comments advice from big block owners...the 100 hp bikes..

[Perazzimx14]

Speed and power aren't everything.  Not much at all, actually (IMHO).

 :+1

[PeteS]

+1 on track days. I too learned more at my first one that I had in my previous 30 years of riding. A few years ago I picked up the quickest bike I have ever owned, a Triumph 800 Tiger with the stroked 675 motor. Less HP but more torque down low. The difference for me is now I had to learn to modulate the throttle in curves which I never had to do with my antiques. It was all could do to break the wheel loose in the corners. Not now.

Pete

[Vasco DG]

Most modern 8V Guzzis in stock trim make about 96 hp at the rear wheel on the dyno I use. They are also big, heavy motorbikes. None of the work I've done to mine is aimed at making it more powerful, simply more tractable and better handling and stopping, in fact the map it's running now actually makes it harder to loft the front wheel but it will pull away from 2,000 rpm in sixth without any snatchiness or hesitation and pull right through to well over 200kph effortlessly and with no poor behavior. As a 'Road' bike it is second to none.

If I wanted 'More power' there are a host of bikes that can give you that but my choice would be the TV-4, that narrow angle V4 is a truly lovely engine and like most *Modern* sportsbikes it is stuck in a package that you have to leave a brick on the seat when you park it to stop it blowing away in a light breeze it weighs so little. The huge advantage it has over most of the other true 'Sportsbikes' is that it has a tolerable riding position.

One thing to note though about bikes with 'Supersport' potential is that they rarely seem to get a major service. Why? Well in the case of big Aprilias it's because their owners crash them! It's very, very easy to suddenly find yourself way out of your comfort zone on such light, powerful machines. One of the big problems is that unlike 'Sports' bikes of yesteryear you get no warning you are approaching the machine's limits. A modern sports bike won't shimmy or wallow as it approaches its limits. It'll feel absolutely brilliant right up to the moment it kills you! It's very easy to get over confident and that alone is why a talentless git like me doesn't have a Tuono in my garage!

As others have said, the best place to use and explore the performance of a modern Supersport is track days. Go and do a few track schools, buy a set of race-glass in case you slide off and learn to have serious fun in a safe environment with none of the factors you can't control like you have on the road. I'm not suggesting you not ride the bike on the road, simply saying that learning it's potential is something more safely done on a track. While there is no obligation to use all the machine's performance there is always the temptation to explore the boundaries of the machine, and your, limits. Far better to find them in the safest environment available. Also the cost of schools and track days pales into insignificance compared to the sort of fine you can cop for using anywhere near the sort of speeds something like a Supersport is capable of on a public road.

Have fun!

Pete

[Kentktk]

All a 200hp bike does is this, but it sure is fun ;D

https://vimeo.com/123869307

[Doppelgaenger]

Back when I still owned my SV650, I had a chance to swap bikes with a friend who was riding a CBR600F3.

My initial impression was that the bike was gutless down low, and of course this was to be expected. The only time the bike felt fun and lively to me was when I went to get on the freeway and the engine started to scream a bit. Then I looked down and saw i was doing 85,

This is why I don't like 4 cylinder engines. They are utterly boring at legal speeds, and sportbike handling at speed cannot be explored on roads because of this. This compared to twins that have fun torque even down low.

[Guzzistajohn]

Comments: Sounds like fun! GFY!

Advice: rubber side down, Have a ball, and don't get caught!

[Sheepdog]

Check out Keith Code's book, "A Twist of the Wrist". Better yet, go to one of his schools...all over California or at Barber in Birmingham, AL.

[lucydad]

All,

Thanks for many useful and wise comments and opinions.  Dusty said a lot:  ride to my own limit, and not the bike.  There is a local track near Houston and not so far as Austin, but COTA would be a hoot.  One of the reasons I bought the Triumph STR 675:  and I now confirm--it performs in two modes.  Mode A is below 6000 rpm using all 6 gears:  civilized, smooth as silk, no throttle snatch, clickety click shifting:  very similar to the full capability of the V7R except no tractor transmission and no need to wring it out to get up to freeway speeds or pass.

Then there is mode B, and I have been there, just a bit.  True sport bike  and the zone of caution, skill, control and maturity.  Very likely I will visit mode B around 10% of the riding time.  But I will have fun there.  On top the bike offers superb suspension, brakes, tires and handling.  And frankly it is more comfortable than the cafe V7R.  Mode B for passing will be welcome.  More than once the V7R just did not have enough to be safe passing.

I will learn and grow into the bike.  Challenges are good things.  More later...and you also confirm why I kept the V7R, and made a great choice.

[LowRyter]

You really want to learn your limits and the bike's limits safely?  Take it to a track school.

If you're serious about wanting "to learn to do it right" on a bike like the Street Triple 675, you need to be somewhere that you can focus on you and the bike instead of police, oncoming traffic, kids, dogs, sand, gravel, etc.

These guys have an event in Houston:

http://www.ridesmart.info/

 ;-T



warning:  this ain't fun if your front Russell SS brake line lets go before the tight hairpin!   :wife:

[earemike]

When I was swapping between the V11 & RSV4 I noticed I was carrying a lot more speed prior to turn in. It was deceptive as the bike was so smooth and more agile than my Guzzi so I'd be scrubbing speed on entry.

My perceived speed on entry felt accurate but I'm sure on exit & straights I was mistaken so that's what I needed to be aware of.