Triumphrat

R100Pilot

So I'm talkin' to this guy last night. He has a GSXR 1000 that he's had a lotta work done to. It does 180 hp on the dyno. So I ask when he's gonna take it to the track. No way, he says. He'll get a 600 to toss around. But first he's getting new cams, for more horsepower.

Well, what are you gonna do with that? I ask.

Just ride it on the street, says he. Mind you, he is not a race guy. He is not even a street racer. Apparently he just likes having a bike that _could_ go really fast, even if it doesn't.

This kinda confuses me. I mean, why spend all that money for all that trickness if you ain't gonna use it? I mean, I like to go fast. I even thought about buying a ZX 14, but I know that if I got one, I'd want to see that 183 mph, and the next thing I'd probably see is the inside of the local county jail. The Speed Triple is already enough to get me there. No need to tempt fate.

So, I bought a TT600 so I can learn to go fast on a track. And at some point, when I've reached the limits of that bike, I'll get a 675 or maybe a 600 supersport to go faster.

The thing is, I guess I'm just too practical. I don't see the point in spending a bunch o' money on somethin' you ain't really gonna use. I had a heap of guitars at one time too, but the more I started playing, the more I realized that only certain ones were getting used regularly - the rest were nice, but there was no reason to keep 'em around.

Same with bikes. I mean, I admire the craftsmanship that goes into building a show bike, but no, you ain't gettin' my $150K or whatever. It's not really rideable.

Same with the GSXR. If you ain't gonna use it, what's the point? Is it just some kinda mine's bigger than yours, measurin' thing?

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"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
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fivehundo

I get some performance mods because they look attractive as well. For example, my Trident exhaust adds 5-10hp but that's not why I bought it...

IT LOOKS COOL!!!

I bought some carbon fiber vents and mid-V as well as a mudguard and front sprocket cover. You see some beneficial weight reduction but I bought them because of the look (besides, if I was truly concerned about weight reduction, I'd start with the 20 lbs around my mid-section :-D ).

New cams and stuff like that are pretty heavy mods for a street bike. If he plans on doing some track days and stuff, it might be fun but I see your point.

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omaz

"Same with the GSXR. If you ain't gonna use it, what's the point? Is it just some kinda mine's bigger than yours, measurin' thing?"

I think you nailed it. The dude's probably just insecure and having an ultra fast street bike makes him feel important. Hopefully he won't end up killing himself or someone else because of it.

OldTownRAT

My local dealer had an open house a few weeks ago. This VMAX was in the parking lot. On the right side there were 3 NOS bottles attached. On the left side, a huge belt driven blower. I'd be interested in seeing that bike go down the track!

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HiDesert

More money than sense? Dunno. Probably just bragging rights. Or stock in a tire company.

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MVP44

Sounds like more money than brains. Probably goes to the local bike nights and plays like he is this fast racer type - Just hope no one ever calls him on it and he hurts himself or someone else riding over his head. It is way to easy to get in over your head these days. I started on dirt with an 80 then 125 then 250 then street 250 then 600 then 1000 and then back to 955. Modified them mostly because the mods look good on the bike not because I have the ability to use 10 more HP. I know a lot of guys who can use a bike like that to the limit, but they use them on the track where that power needs to stay - I know we all sometimes get heavy handed on the road, but not 180hp worth that is just insane

Wombat

I have seem many dyno charts after mods done on various peoples machines and one thing that is obvious to me is that ALL the increases in HP are at the top end.
I don't ride there and any mods that are done rarely add much to the mid range where the average person rides.

It is all very well and good to claim 180 HP, but if you only ride around between 3000-5000 rpm, you are probably not producing much more tha about 40hp.

I did read somewhere that only about 25 hp is required to maintain a speed of 60mph on the freeway.

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Bob

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stevent

In my experiance 100 HP is ideal for the street. Not that you need it but it's enough to get you down the road without being overkill. I usually keep my bikes stock, with the Bonnie I did a bit to wake up the ponies that the EPA and Eurocrats had strangled and that's nowwhere near a 100 hp anyway. other cleaning up the jetting if nesseccary I leave 'em alone and ride them.

180 looks nice on paper but you're fooling yourself if a person thinks they're too good a rider and needs more


:upthumb:

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stevent....."May the Goddess turn the hearts of those who hate us, if not their hearts then turn their ankles so we'll know them by their limping..."

mdgore

Mine's bigger than yours, sucker.

I am the King of Kali.

These go to eleven.

I sh*t bigger than you.

Chicks dig it.



[ This message was edited by: mdgore on 2007-04-26 14:23 ]

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markbvt

I don't get the 180hp thing either.

I'm 6'4"/250 and ride a Bonneville. I just recently gutted the airbox and installed K&N pod filters for a little extra power, and now I don't really feel like that bike is underpowered at all. It gets me through the twisties as fast as my riding buddies with Speed Triples. It accelerates me onto the highway fast enough that I'm going 85 before I even realise it, especially now with the recently-freed additional horsepower. It'll easily take me over 100mph -- and because I ride on the street, not the track, I really have no need to go that fast. Sure, it's fun, but I really don't want the ticket/license suspension that could result.

I could see eventually getting a Speed Triple or a Daytona 675 or something that can lean further in the twisties than my Bonneville, especially if I start doing track days. I can even see how it would be fun to occasionally lift the front wheel out on an open country road.

But a 180hp Gixxer streetbike? What the hell is the point? It just seems pointlessly dangerous.

Plus, for the money he's spent building that thing up, I bet he could have built himself a really sweet little sporting-single cafe racer, which seems to me like it would be a lot more fun anyway.

--mark

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