v twin vs Inline 4 | GTAMotorcycle.com

v twin vs Inline 4

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

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Im trying to decide between these 2 bikes and i have some questions regarding the

Sv650 and Fz6r

About me (This might help give you an idea about me and my style of riding)

Im Taking my M1 exit in 2 weeks, I dont like driving around town/city much, id much rather be out in wilderness/country/highway or trying to discover the best back roads with the best views and curves




I hear I4s 'wake up' at a certain rpm, they pull really well, but how
do they do before that point?(Are they really sluggish? how do they
do Around the town, before you get to a highway?)


What about the top end of a Sv650? Its got all the power low-mid end
does it suddenly just stop pulling after a certain speed?(around what speed would it
stop pulling, or start to 'die down'?)



how do the two bikes pull at 60,80,100,120 km/h? in a side by side comparison?
 
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bigpoppa said:
Im trying to decide between these 2 bikes and i have some questions regarding the

Sv650 and Fz6r

...

I hear I4s 'wake up' at a certain rpm, they pull really well, but how
do they do before that point?(Are they really sluggish? how do they
do Around the town, before you get to a highway?)
Click to expand...

They're fine around town. If you're puttering along in 5th gear at 2000RPM an I4 is going to feel sluggish if you need to build speed fast. Bikes have gearboxes and most I4 sport bikes will come close to or exceed (easily in some cases) 100kph in 1st gear. You could do all of your in-town riding in 1st gear and always be "on the boil", so to speak.

What about the top end of a Sv650? Its got all the power low-mid end
does it suddenly just stop pulling after a certain speed?(around what speed would it
stop pulling, or start to 'die down'?)
Click to expand...

Never ridden one but I'm pretty sure their rate of acceleration, like most engines, will begin to taper off as they pass their power peak.

For a given displacement, V-twins will have larger pistons than I4s which, in turn, allows valves to be bigger which allows for the engine to be a very efficient mover of air at low and mid RPM. As a result of this, plus intake and exhaust tuning, many V-twins make impressive torque in the lower registers.

Their higher reciprocating mass and larger valves can sometimes reduce their maximum RPM.

Both of your choices, the 6R and the '650, make fairly similar power numbers. The 6R weighs about 40-lbs more than the '650 but I suspect their on-highway acceleration performances are pretty close.

The three-cylinder engine is a good compromise; bigger valves and pistons than I4s (for a given displacement) so they're torquey but their bits are not so big as the severely crimp the rev range. Consider an FZ-09 in your mix of bikes.

Always-asked question: As a new rider, those bikes may surprise you when it comes time to insure them; have you talked to your insurance agent about either of these?

As well, nanny-time: As a soon-to-be M1 guy, I'd generally advise against the sort of performance your looking at -- straight line acceleration to supra-legal speeds -- as primary factors when determining what bike to get. Think about starting smaller and getting some experience before moving right into that range of bike.
 
What year are the bikes?

2003 SV650 is Fi

sit on both and see which you like better

as for riding, the SV would be a nicer starter bike
The I4 usually have more power.

The SV650 with a pipe sounds great, you can add the lower fairing and it will look sportier.
It's a good fun all around bike to ride.
Depending on your size the FZ6 might work better for you.

Both bikes are solid machines.
I think the SV will yield better fuel mileage.
 
Blackfin said:
Always-asked question: As a new rider, those bikes may surprise you when it comes time to insure them; have you talked to your insurance agent about either of these?

As well, nanny-time: As a soon-to-be M1 guy, I'd generally advise against the sort of performance your looking at -- straight line acceleration to supra-legal speeds -- as primary factors when determining what bike to get. Think about starting smaller and getting some experience before moving right into that range of bike.
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Yep, I ran the numbers with several insurance agents/brokers and for my age, with an M2 and safety course I got some reasonable numbers for those bikes with certain companies(as reasonable as you can get in the GTA)

From what i understand those arent bad starter bikes(they seem relatively tame) certainly not a supersport bike, these seem more like sport touring, linear power delivery, smooth, not jerky etc

(I had a friend starting on an sv 650 back in the day, later moving on to the gsxr 600, saying the SV is a good starter bike to build skill and confidence)
 
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I have a SV650. It doesn't have a lot of top end pull, but it's more than adequate at highway speed. Go down a gear or two, and go.
 
I am 1 of the few guys who actually love an I4. Love the predictability, temperament & smooth power delivery. Look at the dyno sheet of booth bike & compare.

Twins is everybody's favourite. Full torque comes on at 1/4 of the initial rpm range. Anything up high feels like it ran out of steam. As you can tell I prefer the I4s. I tend to wind out & redline the twins easily. Plus I don't like the vibration from a twin. Tires me out on long rides


Edit: love the screaming sound of an I4
 
Oh yeah a twin is easier to maintain. Less parts in it, cheaper. Half times the sparkplug to replace, less shims to measure. More space in engine bay
 
RockerGuy said:
I am 1 of the few guys who actually love an I4. Love the predictability, temperament & smooth power delivery. Look at the dyno sheet of booth bike & compare.

Twins is everybody's favourite. Full torque comes on at 1/4 of the initial rpm range. Anything up high feels like it ran out of steam. As you can tell I prefer the I4s. I tend to wind out & redline the twins easily. Plus I don't like the vibration from a twin. Tires me out on long rides


Edit: love the screaming sound of an I4
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The smoothness and the (flat-crank) exhaust note of an I4 do it for me too. Dat putt-putt-putt sound of a twin ... not so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wbuCqkAk6E

Fast as hell but those sounds...meh.
 
SV is a great starter bike. And as mentioned before less maintenance costs, easy to ride and has lots of low end torque which actually makes it more enjoyable at lower speeds and it has more than enough grunt for highway.
 
I currently have a Sv650s and am in the process of looking to sell it. I can let you know what I think about my sv.

First of all the sv is a great bike. It does everything well. Its basically an all rounder bike. The bike does he torque which is fun and useful around town but like you mentioned before, the pull stops once u are at highway speeds. Don't get me wrong though, it is still fast enough to get on highway and pass cars just not able to do illegal speeds as fast. The vtwin engine produces a nice low deep sound. It's very different from others. However as mentioned before there are some vibrations from the bike while riding. For short casual rides this will not affect u but for long rides it might. The sv is easy to learn on and if you are a beginner like u said, it would be safer to start on a 650 650. The sv is physically bigger and taller than other Supersport bikes so that might also be useful info depending on your height and weight.

I think a good refernece is that the sv will beat any Supersport off the line until 60 kmph and then the inline 4 engine will whoop ur *** (from my experince)
 
stickman88 said:
I currently have a Sv650s and am in the process of looking to sell it. I can let you know what I think about my sv.

First of all the sv is a great bike. It does everything well. Its basically an all rounder bike. The bike does he torque which is fun and useful around town but like you mentioned before, the pull stops once u are at highway speeds. Don't get me wrong though, it is still fast enough to get on highway and pass cars just not able to do illegal speeds as fast. The vtwin engine produces a nice low deep sound. It's very different from others. However as mentioned before there are some vibrations from the bike while riding. For short casual rides this will not affect u but for long rides it might. The sv is easy to learn on and if you are a beginner like u said, it would be safer to start on a 650 650. The sv is physically bigger and taller than other Supersport bikes so that might also be useful info depending on your height and weight.

I think a good refernece is that the sv will beat any Supersport off the line until 60 kmph and then the inline 4 engine will whoop ur *** (from my experince)
Click to expand...

and this applies to the I-4 on the Fz6r as well?
 
bigpoppa said:
that sounds bad to you? To me it sounds like music....manly, grunt-y
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I can see that. I just prefer flat I4s. This:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Mlj3IZbKc

sounds better to me than this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvyBSr0JAyw

I totally respect the twin's basso profundo delivery but it doesn't affect me like the higher winding I4.

Reminds me of the difference between the low-revving, rumbly new V6s in F1 versus the heavenly V10 sounds of yore.

V6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzWBpn0xfnY

V10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mHkfCmoMVs
 
The SV650S is a pretty aggressive seating position, hard on the wrists to a degree. The bike is fast. It can break 225kph. The FZ6R I am sure is far more comfortable and probably even faster. I would think hard about the riding you're going to be doing. My R6 is so smooth, it is almost boring. That is, until you're at 12,000 rpm and it's scary. The SV has a very linear power delivery.

I don't know what your budget is, but I bet a brand new 2016 SV is a very good bike... but, first year model teething perhaps....
 
taximan62 said:
SV is a great starter bike. And as mentioned before less maintenance costs.....
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Dunno about less maintenance costs.
If it's like most other V-Twins on the market (I'm not sure about the SV650's available working space), getting to the rear cylinder to do a valve check/adjustment is very labour intensive. Quite often you have to rotate the motor to do it.
 
Blackfin said:
I can see that. I just prefer flat I4s. This:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Mlj3IZbKc

sounds better to me than this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvyBSr0JAyw

I totally respect the twin's basso profundo delivery but it doesn't affect me like the higher winding I4.

Reminds me of the difference between the low-revving, rumbly new V6s in F1 versus the heavenly V10 sounds of yore.
Click to expand...


the ducati sounds so deep and rumbling....

these videos dont do it justice, iv heard ducatis in person in more confined spaces in and out of toronto and they sound awesome
 
SweetOnion said:
The SV650S is a pretty aggressive seating position, hard on the wrists to a degree. The bike is fast. It can break 225kph. The FZ6R I am sure is far more comfortable and probably even faster. I would think hard about the riding you're going to be doing. My R6 is so smooth, it is almost boring. That is, until you're at 12,000 rpm and it's scary. The SV has a very linear power delivery.

I don't know what your budget is, but I bet a brand new 2016 SV is a very good bike... but, first year model teething perhaps....
Click to expand...



bigpoppa said:
Im trying to decide between these 2 bikes and i have some questions regarding the

Sv650 and Fz6r

About me (This might help give you an idea about me and my style of riding)

Im Taking my M1 exit in 2 weeks, I dont like driving around town/city much, id much rather be out in wilderness/country/highway or trying to discover the best back roads with the best views and curves
Click to expand...


I already have
 
If you're doing it yourself, only 2 cylinders to work on. If they are out of spec only 2 to shim, rather than 4. I imagine that would be less work. You gotta rotate the motor on an I4 too. Get it on TDC before you do everything. Plus rotate it by hand when you put everything back together or you risk crashing your motor
 
I have to agree on the exhaust sound. I have a ninja 650 which is a twin but the inline 4 engines do sound much better to me. +1 on the vibration too.
 
I love my FZ6R...it's a 2010...had it lowered because I am vertically challenged...great little bike all around...super fun in the twisties (I don't knee drag or anything close and I feel much more confident since putting on my PR4s)...great for passing on highways...never feels like I don't have the power to pull out or away from a slower vehicle in front of me...in fact, in comparison to my car (a 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT manual) I find it has way more pick up and go...definitely can go over 200 in a straight away out in the country (but of course I don't do that)...good stopping power too...I came off a 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and this is much more confidence inspiring than the Kawi was...I might sell mine if you're interested...
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