Motorcycle Engines with good Low end Torque ?

Motorcycle Engines with good Low end Torque ?

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fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
Was wondering what modern motorcycle engines with low end torque would fit in the 600-800cc range ? at a reasonable cost and still available, dependable and cheap to mantain.

Other than the classic Guzzi small block V-Twin and Bmw Boxer I had thought of these:

Yamaha XTZ 660cc
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XT
Yamaha Mt3

Suzuki SV 650cc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_SV650

Honda Hawk Gt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NT650


Ducati Monster 620cc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducati_Monster


Any other motorcycle engines that would fit ? Kawasaki ? Triumph 675 ?


Looking forward to your comments and ideas

Cheers
Italo

Mike 1982

18 posts

135 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
Engine chice will depend on the wieght of the car you want to power, you will also need to think about drive options (i.e chain drive or shaft drive)

I would think the small engines you have mentioned will be underpowered on anything except an extremly light car/trike

I run a Honda SP2 V-twin engine in may car and replacement engines can be had for 600-1000 on ebay

There are plenty of cheap 'big' engines out there (early fire blades, ZX9's, Thunderace, speed tripples, etc)

Is there a specific reason you wan to use a smaller engine?

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

254 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
If you are looking at twins then the Kawasaki ER6 is in the same ball park as the SV650, but is a parallel twin so the packaging may better suit some applications.

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
[quote=Mike 1982
Is there a specific reason you wan to use a smaller engine?
[/quote]

Affordability and maintenance costs, cheap to buy and repair for the enthusiasts.

Might be chain drive but haven't ruled out shaft drive yet...

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
Mr2Mike said:
If you are looking at twins then the Kawasaki ER6 is in the same ball park as the SV650, but is a parallel twin so the packaging may better suit some applications.
Yes I did see the Kawasaki ER6 specifications and it does look like an interesting engine.

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
Mike 1982 said:
Engine chice will depend on the wieght of the car you want to power, you will also need to think about drive options (i.e chain drive or shaft drive)

I would think the small engines you have mentioned will be underpowered on anything except an extremly light car/trike

I run a Honda SP2 V-twin engine in may car and replacement engines can be had for 600-1000 on ebay
It will be a trike and with reference to your engine, is this related to yours ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_VTR1000F

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th June 2014
quotequote all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Deauville

With reference to shaft drive i was thinking to the Honda Deaville or Yamaha XVs 650cc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DragStar_650

The Yamaha engine looks great...smile

Mike 1982

18 posts

135 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
Its related - but is a less tuned version. This is what i run...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_RC51
(the later SP2 version)

Have a look at prices, I dont think the Sv650 etc will be that much cheaper than the bigger engines

You dont see many cars driven by smaller engines - the weight of even the lightest cars is going to be near double of a bike - I think the smaller engiens would really suffer

Some of the older bikes (ZX9, early blades) can be picked up for under a grand for a complete bike - ideal if you want to do a reverse trike and use the swing arm like the MEV TR1ke


Furyblade_Lee

4,107 posts

223 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
Furiosi unless you need to creep under some cc laws then I don't think you will get any advantage whatsoever from a 6 or 800cc motor. Most 1000cc bike engines are light, powerful , compact ( I can lift my R1 engine, gearbox and cradle out of my car on my own , just, ..... ) and pretty much maintainance free apart from fluids and clutches ( for me anyway ) This lack of torque spoken of is usually remedied quite easily I have found by knocking it down 1 gear, flooring it and holding on tight! Interesting to see what you are up to!!!

Artstu

150 posts

194 months

Friday 20th June 2014
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Honda NC700X or NC750 are the most car like engines, a bit new and too expensive though, perhaps.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/mcn/bikereviews/sear...

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
Mike 1982 said:
Its related - but is a less tuned version. This is what i run...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_RC51
(the later SP2 version)

Have a look at prices, I dont think the Sv650 etc will be that much cheaper than the bigger engines

You dont see many cars driven by smaller engines - the weight of even the lightest cars is going to be near double of a bike - I think the smaller engiens would really suffer

Some of the older bikes (ZX9, early blades) can be picked up for under a grand for a complete bike - ideal if you want to do a reverse trike and use the swing arm like the MEV TR1ke
I like your Honda RC51 (VTR 1000)...prices for bikes are slightly cheaper in Italy for bikes in the 600-800cc range....

As ypou mentioned this VTR 1000 Firestorm would have a tempting price:
http://www.moto.it/moto-usate/honda/vtr-1000-f/vtr...

or this Kawasaki ZX9 R

http://www.moto.it/moto-usate/kawasaki/ninja-900-z...

Very interesting engines and thanks for the info....smile

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
Furyblade_Lee said:
Furiosi unless you need to creep under some cc laws then I don't think you will get any advantage whatsoever from a 6 or 800cc motor. Most 1000cc bike engines are light, powerful , compact ( I can lift my R1 engine, gearbox and cradle out of my car on my own , just, ..... ) and pretty much maintainance free apart from fluids and clutches ( for me anyway ) This lack of torque spoken of is usually remedied quite easily I have found by knocking it down 1 gear, flooring it and holding on tight! Interesting to see what you are up to!!!
Smaller engines do have some insurance and tax advantages and lower maintenance costs in Italy but have no idea of the costs in the UK.

With reference to my project it might, maybe, who knows come to fruition in 2015...but after some thorough research on my part...and the help of all my PH friends...Thanks ....smile

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
Artstu said:
Honda NC700X or NC750 are the most car like engines, a bit new and too expensive though, perhaps.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/mcn/bikereviews/sear...
I like that engine, but as you mentioned it's too expensive at the moment but I'm sure it's a very good engine.

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Friday 20th June 2014
quotequote all
http://www.moto.it/moto-usate/suzuki/vl-800-intrud...

Expensive but Shaft drive and voloptuos engine...cool

Compo_Simmonite

391 posts

186 months

Saturday 21st June 2014
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What about a late model Smart 450 Fortwo engine ? 700cc (early were 600cc) three cylinder turbo with electric gear selection and reverse.

rehab71

3,362 posts

189 months

Saturday 21st June 2014
quotequote all
Watch out for the gearboxes on smaller bike engines. They are generally not as strong as those on the 1000cc units which are normally used in these types of projects.

For a cracking sound, good gearing for your application, and plenty of torque the Triumph triples take some beating.

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Saturday 21st June 2014
quotequote all
[quote=rehab71

For a cracking sound, good gearing for your application, and plenty of torque the Triumph triples take some beating.
[/quote]

The sound is amazing !!!! I would say fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdqGtcBTZ9E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn1Ej6Skr7w

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Saturday 21st June 2014
quotequote all
Compo_Simmonite said:
What about a late model Smart 450 Fortwo engine ? 700cc (early were 600cc) three cylinder turbo with electric gear selection and reverse.
Very interesting idea.

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Sunday 22nd June 2014
quotequote all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfa4HBaatZo

The Yamaha Mt 09 does look like having more low end torque than the speed triple, but the two engines do have a great sound, but expensive....

fuoriserie

Original Poster:

4,560 posts

268 months

Sunday 22nd June 2014
quotequote all