What do you like and dislike, about the engines on your bikes?

[JIMLARCH]

I have owned numerous bikes over the years.  I have mainly ridden inline fours in my later years, but twins in my youth.  

One thing that has always struck me, is the different feel to each of the engines.  Some engines I liked and some I didn't particularly care for, and it had very little to do with performance, just the way they felt.  

One of my favourite engines was on my 1989 GSXR1100.  It was like a V8, plenty of torque, and certainly speed.  It was smooth, with slight buzziness at certain rpm.  It felt unburstable.  A nice engine to ride.  I have always liked smooth engines, they don't have to be fast, but smooth.

What about my bikes now?

2005 GSXR1000
-I like it's power.  Has plenty of torque.  Never feels strained, but then why would it.  I don't care for it's buzziness.  Don't like that due to the EFI it is super sensitive to the slightest movement of the twist grip.  On a fairly rough road you have to really concentrate on holding it steady over bumps.  Carbs may not be as responsive, but they are more relaxing on a bike.  Engine does everything so easily that it somehow takes out some of the fun of riding, unless it is a twisty road, and then it is in it's element.

1982 CB900F
-The engine is very smooth, no vibes.  Ridden moderately hard it has plenty of power.  Plenty of torque, a nice touring engine.  Don't like that when ridden hard, it lacks punch on the top end.

1982 FT500 Ascot
-Basic riding.  A pleasant ride.  There is vibration, but not enough to annoy.  Revs easily, likes to be revved.  Surprisingly, it doesn't have much torque.  If you don't rev it the bike can be annoying, especially on fast roads.  Not an engine for cruising the freeways, but great on back roads.  

One thing I have noticed on this engine, compared to bikes with more cylinders, is you can hear that single piston thumping away when it is working hard.  Don't like that the engine is noisy when on the gas.  In cruise mode it is fairly quiet.

IN REGARDS TO RIDING.
- The Ascot is good for back roads where speed is not the object.  The CB900F is great for touring.  The GSXR is great for twisty roads and the track.

[Orson]

nuthin wrong with V twins. Low down torque where it's needed for street riding. Sounds like a locomotive  

who told you there wuz sumthin wrong with V twins?   oh, ok ok. I guess the Guzzi's black dip stick is difficult to read.

the parallel twin Triumph is a little lacking in ponies, otherwise it's a nice little engine. Nice torque curve and a soundtrack to die for  

[chornbe]

96" big twin in the 'Glide - shakes too much.   the "B" balanced engine is sooooooooo nice.

883cc twin in the Sportie - I *love* the way this bike delivers power, and the pulse of it and the grunty feel. It could use a bit more mid-range punch.

1000cc in the FZ1 - It buzzes quite a bit. Not as much as a gen-1 connie (but really, what ever COULD???), but it's pretty buzzy.

I think I'm more of a pulse (twin, triple) guy than a high-revving buzz guy.

[rgbeard]

I wish I could check the oil on the Trophy 1200 with a dipstick.  It uses a sightglass, and it's difficult to check as a one-person job.

[ksann]

K12S, non-linearity of throttle-to-power delivery.





Lack of low-end power.


Guzzi V11, loved everything about it.



ken

[traveler]

A vote here for the Honda V-4 in my VFR.

Likes:
smooth
sufficient torque
overall nice powerband
the sound

Not so much:
complexity of engine package with regard to maintenance
flat spot in powerband at around 5k

[stromgal]

V-Strom:  love that big L-twin. It's visceral, you really feel like you have a connection to a mechanical beast. Plenty of grunt when you twist the throttle, and so far, with 74,000+ miles, bulletproof.

TT600: my first 'sporting' in-line 4. It's fizzy, and not happy 'til you get the revs up. But when it's up there, it's a sweet little bike. The faster you go, the happier it seems!
Sure gets hot when you're stuck in stop n' go traffic-- if I had chestnuts, they'd have been roasted several times.  

RD and RZ two-strokes: addicted to the quickness of those bikes, and the ringdingdingding. Wish I had a version of those engines with a modern chassis, suspension and brakes.

Triumph Tiger/Sprint St: now I understand the 'Goldilocks' aspect of the triple engine, "It's juuuuust right!" The best of both a twin and a four.

[ged]

I always liked the engine in 1200 Bandit.  A friend of mine said it sounded like a sewing machine, and since at the time he owned a factory with about a hundred sewing machines making shirts I suppose he knew what he was talking about.  When I swapped the Bandit for the FJR it was with something of a sense of loss.  The FJR is competent enough but in my book it doesn't have much character.

For raw power there's little to beat the Hayabusa's engine, I really like it although I've always said it's rather a 'harsh' engine.  Somehow it seems to me like it doesn't take very long for the air to get from inlet to exhaust.

I always wanted one of those engines that you hear screaming along the race track and it wasn't for years that I found I have one!  If you wind the Hayabusa up to about 160 using all the revs in the first few gears it sounds really great!  After that you're starting to get ahead of the noise it makes and you aren't really thinking about it anyway.

Never really been fond of the V-twin sound but I'm sure it has a place.  I have an SV650S, if I drive it after one of the four-cylinder machines I always seem to be over-revving it.

Once I did quite a few miles on an old BMW twin.  That was great to drive around the twisty roads of the Pyrenees.  Flexible.  I found it better than the Bandit.  But not long after I gave it back to its owner (the guy with all the sewing machines) it blew up.

[ruffcut]

96" big twin in the 'Glide - shakes too much.   the "B" balanced engine is sooooooooo nice.

883cc twin in the Sportie - I *love* the way this bike delivers power, and the pulse of it and the grunty feel. It could use a bit more mid-range punch.

1000cc in the FZ1 - It buzzes quite a bit. Not as much as a gen-1 connie (but really, what ever COULD???), but it's pretty buzzy.

I think I'm more of a pulse (twin, triple) guy than a high-revving buzz guy.

         It`so wonder they have to spell your name backwards over at COG. It keeps you away.

             

[Johnny Monsoon]

nuthin wrong with V twins. Low down torque where it's needed for street riding. Sounds like a locomotive  

who told you there wuz sumthin wrong with V twins?   oh, ok ok. I guess the Guzzi's black dip stick is difficult to read.

the parallel twin Triumph is a little lacking in ponies, otherwise it's a nice little engine. Nice torque curve and a soundtrack to die for  

Meh.  That '89 GSXR 1100 engine renders all V-twins obsolete; it just does everything better except catering to Vtwin aficionados.

My XX's engine was flawless; incredibly precise and very smooth.  I was, unfortunately, mated to a weird gearbox that was geared too tall down low, and not quite tall enough on top for a proper ST machine that'd earn you a few extra miles at the end of your tank.  Pity.  That engine was flawless though; and a lower gear right off the light would really showcase the visceral nature of this engine that gets so easily lost in the bike's utter (and unfortunately mildly boring at legal speeds) perfection.

There was my KLR.  Funky engine.  Was a bit vibey up top, and tended to drink oil when purring down the road at a constant 85mph for hours on end (which it can easily do with that big tank).  It made an odd noise, one that was normal for the engine, but made the rider 'feel' as though there were more vibes than there actually were.  

The XR650R though... Oh Dear Lord in all Heaven above.  What a delicious engine.  Honda got the gearbox right on this one as well.  Smoother than a long shot than my KLR, and profoundly more powerful.  The valve adjustments were so much smarter than the KLR's engine, with no stupid shims.  This engine can tractor through anything, and loft the front wheel at will.  At most any speed, (provided you're in an appropriate gear) will always, ALWAYS give you a very pronounced leap forward, even at 75mph.  That bike, mostly due to the engine, is an absolutely delightful machine in almost any situation.

The KX250, despite being one of my favorite bikes (especially at its pricepoint) had an engine that did the job.  It felt snappy low down, and revved out nicely, but wasn't much else to speak of.  That bike was truly the sum of its parts, and the best part, sadly, was not the engine.

Oh, let's not forget that delicious parallel twin that resides in the Ninja 650R and also graces the Versys.  If you have not experienced this engine, and truly, really paid attention to what it is doing (the bikes wrapped around them are so damn well mannered that it is very easy to overlook how quickly you get to speed, and how versatile the transmission is) that you're likely to let it go unnoticed.  However, if you *do* manage to take note of the beautiful magic that makes these bikes move, you're likely be be deeply impressed.  The first couple hundred miles will have the engine vibing a bit more than you'd care for, but like magic, the vibration gremlins pack up and leave altogether (presumably migrating to Sturgis to be with their kind) and leaving you with an utterly competent, completely delicious engine that provides just the right torque with just the right rev-ability.  It is the engine capable of toting around a heavier bike than the XRR without losing much of the same wonderful behaviors that make the Honda such a sweet machine.  Can you tell I love this engine?

Let's see...

There've been a host of others, but I think these are the ones that spring to my mind as really good bikes with notable engines (well, maybe not the KLX, at least as far as the engine is concerned).  There are others; maybe I'll revist the others soon in this thread.

[Orson]

Meh.  That '89 GSXR 1100 engine renders all V-twins obsolete; it just does everything better except catering to Vtwin aficionados.

meh...read Stromgal's post  

inline 4 owners ride around thinking about the stock market or college football.

V twin owners ride around thinkin' bout V twins  

 

[Johnny Monsoon]

meh...read Stromgal's post  

inline 4 owners ride around thinking about the stock market or college football.

V twin owners ride around thinkin' bout V twins  

 

You've never turned one of these engines, but you'd be just as well to avoid it.  If you did, it is absolutely certain that Guzzi's stock would drop, and you'd be spending all your time in a shrink's office trying to sort the whole thing out instead of sprinting about the European countryside taking beautiful photos and filling the rest of the ST-N population with envy.

Please, do not, under any circumstances, take of of these engines for a spin.  It'll ruin everything.  In fact, we'd all be very worried about black holes forming.

[falcofred]

Loved the V-Twin in my Aprilia Falco, can't think of one negitive thing to say about it other than being a dry sump with a oil reservior it wasn't as easy to check the oil level as some other bikes with a window.
Love my air cooled engine in the multistrada, love the power and the sound. Negitives are the frequent valve checks/adjustments and the fact that it's a bitch to clean, and just doen't come clean anymore no matter how I scrub on it. Lots of staining, oil or grease staining here and there. It also has that front cylinder right behind the front tire, so it gets hit with all the road has to offer.
I can get the rest of the bike spotless, but the engine, well it disapoints me. I actually thing Harley Davidson engines stay good looking longer. Both fully exposed, both air cooled, but the Italians just don't have a grip on paint and plating like Harley does.

[David Morrow]

I have an FJR and the engine is flawless, at least for my purposes. But, I was mostly happy with my old 2000 Concours as well and its 1000cc engine. I think that rather than just continuing to get bigger, the MC companies would do well to give us a ST bike with a 1000cc engine. Most of the time you never need all that power and with the same size tank, you'd get better range.

[Raymond]

I raced MX until '04.  I've got to say, my favorite engine was my '04 CR250 2-stroke.  It had instant power and sounded cool too.

...but now I enjoy that of the twin and a V-4.  I like the power delivery of the twin.  Specifically, rolling on the throttle in and through corners.

[HipGnosis]

delicious parallel twin that resides in the Ninja 650R and also graces the Versys.... an utterly competent, completely delicious engine that provides just the right torque with just the right rev-ability.  It is the engine capable of toting around a heavier bike than the XRR without losing much of the same wonderful behaviors that make the Honda such a sweet machine.  Can you tell I love this engine?

You start out talking about the Kaw Ninja 650R/Versys, then end up talking about the Honda XR650R...
So WHICH engine do you love??

[phoenix]

V-twin in the SV650s
Likes: I FEEL it. It does like to get up and go. Good available power down low too.
Dislikes: Too much engine braking. I hit the rev limitter too easily. And it wants to be in a certain gear at a certain speed, although this might go either way. I'm still not comfortable at slow slow speeds.

I-4 in the R6
Likes: Smooth. I rarely ever hit the rev limitter. I can back off the throttle and not slow down 20mph instantly.
Dislikes: no power down low or even much up until at least 8000 RPM. A bit abrupt when going from no throttle to some throttle and that can cause issues if its in the powerband.


For similar sized engines and kind of similar power, they're pretty much polar opposites. But what would you expect. On a little ride today on the SV, I took one corner pretty aggressive and was almost wondering if my knee was going to touch pavement. That wouldn't have been the best thing since my overpants don't have sliders on them. Really, I'm sure I wasn't even close. But still I did like how the bike/engine felt in the corner. Maybe I will take the SV to the track next year.

[shah269]

I-4, 1996 1100 GPZ
It's not an V-4!
Ever push a grand piano? Well that's what its like when you go from a 750CC V-4 to an 1100CC I-4!
It's like jumping on a fat chick in Layen Bryant trying on langer (you know they sell them is size 20+!), grabbing her by the ears and riding her around the mall. I mean sure you could do it but well she's kind of wide and top heavy and every one looks at you funny.
But on the + side she's dead nuts stupid! Nothing usual there! It's all old school!

[Johnny Monsoon]

You start out talking about the Kaw Ninja 650R/Versys, then end up talking about the Honda XR650R...
So WHICH engine do you love??

Both, but each for its own application.  If I only had one bike to use for everything, it'd be a Versys.  However, against any other thumper engine, I do believe I'd be quite contented to run that sweet XRR engine.  They're both just amazing engines, and they're both stuffed into great bikes.

[Spiffious]

Best engine experienced by far: V-Max 1198CC V-4.

The motor in my '89 sounds unbelievable, growls with rediculous torque, and increasing acceleration as v-boost kicks in.  Just awesome.  

Negatives? For the motor... none that I can think of other than it is heavy.



My Sv1000s V-twin:  

The good:  Great power and torque, pulses with pleasant power.  Sounds great with leo-vinci's mounted.

The bad: Rough under 3K RPM.  Idles like a tin can filled with nuts and bolts (sounds like it too).  Stock, the bike sounded like cheap crap, which made me initially dislike the bike.  Wearing Earplugs and installing exhaust remedied this.  Torque curve is flat, so sometimes it doesn't feel as fast as it is.