60-80 (http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/performancedata/). Nothing to write home about really. I also recall Cycle World getting a time of 3.6 seconds in an early comparo with the TL-S, Triumph Daytona 955i, and the Ducati 916. Who is right then? Can anyone with real-world experience let us know how the VTR really stacks up against other bikes, say the FZ1, 954, Tuono, R1, ZX-9, Z1000, RC51,....

While this will surely not alter the fate of the planet nor cause me to get rid of my beloved Firestorm (especially after some recent smile-inducing mods), I would like to know how it fares.

cheers
Micky

blight

Hmmm, I'm gonna take the old girl out in the a.m. on a really flat section and ease her up to 60 mph, shift into 6th, and then roll it on up to 80 mph (indicated). I'm then gonna count seconds in my head....One-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand point 78. (I'll be on the track, of course)

I know...it's all pretty academic here. Most of us know our VTR's have terrific roll-on power, and those that don't realize how good it really is are probably very callous to it by now, or have just not ridden many other sportbikes for comparison.

The VTR's muscular mid-range, seamlessly combined with strong top-end pull can prevent one from truly realizing the actual rate of acceleration!

Please be careful folks. This bike is not a toy.

Cheers,
B. Light AKA BKL
'98 SuperHawk 996

superbling

Brian,

I tried that this evening and mine was much closer to 5 than 2.78 AND I have 15t. Still doesn't change the fact that it's a great real world power band.

blight

Hmmm, mebbe you just count slower in your head? I'll post my "official timing" tomorrow. Hey, I might even use a stop-watch...but I'll have to use it with my left hand. I'm a righty, so the accuracy might be off a bit!

Cheers,
BKL

v2weapon

In the three weeks I've owned my adopted, former track-bound, 'hawk, she's been in pieces (her name is Pandora, btw). I finally got the new radiators installed and the cooling system buttoned up with some Water Wetter, put the dissected airbox back together with a good Honda filter, and straightened out the bent brackets and pipes on the Jardine high-mount exhaust (still waiting on my D&D carbon fiber system). I'm still waiting on my Sharkskinz, so Pandora is naked for now. So she hit the street for the first time in over 3 years yesterday, sans all plastic, with the taillight zip-tied to the subframe. My buddy on his FJR1300 thought his Yammie was the king of grunt until I left him like he was dragging brakes at 60 mph.

Pandora came to me with high compression JE Pistons, Moriwaki stage 2 cams, and lots of hand porting and flow benching on the heads. She's not the fastest thing I've ever been on (I used to race Pro Modified Harleys with my dad), but on the street I'd say she's scary fast. I've never ridden a stock 'hawk, so I don't know how Pandora compares. I have ridden a Ducati 996, and I would rank it pretty high in roll on grunt. I look forward to meeting a Duc 999 on the street to find out how things shake out.

For midrange torque I don't think there are many I-4s that can hang, in the real world. Adam

mikstr

Well, as fate would have it, I remembered that my dealer had a demo day on Saturday so I mosied on down to try some of Honda's latest machinery. Having already rode the 919 and VFR on a previous such occasion, I set my sights on the CBR1000, the ST1300 and the Gold Wing (he he). As expected, it was a guided ride consisting of a short loop (@ 10 miles) on both freeway and country roads. In so far as teh CBR is concerned, I was impressed with the suspension's supple responsiveness and its overall comfort; it was better than I expected although the weight on the wrists at low speeds would get to be burdensome I would expect. Engine-wise, the I4 seemed very smooth and linear. There was very little vibration (much, much smoother than the 919 I tried last year) and the engine pulled without hesitation from as low as 2K rpm even in top gear. A very flexible engine I must say. I was expecting the engine to gain its revs more quickly thtan it did however. Now, it begin a guided ride, I only got to rev it to 6K so I cannot comment on the top-end rush (would expect this was probably where things got interesting, oh well, beggars can't be choosers....) The gearing, from what I can gather, was about the same as my VTR with the 43 teeth rear sprocket (in top gear that is) although the gear ratios seemed more closely spaced together than the VTR's. I tried a roll-on at @120 km/h (my usual cruising speed) and thought he engien pulled well, I do think my VTR is quicker. Of course the seat of the pants may be wrong but I would wager my VTR would take it for a little bit (until the revs got higher at thich time I am sure the CBR would just blow by). Overall, I was impressed but I do wish I could have tried it with a bit more freedom to put it through its paces.

I was really impressed with the ST. That V4 engine is unbelievably smooooooooooooth. A comfortable bike with the nice feature of the adjustable windshield (really works too!). I would definitely try the FJR before buying in this category but anyone loking for a long-haul sport-tourer could nto go wrong with this mount. Nice, nice, nice!!!!

Gotta go now

cheers

wheeliefun996

I have a 2000 r1 that's piped and jetted, and a 99' hawk that's piped, and 2 up on the rear and it's not really that close. My r1 pulls harder everywhere after 3000 rpm's. I like them both alot, but the r1 is much more fun to play with and there about the same for comfort. My 2cents.

v2weapon

I keep hearing what an awesome bike the R1 is. One day I'll have to ride one to see what all the fuss is about. My buddy Pete, who races an R6 in WERA, rides an R1 on the street, but he rides VERY conservatively. He's already watched two other guys get killed on the street on R1s, because they didn't recognize the difference between the street and the racetrack. I keep wondering what public road (short of the Isle of Man) would allow an un-sponsored street rider to fully exploit the true capabilities of an R1...because I haven't found it. I-65 ain't Suzuka. Valentino Rossi doesn't live in Nashville. In the real world I'll always be in love with liter-class twins. But I wouldn't turn down a lap or two on the SuperSpeedway on any of the current liter I-4s.

blokeontheend

It's all in the gearing - I can't remember the last time I used 6th gear. At 60mph, I'm guessing the engine is running below 3k RPM's. So it's pretty much a useless comparison in today's world....IMHO.

L8RGYZ

Geez, I don't know about the numbers, I don't ride numbers. (Sorry, I know this sounds kinda' smart-*** ; just tryin' to be witty.) Every bike has some limitations & part of the fun is learning to ride the strengths & weaknesses to the best of your ability.

I haven't had my 'Hawk long, but I can say over the past 2 weekends that my basically stock VTR has hung w/ the likes of a TL1000S, RC51, 3 GSXR1000s, ZX9R, 2 CBR954s, Daytona 955, ZZR1200(?), etc. w/ no problem on the backroads of Virginia & West Virginia.

I think I'm an ok rider, but I've ridden with plenty of people I know are better than i am. That's not my point though. The point is that if you're a good rider, you're not likely 2 feel outclassed on the VTR. 8)

wheeliefun996

I've had no problems keeping up with any bike except in a straight line, but any idiot, ok most idiots can go fast in a straight line . As far as r1's, I've owned 900rr's, zx9r's fzr1000's, and the R1 is a different animal. Huge torque, and a wicked top end. I vary rarely use the top end in any gear on the street, and i really think it's out of reach for 98% of riders out there, and mines 20 hp down to the new literbikes. It's just overkill in every way, but it is fun . It steers really heavy compaired to the hawk, and most of the time is not as entertaining as the hawk on the street. I might have to look at an rc51 to combine the best of both worlds.

v2weapon

Rumor has it Honda is close to a production version of their V-5 race bike. As much as I love twins, before I bought an RC51 I'd take a look at that bad boy. Honda does have a tendency to rewrite the standards with their high-end sportbikes, and this could be one worth waiting for.

vitter

I have ridden many sportbikes, and while I love my VTR, it sucks for roll ons, due to gearing. My old GSXR1100 would waste my friends 01 VTR, any of the new liter bikes would walk away, and other bikes(busa, ZX12R, Bandit1200, ZRX, FZ1, etc) would make the VTR look slow in top gear roll ons.
Overall, I find the powerband very bland on the VTR(not a bad thing), there is decent power everywhere, but it is no match for a good inline.

blight

Quote: I have ridden many sportbikes, and while I love my VTR, it sucks for roll ons, due to gearing. My old GSXR1100 would waste my friends 01 VTR...blah.blah.blah <SNIP!>

Hmmmm, you love your VTR, eh? I think mebbe you're visiting the wrong list! A suggestion? Why not sell your sluggish 'ol VTR sled and buy one of those reeeealy fast inline four literbikes...like bud, they're really fast, kewl and different, right? Hey, howsa 'bout a 500+ lb Hayabusa? "Neeeto!!"

Hey, you could then justifiably leave this list and forget about trashing our much-beloved SuperHawk V-twins. (BTW, we're all fans of this great bike here, especially proud of it's roll-on ability) If you're not satisfied with your VTR, by all means please sell it and move on to something you prefer.

If you decide to keep the VTR, I would recommend you have a qualified tuner fix that pig ASAP, because it's obviously not running very well in terms of roll-ons. My experience, along with all the published results say our bikes in stock trim should kick just about everybody's butt in 6th gear roll-ons 60 to 80 mph. (2.78 sec)

That's all we're discussing here, and granted, it's really academic in terms of real world riding conditions. Under or over this speed range, or alternate gear selections is NOT in question in this thread.

BTW, selling your old turd is just a suggestion, but please dude, only do what you think is right, especially if you really 'love' your bike.

Bye-bye!!!

BKL[I]

vitter

I do love my bike for more than just rollons. I am not just into straightline speed(I like twisties, which this bike is great at). But I am also realistic. If you think your bike is the fastest thing going, you are plainly delusional. I love my bike, but it is not the fastest thing out there.

thegreep

I tried this the other day after reading this post, and in 6th gear rollons just suck from 60 to 80, they seem better 70 to 90. So I tried it in second gear. . .that's more like it.

L8RGYZ

I'm with ya greep!
Numbers, shmumbers...let's ride!
I you can keep up on your R1, that's cool...if not, I'll wait for ya at the next turn. If you get there before me, I'll give ya a highfive. But in the end, on the backroads, it's not as much about what you're riding, as what you've learned about riding.

NOrrTH

I don't know whats going on here, other than a bit of flamming which I think is a first for this forum, but if I was in 6th gear at 60mph my bike would be just bogging/chugging along - 2nd or 3rd is about right.

L8RGYZ

I'm with ya there NOrrTH.
Far as the flames, I hope it's good-natured. We all ride sport bikes & they're all a lot of fun. There's a bond there that should go beyond V2, Triple, IL4 or whatever.
Hey man, just noticed what's different about you. Nice avatar!

NOrrTH

Ya, I finally lost the happy little turd lol

Great minds as they say..

ClevelandSuperhawkRumble