Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

"Too much bike" or nostalgia? 100hp 4cyl vs <50hp twin for leisurely back road riding

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    "Too much bike" or nostalgia? 100hp 4cyl vs <50hp twin for leisurely back road riding

    Well we went from some unseasonably warm/rideable weather here in Central Indiana back to some flurries, so I'm back to daydreaming about riding instead of actually doing it.

    One topic I've increasingly contemplated, as I sit with a garage full of big bore 4cyl bikes with ~100hp, is how in some of my favorite riding environs (twisty scenic back roads, some with 40mph or even lower speed limits), my 4cyl big bikes seem like massive overkill, to the point where it's detracting from the fun of the ride, unless I'm riding a very sporty pace. One particular spot I've been riding in the last few years every summer is in North/Central PA, same area I've ridden since highschool, back when I started on my 1976 XS500C in the late 2000s. There are a number of absolutely incredible back roads there, and back in the day on the XS500 it felt like absolute *MAGIC* to ride along at a sort of modest pace of say 45mph in top gear with that vertical twin loping along. Riding those same roads last summer on my GS1100E last summer, or on my brother's '81 Seca 750 the year before that, at that same speed the 4s are just sort of idling along not doing any "work" so to speak. It feels like I should be going at 60mph or more just to feel some kind of "fun."

    So I'm not sure if it's a horsepower thing, motorcycle weight, or cylinder count (or all three)? Or maybe it's just rose tinted nostalgia where the XS500-riding college kid would have killed to get his hands on a 100hp 4cyl bike. Now I will say, throw in some hills and higher speeds and even back then, I wished for more power/torque from that XS500. They're somewhat porky (450lbs) bikes for a "middleweight" with 48hp (when new). I'll add, I've ridden these same roads on a '99 KLR650 and power/weight wise it was well matched I'd say, to that end I had bought a '08 KLR this past winter, but in riding it around locally, something is different/missing on the gen 2s, or again, maybe that was nostalgia for that KLR back in college that doesn't play out in reality.

    Long story short, I've found myself pining for another old school twin cylinder bike of some sort, perhaps with a bit more pep than my old XS500 (which is still in my garage and gets ridden a bit locally).

    Just some rambling/musing that I'd be curious to hear others opinions on.​
    Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
    Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

    #2
    Careful what you ask for...

    Many nights I dream about my old Honda twin. Decades before I realized I could own more than one bike, I made a choice - and big bore in line four won. Vertical twins are nice, but fours rule!
    1982 GS1100E V&H "SS" exhaust, APE pods, 1150 oil cooler, 140 speedo, 99.3 rear wheel HP, black engine, '83 red

    2016 XL883L sigpic Two-tone blue and white. Almost 42 hp! Status: destroyed, now owned by the insurance company. The hole in my memory starts an hour before the accident and ends 24 hours after.

    Comment


      #3
      I keep dreaming of a Triumph Twin, something in the Scrambler family, to handle these roads and off-roads. 'Til then, it's my trusty GS750T.
      Rich
      1982 GS 750TZ
      2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

      BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
      Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Rob S. View Post
        Careful what you ask for...

        Many nights I dream about my old Honda twin. Decades before I realized I could own more than one bike, I made a choice - and big bore in line four won. Vertical twins are nice, but fours rule!
        Make no mistake I'm not abandoning big bore 4cyl ownership, but I am shuffling the fleet a bit (selling the 1100E and that KLR I mentioned), and on the cusp of (potentially) acquiring a KZ750 twin to see if there's something to that vertical twin "magic." I still own the XS500C as well in fact, but I will say the power deficit on that thing is just too great to ignore these days.
        Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
        Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Rich82GS750TZ View Post
          I keep dreaming of a Triumph Twin, something in the Scrambler family, to handle these roads and off-roads. 'Til then, it's my trusty GS750T.
          Rich I lucked into a low mileage (1500 mile) '01 Bonneville for $1500(!!!) back in college. I thought it'd be the perfect mix of parallel twin character that I enjoyed on my XS500 and was missing even then with my GS1000C, in a more powerful, reliable/modern package. What I discovered was that, at least in stock form, the Bonneville felt totally sanitized and smooth/quiet as a blender, parallel twin or not. I suppose had I invested in some slightly more musical mufflers and a BADLY needed rejetting (you think early 80s GS suzukis are jetted lean try an 01 Bonneville), maybe it would have helped "transform" the bike, but as it was it left me TOTALLY cold.
          Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
          Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

          Comment


            #6
            I've owned scads of different UJM era bikes, but the middleweights have been my favorites. 1981 GPz550, Yamaha Vision, and now my KZ750E. At the time I finished my KZ, I had a fully restored 1000S as well. First ride on the KZ, though, and I realized which bike I was going to keep between the two. I don't do long freeway rides anymore, and a lighter bike wins points with me.
            Ed

            To measure is to know.

            Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

            Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

            Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

            KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

            Comment


              #7
              I test rode a Scrambler 1200XC 2 years ago at a motorcycle show in Carlisle. Plenty of torque, lots of suspensions travel, felt great on the road. I've been infatuated with it ever since.
              Rich
              1982 GS 750TZ
              2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

              BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
              Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Rich82GS750TZ View Post
                I test rode a Scrambler 1200XC 2 years ago at a motorcycle show in Carlisle. Plenty of torque, lots of suspensions travel, felt great on the road. I've been infatuated with it ever since.
                Holy cow I really haven't kept up with Triumph, I didn't realize there was now a *1200CC* parallel twin. That certainly sounds like a hoot and looks like it would fit your style of riding to a "T"
                Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
                Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

                Comment


                  #9
                  you's talking about a vertical twin, anybody ever rode a Kawasaki W650? I've never known anybody that did.
                  1983 GS1100E, 1983 CB1100F, 1991 GSX1100G, 1996 Kaw. ZL600 Eliminator, 1999 Bandit 1200S, 2005 Bandit 1200S, 2000 Kaw. ZRX 1100

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by gtem View Post

                    Holy cow I really haven't kept up with Triumph, I didn't realize there was now a *1200CC* parallel twin. That certainly sounds like a hoot and looks like it would fit your style of riding to a "T"
                    I know, right? Just so everyone else knows what I'm talking about. This is the Triumph Scrambler 1200XC.

                    Rich
                    1982 GS 750TZ
                    2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

                    BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
                    Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by rphillips View Post
                      you's talking about a vertical twin, anybody ever rode a Kawasaki W650? I've never known anybody that did.
                      I *nearly* bought one last summer/fall up in Chicago for a very decent price, just didn't pull the trigger. I think it would be a fantastic candidate for what I'm looking for right now, but they're pretty rare and most sellers (perhaps correctly) refer to their increasingly collectible status and are asking for $5k+ for clean low mileage ones. The newer fuel injected W800 does nothing for me, I suspect its more of the same as that '01 Bonneville I briefly owned.
                      Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
                      Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Rich my biggest hangup with *ALL* the "modern retros" is that they always have this weird bloated/chunky "toylike" look to various mechanical parts of them, I can never quite put my finger on it. Part of it might also be the use of painted and polished metal rather than the more classic use of chrome on the exhaust, fenders, etc. Maybe it's unavoidable because the fork diameter and exhaust diameter *IS* larger now and everything else needs to be made proportional. The best "modern retro" from a purely aesthetical point of view is the aforementioned Kawasaki W650, it looked more like a 60s triumph than Triumph's own re-incarnated 01 Bonneville!
                        Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
                        Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by gtem View Post
                          Rich my biggest hangup with *ALL* the "modern retros" is that they always have this weird bloated/chunky "toylike" look to various mechanical parts of them, I can never quite put my finger on it.........
                          I know what you mean. My only real hang-up on the aesthetics of Triumph's modern Twins is that they make the EFI look like carburetors (sort of), the model I show above has a TFT, instead of analog clocks, and it has keyless Ignition fob that has been reported to be occasionally problematic.

                          Rich
                          1982 GS 750TZ
                          2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

                          BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
                          Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Go check out a Royal Enfield dealer.
                            '20 Ducati Multistrada 1260S, '93 Ducati 750SS, '01 SV650S, '07 DL650, '01 DR-Z400S, '80 GS1000S, '85 RZ350

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Rich82GS750TZ View Post
                              the model I show above has a TFT, instead of analog clocks, and it has keyless Ignition fob that has been reported to be occasionally problematic.
                              I can't stand that stuff even on *cars* to say nothing of ever wanting any of that type of stuff on a bike. Motorcycles for me are an escape from all the modern doo-dads encumbering cars. Hence my continued interest in this 70s/80s era of UJMs in particular, and a large part of why I bought my 1200 Bandit (last of the classic non-liquid cooled, carb'd japanese I4s)
                              Previous GS fleet: '78 1000C, '79 750E, '81 650G, '82 1100G, '81 1100E
                              Other rides: '77 XS500C, '78 XS1100E, '00 Voyager XII

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X