Well, this week end I met a guy that wanted to check the bike on rolling starts on the highway, and I have to say that his bike was faster in any situations/gears/RPM
We tested 6/6 th gears 5/5, 4/4, 3/3, 2/2, 5/6, 4/6 (by a hair) and a 6/6 th from 30 MPH, g. damn not much I can do except holding the throttle WOT and wait that he passes me. He claims 141 hp off his bike witch seem right to me.
So at least the hawk hold better at low RPM's but still gets his *** kicked.
I really need to get that turbo project going this winter.
It still was fun to do and I still love my bike, we both agreed that his bike sounded like crap.

 

Yeah, I spent the good part of a day getting to ride an FJR1300 which has even more torque than the FZ1. It was giddy fun in the beginning with truly effortless acceleration but at the end of the day the characteristics of the IL4 just started to wear on me. The owner sold it for a Tuono less than a year later.

 

Which year was the FZ1? If he claims 141 rwhp, I can safely assume it was modded?

 

Not quite sure, he may have added some to account for the pipe 3 hp he said.

I wish I could have held my camera while making those runs, I did not have time to make a camera holder yet, too busy to build my garage.

 

That look slike the previous generation FZ1 (with the "long-stroke" carb engine). They had @ 127 hp rwhp so unless he did some modding, I am hard-pressed to believe he has 141 hp but it doesn't change the end result of your roll-on testing anyhow.
What gearing are you running on your VTR?

 

Stocker, but since we tried more advantageous gears, he definitely had more grunt anywhere in the RPM band, specially when testing 4/6 gears, I had a huge advantage. I think he's fuel injected, he changed his gearing tough. There is a lot against the V-twins in the acceleration department. Heavy rotating mass, lower redline, slower burn from the bigger chamber aera, etc... I just thought I had more low end than the 4 bangers...but damn, I'll crank up the hp on this thing.

 

Unless his bike is a 2006 or 2007 he is definitely carbed (from the pic I thik his is teh first generation FZ1 which is carbed, 4 x 37 mm, with a claimed 145 hp at the crank). That bike puts out @ 72 ft-lbs of torque too (and has a nice flat curve) so it has the VTR covered in all aspects. His stock gearing is lower too which further accentuates his advantage (although the bike does weigh @ 50 lbs more)

 

I've done the same between my SH and my girlfriend's 2003 GSXR 750. From a standing stop I can pull past her up until an 1/8 mile. Gearing for gearing though is a different story. If her bike is spooled up around 6KRPM it walks away from the Superhawk. Of course outside of the shenanigans, after riding about two hours in the saddle she is begging for me to switch bikes with her... = )

 

I tried a friend GSXR750 and was not impressed, the SH is definitely funnier to ride, she was mad at me because I opened it up, saying that it was too cold outside to WOT a bike...WTF. And I was bringing back her bike because she found the nightfall too cold for the 40 miles trip back home from Drummondville, think it's a free service ?? I handed her bike back with a good laugh, because she did just bought it for more than it's worth and I could not hear me thinking because of bearings whines. Now every time I see her she say that my bike is a pile of junk because some guy said so, and she don't want to go for a spin... too bad

 

"she say that my bike is a pile of junk because some guy said so"

I'd be curious to know what (even if) Mr. "some guy" rides. The VTR is not a "spec sheet special", but it's a fine bike (especially with a few minor mods). Oh well, her loss....

 

I hardly see any if at all around NYC, which is why I love it so much. In Brooklyn we affectionately refer to the I4's as "Ghetto Bikes", lol. I personally can't play favorites I love the I4s for their character and I love the Twins for theirs. Its funny as my girlfriend and myself are house hunting right now and by and large its so that we can have a garage to store and work on our bikes.

We were goofing off at a place called Floyd Bennett Field where we were drag racing, but on the streets in real world riding, the SH is a fine bike with just an utterly fantastic timbre. I love it.

 

In cities power is useless, in Montreal I could see occasional WOT's, but for streetfighting (and remain alive), it's a 90 % rider and 10% bike, I could loose some ZX-14 noobs with a Goldwing around Montreal, so I guess that a fun bike is the best for a city/commute driver. I can't repeat it enough, owning my bike in Montreal was the best, parking everywhere, I was going everywhere a bike is not supposed to really go.
The mean tone of our bikes turns people heads.
If I had to build a drag bike, I would start from a 4 banger, because where all out power matters, they rule like kings, but I'll wear earplugs.