Why can’t a 1600cc Harley keep up with a 600cc Japanes bike?
rhand182 asked:
Simple enough. 600cc Japanese supersport’s run mid 10’s. 600cc Japanese standards run mid 11’s. A 1600cc Harley struggles to run 13’s in the quarter mile. So with such a huge displacement advantage why they at least come close? And better yet why do they cost twice as much? And by the way a 600cc standard is just as comfortable as any non-touring Harley.
Byron… A Chevy v8 (corvette) can smoke a porsche 4 cylinder easily and can also soundly beat their 6 cylinders for less money in fact the corvette Z06 gets around the nurburgring faster than the V-12 ferrari 599 GTB. 1600cc was just an estimate BTW. If chevy can slay giants why can’t Harley?
bettyboop#1 Acctually I already know my bike is superior and it doesn’t need to be proved to anyone. I just enjoy messing with you H-D riders here when i’m bored. Your a very entertaining bunch not only on the road but on the internet as well. And any MORON who says a 600 standard isn’t as comfortable as a Harley has never ridden a Yamaha FZ-6.
Ignore Bill b. He dropped on his head and abandoned at birth by his parents due to being born with an extra row of buck teeth so large that when he closed his mouth he gave himself a lobotomy through the roof of his mouth. During this process he destroyed all of his common sense and most of his thinking brain matter. He now lives in a shed with a Harley shovelhead neatly dissasembled in buckets strewn throughout the property. He still swear that “One o’ deez daize ima gonna rebild dat dere bike and crewz down to sturgon” to this day he has never accomplished his goal.
leecavcu. A buell will not smoke a smoke a Japanese bike in the turns. If they did then they would be able to keep in supersport races. Buell did so bad in the 600cc class even though their engine was tiwce the size that they had to pull out of the competition.
Simple enough. 600cc Japanese supersport’s run mid 10’s. 600cc Japanese standards run mid 11’s. A 1600cc Harley struggles to run 13’s in the quarter mile. So with such a huge displacement advantage why they at least come close? And better yet why do they cost twice as much? And by the way a 600cc standard is just as comfortable as any non-touring Harley.
Byron… A Chevy v8 (corvette) can smoke a porsche 4 cylinder easily and can also soundly beat their 6 cylinders for less money in fact the corvette Z06 gets around the nurburgring faster than the V-12 ferrari 599 GTB. 1600cc was just an estimate BTW. If chevy can slay giants why can’t Harley?
bettyboop#1 Acctually I already know my bike is superior and it doesn’t need to be proved to anyone. I just enjoy messing with you H-D riders here when i’m bored. Your a very entertaining bunch not only on the road but on the internet as well. And any MORON who says a 600 standard isn’t as comfortable as a Harley has never ridden a Yamaha FZ-6.
Ignore Bill b. He dropped on his head and abandoned at birth by his parents due to being born with an extra row of buck teeth so large that when he closed his mouth he gave himself a lobotomy through the roof of his mouth. During this process he destroyed all of his common sense and most of his thinking brain matter. He now lives in a shed with a Harley shovelhead neatly dissasembled in buckets strewn throughout the property. He still swear that “One o’ deez daize ima gonna rebild dat dere bike and crewz down to sturgon” to this day he has never accomplished his goal.
leecavcu. A buell will not smoke a smoke a Japanese bike in the turns. If they did then they would be able to keep in supersport races. Buell did so bad in the 600cc class even though their engine was tiwce the size that they had to pull out of the competition.
October 25th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
hp to weight ratio,higher reving motor
October 27th, 2008 at 8:04 am
The Harley is a heavy bike with a lot of torque. The Japanese sport bikes are light and have a great amount of horsepower. Acceleration is based off of low weight and high horsepower, making the sport bikes quicker.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
The reason is that the Japanese bikes like you mentioned has more high end RPM than a Harley, Size doesn’t make the bike go faster, it’s the speed of the engine, since Harleys only have two pistorns, Japanese bikes doubles that.
October 31st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
A 1200 sporster Harley Davidson is faster than my 1600cc (96 cubes) Heritage, the big motor’s are made for cruising not racing, Harley’s can be upgraded with performance kits that can fully show the massive power they hold, but most Harley rider’s are out for a ride not a race.
Japanese bikes are high revving, small displacements of cylinders made from there racing stable, & specifically designed to go hard, rev high & geared for the race track.
Your question in car language, is why doesnt my Rolls Royce go as fast as a ferrari!
I am sure you get my point, G’day from Australia.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I’m with you.
Ive got a 1100cc Honda, only has 2 cyl, 4 speeds and it flies past any HD on the road.
this is only comparing my Honda to the average hd,
mine is water cooled- HD is air cooled.
mine is a low rpm engine too, about 7k is the redline.
but from 0-60 it only takes my 1100 about 4.0 seconds, when i drag race any harleys, its like a joke, i look in the rear view mirror, and if it wasn’t for their feet being up i wouldn’t be able to tell they are moving.
in a race from 0-100-0 im standing next to my bike well before they hit 100.
and speaking of torque, my honda does wheelies when driven under 30mph.
scary, flip the bike ontop of yourself wheelies from a low speed.
November 4th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
No HP allot of weight. Check the Horse power rating of a stock HD, maybe 60 -65. But what I cant figure out is why they put those drag pipes on if the are not out for a race or just want to cruise???????
November 4th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
You’re comparing apples to oranges man. That’s like asking why a V8 Chevy can’t keep up with a 4 cylinder Porsche. Totally different animals. Where can I find a 1600cc Harley anyway?
My Honda does wheelies when driven under 30 mph…..that’s just precious. Kids say the darnedest things.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
rpm’s. Can’t agree on the comfort tho. Chrome is expensive when done right, look how high Jap. cruisers are when outfitted similar.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Just as comfortable….that’s a good one!
November 10th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Because those guys are too busy just “cruising”. Meanwhile I’m blowing past going 130 with my 600cc baby!!! Why would you want to cruise when you can race 130 all the time and pop wheelies?!!! Those old Harley guys jackets don’t even match their bikes paint, what gives?
November 12th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
You seem to ask lots of questions about trying to prove to everyone that Jap bikes are better than Harleys. You seem to have the need to prove you are not inferior or something. I ride a Harley, my choice and I am happy with it. It doesn’t bother me what anyone else rides. I have no point to prove about what bike is better. I think everyone should ride what they want. People have different taste in bikes. Nobody’s choice is right or wrong. Just different. Get over it.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I asked mine.
It said “Simple. You don’t make me.”
There is no 600cc standard that is as comfortable as my non-touring Harley.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
> Why can’t a 1600cc Harley keep up with a 600cc Japanes bike?
Combination of power, RPM, gearing, and weight.
> why do they cost twice as much?
Because enough people buy them. That’s capitalism in action!
November 15th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
600cc, damn, thats a mini-bike.When you grow up maybe your mommy will buy you a real bike. But I guess if your’re on welfare it takes a lot of food stamps to get something big enough to ride.And just as comfortable, you really are stupid, aren’t you?
You silly little kids never fail to amaze me with your ignorance.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Harleys are Cruiser mainly to take on long trips not for racing unless designed that way!! i’ve seen some harleys smoke the jap bike too and even blow them UP!!! on the line!!! so the real answer is are you american? or Foriegner?
BECAUSE AMERICA RULES!! GOT THE BEST BIKE AND EVERBODY IS COPYIN IT!!!!
November 19th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Ok so american bikes rule eh?? is that why most american bikers I know are now buying GSX1300’s? sorry but no American bike can out perform a Jap inline 4, HD tried it with the Buells and we all know how they fair!! :):)
November 20th, 2008 at 2:52 am
EASY HARLE IS A V TWIN JAP BKIES AR IINLINE 4S SO THER MAD TO BE A RECE REP THATS WHY TRUST ME I KNOW AND I LOVE JAP INLINE 4S ANY WAY
November 21st, 2008 at 8:32 am
The real question is why none of you pikers can keep up with BMW for comfort, speed and reliability.
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Harleys can’t keep up with a Jap sport bike for the same reason a Kenworth can’t keep up with a Viper in a speed contest. However, there’s no way you could hook a 40,000 pound load behind the Viper and get anywhere. Try hooking one of those little pop up tent trailers loaded down with beer and camping gear behind one of those 600cc Jap bikes, run the quarter see what happens. The Harley guy would already have his beer opened and half gone before the Jap bike got to the end of the track. It’s all a matter of what they’re designed for. By the way, I ride Jap bikes.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:23 am
Why does everyone compare Harleys to sport bikes? That’s like comparing a muscle car to an F-1 car. It’s just not fair.
If you want to compare something to a Harley, compare the Japanese cruisers. They are great bikes, but compared to a HD, they are slow! Whoever said their Honda 1100 flies past Harleys is either an idiot or a liar. I had a 2002 Shadow 1100 and that thing was slow as far as bikes go. No torque at all. The shifting also sucked and it only had 5 gears (my old Kaw 500 had 6!).
Harleys are more expensive because they have nicer parts on them. Real chrome instead of shiny plastic. Not to mention, after 10 years, you can resell them for full value. Can’t do that with a Honda…
I’m not knocking Japanese bikes…but at least compare the same styles of bikes. Compare your sport bike to a Buell. You might beat the Buell in a quarter mile, but it will smoke you in the turns.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
why cant a Cadillac escalade keep up with a KIA or Hyundai that costs 1/4 as much?
or a corvette keep up with a Subaru wrx or Mitsubishi evo in the twistys? the jap cars cost 1/3 what that piece of G.M. straight line only junk costs plus they can carry 4 people their luggage & a weeks grocerys. so why would anyone buy a caddy or a vette.
when you answer that you’ll know why most people prefer the harley over a single use piece of throw away high maintenance crap like you prefer to be seen on.
November 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I have been riding bikes for a Long time and was former HD Owner.
I ride bikes for MY enjoyment, i don’t care what anybody thinks of what kind of bike I ride, I own 3 bikes, a Yamaha FZ6, Suzuki Burgman, and a Suzuki DRZ400.
I will never own another HD or any cruiser bike again.
People own HD’s cause they wanta show off and be respected by others just because they own a HD.
HD’s are junk! if I owned one I would be afraid of riding it 2 miles from home in fear of it breaking down and needing to to push it home! they are s-l-o-w, heavy, loud, hard to handle and will physically wear you out from riding it. I can ride my FZ6 all day, non-stop without stopping cause my butt is sore, in fact my FZ6 is sooo smooth and easy to ride I almost fall asleep riding it.