Horsepower

[kennyflhr]

Originally Posted by Beer Runner

I got a 96 1200 and at 80 mph I'm reving 3.5 rpm. How high can I go without blowing anything up. What rpm is ok without hurting the motor?

7000,but will probally quit pulling before then unless you've got a pretty hot motor.

[Thundermug]

Originally Posted by dsrtegl

66 HP??? are you kidding?

1573cc and all you get is 66HP? A bone-stock Yamaha FZ6 (600cc) engine puts out 96HP and that's not even a race bike, and it weighs half what your H-D does.

Add to that their lack of ability to stop and turn ...

You're comparing apples to oranges.

The Harley is a 4 stroke motor that redlines around 6K.
The other bike is a 2 stroke motor that redlines around 12K.

Put a revlimit of 6K on the other bike and see how slow it is.

As for the stopping distance? The weight explains it all. Can a semi stop as fast as a car? No. It is becuase it is heavier.

[pwmorris]

A stock sporty 1200 should beat a stock 96" Big Twin no problem.
As said-power to weight difference.

[sfc rick]

Originally Posted by Thundermug

You're comparing apples to oranges.

The Harley is a 4 stroke motor that redlines around 6K.
The other bike is a 2 stroke motor that redlines around 12K.

Put a revlimit of 6K on the other bike and see how slow it is.

As for the stopping distance? The weight explains it all. Can a semi stop as fast as a car? No. It is becuase it is heavier.

The Yamaha is a 4 stroke bike...not 2-stroke, that ended like 1976 I think?

But it does make some incredible horsepower, BUT not like my new VMax........200hp

It does weigh alot though.....The bike is at 685lbs wet weight and 200hp is moving it VERY FAST!

[Recon Dad]

2008 XL1200L
D&D Slip Ons
SE Air Intake
PC V with custom map from Fuel Moto

71.78 Rear Wheel HP 71.14 Rear Wheel Torque

[sjvalleydave]

Originally Posted by Thundermug

You're comparing apples to oranges.

The Harley is a 4 stroke motor that redlines around 6K.
The other bike is a 2 stroke motor that redlines around 12K.

Put a revlimit of 6K on the other bike and see how slow it is.

As for the stopping distance? The weight explains it all. Can a semi stop as fast as a car? No. It is becuase it is heavier.

Come on Thundermug...a 2 stroke...??? There hasn't been that big of a 2 stroke in 35 years..I have a 1974 750 Kawasaki H2...Lightened up..360 lbs 120 HP, redline of 13,000 rpm...

[ROGER4314]

I understand your frustration about not getting HP specs. A good DYNO tech will change plugs, jets and perhaps pipes until the engine HP and torque maxes out. That's the whole purpose of dyno testing! But then....it's not "stock".

Stock horsepower specs are omitted for a reason. In the late 60's and early 1970's, horsepower ratings were climbing beyond reality. Finally, insurance companies and legislators clamped down on high horsepower models so the manufacturers began to DE-rate their mills. Many 600 horsepower factory rigs were advertised at 400+ horses. Of course, that was nuts so the whole practice faded away.

I like my XL1200C better than any bike that I've owned but to say it would smoke a metric Ninja is not even close. My Kawasaki Concours had the 1000cc Ninja engine with a slightly milder cam. Would my Sportster run with it? Never! Is my Sportster more fun to ride? Absolutely! The XL1200C is a trip!

I don't pull hole shots with my bikes but from a roll, my Honda Gold Wing 1500 6 cylinder would run neck & neck with a HD 1340 that had a little engine tweaking. The only problem is that I had a full grown lady riding in seat #2 and the HD was solo. We did that often enough that I feel it was no fluke.

I bought my HD because it makes music to my ears and the styling is outstanding. That's good enough.

Flash

[Playback1]

Originally Posted by Beer Runner

I got a 96 1200 and at 80 mph I'm reving 3.5 rpm. How high can I go without blowing anything up. What rpm is ok without hurting the motor?

A Sportster can safely see 6500 rpm a big twin no more than 6000. Can they be taken to higher rpm? Sure, but we're talking stock and I suppose we want our engine to live for a few years. You can take them to 7500 if you like but drag racing engines only run for about 5 minutes total before they need to be rebuilt. Bikes that make their peak torque at the highest rpm will make the most horsepower. Harley Sportster has a stroke about equal to a small block chevy and a big twin with a stroke longer than a big block chevy.
A Kawasak has a high revving engine, making peak torque at 8500 rpm, and peak horsepower at 10,500 rpm. The California Harley makes its power at the lowest rpm: peak torque is at 2400 rpm, and peak horsepower is at 5000 rpm. Alll approximate of course.
This is a fact from physics: to make more horsepower, you need to make your torque at higher rpm.

You can choose the rpm at which your bike makes its peak torque by changing the cam shaft. At the same time as you change your cam shaft, you must consider making other modifications to your engine including push rods, valve springs, valve jobs, valve spring keepers, and head porting. Depending on the cam shaft you choose, you may need none of these extra modifications, or some, or all. About the best we can do with a 80 inch Harley is about 85 foot-pounds at about 6000 rpm. This works out to 97 horsepower. To do better, we either need to over-rev the engine, bore or stroke the engine, or a compressor or nitrous.

[Playback1]

Originally Posted by dsrtegl

66 HP??? are you kidding?

1573cc and all you get is 66HP? A bone-stock Yamaha FZ6 (600cc) engine puts out 96HP and that's not even a race bike, and it weighs half what your H-D does.

Add to that their lack of ability to stop and turn and I can't imagine why anyone would plunk down hard-earned money to own one of those.

I love how H-D owners think the Sportster is a sport-bike. I regularly out-perform them on the twisty canyon roads on a single-cylinder KLR-650 dual-sport bike. Seriously, you guys need to ride a bike with some performance and handling, you'll never go back to those bloated iron hogs.

and the XR... 125MPH is NOT a fast bike. Any garden-variety 600cc Japanese bike will do that... most new ones will exceed 140 bone stock.

I present to everyone the true definition of clueless. dsrtegl, not only do you not understand, you manage to wallow in your arrogance and then flaunt it to the rest of us who do understand. Come back when you have become enlightened.

[Chart]

You realize this thread is several years old?

[S&S Cycle]

We dynoed a Stock 2010 1200XLC it produced 58.54 hp and 66.65 Tq SAE engine had 2100 miles on it and the test was done with a engine temp of 200 degrees. we made 5 or 6 pulls with the Hp and tq varying about 1-2 hp and tq

[Playback1]

Originally Posted by Chart

You realize this thread is several years old?

And that matters because?

[SteveB]

Roger T. from E'ville, IN?

Originally Posted by ROGER4314

I understand your frustration about not getting HP specs. A good DYNO tech will change plugs, jets and perhaps pipes until the engine HP and torque maxes out. That's the whole purpose of dyno testing! But then....it's not "stock".

Stock horsepower specs are omitted for a reason. In the late 60's and early 1970's, horsepower ratings were climbing beyond reality. Finally, insurance companies and legislators clamped down on high horsepower models so the manufacturers began to DE-rate their mills. Many 600 horsepower factory rigs were advertised at 400+ horses. Of course, that was nuts so the whole practice faded away.

I like my XL1200C better than any bike that I've owned but to say it would smoke a metric Ninja is not even close. My Kawasaki Concours had the 1000cc Ninja engine with a slightly milder cam. Would my Sportster run with it? Never! Is my Sportster more fun to ride? Absolutely! The XL1200C is a trip!

I don't pull hole shots with my bikes but from a roll, my Honda Gold Wing 1500 6 cylinder would run neck & neck with a HD 1340 that had a little engine tweaking. The only problem is that I had a full grown lady riding in seat #2 and the HD was solo. We did that often enough that I feel it was no fluke.

I bought my HD because it makes music to my ears and the styling is outstanding. That's good enough.

Flash

[spyglass]

Shall we keep this one goin'? My dos centavos.....I have an 05 XL1200R that's been mildly massaged (shorty pipes, 1 size jump on both pilot & main jets & a K&N)....also an 08 FXDC w/V&H pipes and programmed at the dealer. The Sporty does pull a little harder than the Dyna in all gears, but the difference isn't glaring. Both are more than adequate for any riding I do. Neither, however, will hold a candle to my 05 Concours, which is box stock. But I do have a ?. I'd like to reduce the rpm on the XL for hiway cruising....it turns about 3k @ 70....wd like to drop that to about 2700. The XL's exported to Japan have a 30 tooth trans sprocket instead of the domestics 29. Anyone have any idea if that change would do the trick?

[bwana01]

my 2 cents

a 1200 does not start to run until it gets above 3000 rpm. Can't understand why you would want to lower the rpm for cruising.

Bwana