I don't know but I doubt it.
New KTM Superduke unveiled.
- Thread starter coyo
- Start date
I have the weirdest boner right now....
I love everything from the back forward until you get to the supermotard oh-my-back-is-bad-bars and that hideously over-complicated light. Yet another Monster wanna-be.
I still lust after this...
I love everything about this bike except the I-think-the-street-is-a-racetrack-handlebars.
These bikes use the highest quality components and the finish is outstanding. They stand out in a sea of R1s.
Putting high bars and no fairing on a 170hp bike basically says you have no intention to ever use the power of that engine.
Those bars are no disadvantage in the tight twisties, actually an advantage. 170HP on the street is overkill no matter what handlebars.
so MotoGP bikes should use an upright position?
That position is comfortable, good for viewing traffic and makes much more sense for daily driving...but then why do you need the blacklisting 1290ccs??
Unfaired bikes suck on the highway.
As much as I love bike performance and racing, these litre+ street bikes are stupid power. MotoGP was concerned in the 80s with the 500cc two-stroke GP bikes having too much power for the best riders in the world, on a closed course. They were talking about 100hp.
Apparently the production bike will put out about 160 HP which is still overkill. In my opinion the horsepower numbers are just a marketing ploy. It's all about feel and power delivery. I can only imagine that the V twin will have tonnes of low end pull and this will be a blast to ride on the street. Apparently BMW is working on a naked version of the S1000 too. I don't know why these bikes aren't more popular as street bikes in North America as they a way more practical and comfortable than an SS.
RedDogDarren
Well-known member
You really have to get some more experience before commenting. A deflector screen makes all the difference you need on the highway. You believe 500 GP bikes (that's what it was called in the 80's) had 100 hp? They were two stroke lightswitch powerbands with no electronic traction aids, apples to oranges and no comparison. Where was the suggestion that race bikes on a race track should have upright handlebars?
You pull these left field statements out of thin air to back up whatever views you have at that moment. Debate sticks to facts, not sweeping comments based on what wasn't said. That's what kids do to argue with their parents.
What car do you drive? A 1996 VW golf with the 95 hp 1.8 liter engine? Anything else would be pointless.
In actually prefer my 650R without fairings. I get clean air instead of blasting everything from the front end right at my face unless I tuck way down to get under the window.
Not an issue on the RS since it's so tiny I'm usually looking down through the windshield to see the gauges, lol. And I'm a shorter guy than most.
As for the 1200+ cc complaint, I think anything above a 600cc SS is overkill (hence why I bought a 125). But different strokes for different folks.
Never thought of mid 80's 500's as light switch power(power surge, yes), biggest problems (highsides) came from tire slip and grip via uncontrolled torque spikes. Not first hand knowledge of course, just faint memories of Kevin Cameron columns.
edit, sorry, I didn't mean to be overly pedantic. Light switch means, to me, no transition. Light switch commonly referred to non powervalved 2 smoke. While the GP bikes in question had a tremendous power hit, it was assumed to be there (unassuming GP rider as above lol).
edit, sorry, I didn't mean to be overly pedantic. Light switch means, to me, no transition. Light switch commonly referred to non powervalved 2 smoke. While the GP bikes in question had a tremendous power hit, it was assumed to be there (unassuming GP rider as above lol).
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You know nothing about me, but, this is the interwebnet, so go ahead.
oh, Sure it does.
The late 70s -early 80s Roberts Yamaha were between 100 and 130 hp, with the world's best riders on them, on the best suspension, tires and brakes. Superlight bikes.
Any guy with the credit rating can buy a 140-170hp bike, on a learners, and take it on public roads, with ok suspension and brakes, and hard, patterned street tires.
At the most "insane", the 500s got to 180hp by 1996 -but again, on very soft slick tires that only had to last about 80km, and a team of 20 making sure every ride was safe.
The facts are that the massive power increases that starting in the last decade have led to the highest fatality rates in motorcycling's history. If it weren't for insurance company blacklist and refusal to insure inexperienced riders , those number would not have receeded until they did in 2009.
The facts are that Ontario riders are among the poorest trained and tested in the world. The M class licence system is a joke, only in the US is it worse. What the government failed to do, the insurance companies had to. We still have people buying bikes way over their experience or capabilities.
What this means...who cares?
The net result is that there are fewer bikes on the road than ever. What remains is now tainted by attention-obsessed loud pipe bikes, either racer wanna bees or outlaw wanna bees, weekend riders -they are two halves of the same coin. It's all about who's is longer and thicker. The motorcycle lobby is gone, the dealers and shops are drying up, and bikes are becoming expensive toys. Many municipallities wil likely just ban them over the next 10 years.
The fact is that with these bikes, a few redline shifts will land you bikeless for street racing. So, the point of the 170hp is to never use it. This is no different than the throngs of guys buying sports cars they can never use, thinking it will get them laid.
...and yet, with all this performance... motorcycle racing at the amateur level is all but dead in North America, a fraction of what it was in the 90s. For many, 170hp SS bikes is about looking cool.
So, the run of motorcycling is now: buy a small, fun bike, one year later, buy a bigger bike, etc. until you hit >100hp and thoroughly sh*t your pants and crash (uh, tip over in driveway), then sell everything , helmets, leathers and all on kijiji, buy a Subaru, get married, get kids, get fat, vote for people who want to either ban bikes or make driving autonamous.
Yes, it makes much more sense to lease (rent) some German sedan that does the Nurburgring in under 8 minutes and has suspension tuned fur der autobahn, ...to trickle down the QEW at 40 km/hr. I'm sure whatever you drive is longer and thicker.
Performance is great, for the track.
It's incorrect that we now have the highest fatality rates in motorcycling's history. Conversely, per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, it's close to the lowest in history. There has been a long term down trend, interrupted only lately by what is assumed to be the result of a number of US states weakening their helmet laws. Tires, suspension, brakes are better than ever. The recent onset of ABS and traction control should help further.
04turbowagon
Active member
Die Autobahn...
