Why sport bikes are faster

But a third, experienced sports bike rider ,will leave both of them in her rear view mirror. Well, yes. Your definition of fast may differ from the next. If you mean lap times around a race track, forget it. If it is maximum speed, the Harley will disappoint you shamefully.

I remember testing the 21st-anniversary edition of the Honda Fireblade to see what road speed it will reach in 1st gear at the red line. That will land you in serious trouble. There is just no way you can ride a litre sports bike hard on the road without breaking the law. On a Harley, or any cruiser for that matter, you can. Grab a handful, and you blast forward. It is only once you reach jail-time speeds that you run out of serious pull.

If you are not too self conscious to be seen on a cruiser get a dark face shield and you are looking for a higher revving motor, the Yamaha V-Max has a liquid-cooled V-4 engine that makes hp at 9 RPM. Above that, the wind was giving me too much of a workout, but it was not nearly out of breath.

On another road trip, Harley allowed me to choose any model from their bike line-up for a two-day road trip. I chose the screen-less Dyna Wide Glide to make for cool photos, but also to see whether I will survive a one-night, mile trip, on fast country roads. Apart from the wind at high speeds, I had a blast. The mountain passes were especially fun, as you simply wind on the throttle in any gear and it moves. No needing to work your way through the transmission.

Wondering why cruisers with big engines are slower than sports bikes, is almost like asking why a 3. They are just not made to do the same thing. I've been riding motorcycles since I was in school and have traveled thousands of miles on various bikes through more than 10 countries. That being said, they're not all fast though. In fact, most Monsters sold were not of the fast variety. One might argue that the only Monster that was truly fast was the S4RS version, which used a hp cc superbike engine.

The rest of the line-up was rather tame, ranging from the 51 horsepower M to the regular M that delivered around 70hp. The Ninja might have gotten a lighter, more nimble chassis, a more flexible and friendly engine, and added versatility, but it is still budget-orientated - which is highlighted through the basic suspension.

But the bike's not fast. The cc parallel twin has proved hugely successful and popular — especially with Minitwins racers - but the best performance is when you keep it in the midrange. Top speed is mph, which to some might sound fast-ish, but in the world of modern performance bikes, it really isn't. But hey, the Ninja was never built to be a speed demon, Kawasaki makes other bikes that will take care of those with a need for speed. Harley-Davidson is arguably the most famous motorcycle brand in the world.

They're also famous for the sound their bikes make. In fact, Harley knows the sound of their bikes is one of the biggest selling points, and thus they patented the chugging "potato-potato" noise coming from their bikes. The Harley-Davidson Livewire doesn't have that famous Harley soundtrack. Because it is electric. The Livewire is Harley's attempt to build a bike for a different audience than their usual target market, but there are some things that will never change; Just like other Harleys, the Livewire is more expensive than the competition while offering less performance.

The top speed of 93 mph is just not going to cut it for a modern bike. The Duke is an impressive package - everyone should have one of these bikes in their dream garage. It has a versatile, smooth and user-friendly motor that's light and free-revving, making the Duke a fun and enjoyable bike to ride - perfect for darting up mountain roads or filtering between traffic on a city commute.

While the Duke does have a punchy single cylinder SOHC four-stroke power plant that pulls like a train, it's not exactly what we'd call fast. Quick on twisty roads, yes, but in a straight line, it will soon fall behind the rest of the pack. This bike was built to be the ultimate hooligan bike, and that's how it should be ridden - it's all about smiles per gallon.

The Suzuki SV was a no-frills, straightforward middleweight V-twin all-rounder which came in two versions, half-faired and naked, but was usually modded with extra fairings or a belly pan. It was versatile, affordable, and super easy to ride - yet it was a hoot to act like a hooligan on or even race.

But it was all down to its very capable chassis, the stock SV engine produced 72 horsepower, hardly something to write home about, which was transferred to the wheel via a 5-speed transmission. The original Suzuki Katana from the '80s is considered to be the grandfather of modern sport bikes. With its extraordinary lines and sleek design, the Suzuki Katana became a legend among motorcycle enthusiasts, and to this day it remains a popular bike with both old and young riders.

The later Katanas are nowhere near as popular as the original though. People believe they are fast because they have fairings and bear the name of a legend. The Katana is a bulky and heavy machine, and its 4-cylinder engine is not powerful enough to make it an exciting ride when it comes to outright speed.

The Brutus 2 looks big and muscular, and its battery pack is mounted to a trellis frame that gives off a certain Ducati vibe. Being electric also means tons of torque available from the very moment you twist that throttle, but the big and meaty rear tire should be capable of transferring most of that power into forwarding the momentum. While it certainly looks the part, the performance is actually a bit disappointing and doesn't live up to the hype. The Brutus 2 has a top speed of just mph.

If electric bikes are going to be the future of motorcycling, they better start performing like real bikes. The Lito Sora is one of the best electric motorcycles out there. It has an unconventional design and it's loaded with world-class features - amongst which an electric seat that can be adjusted to suit the rider's height and preferences.

Of course, fancy features like that come with a price, and the Lito Sora just happens to be one of the most luxurious electric motorcycle brands. What the Lito Sora doesn't have though is speed, which is more than a little disappointing considering the massive price tag.

The 0 to 60 acceleration of around 4 seconds and a top speed of just mph just isn't going to cut it. The CBRF looks every bit like a proper sportbike. Except it really isn't, at least not if you compare it to the race replica cc bikes from a few years ago.

The CBRF could be said to be more of a sport tourer than a sportbike. The video below is a good example of what happens when a motorcycle competes on the track with a car. However, when it comes to smaller straight sections where acceleration is dominant, we can see that the results can be very different.

Now that you have all the pieces of the puzzle, you can see that motorcycles, compared to many other cars, are actually not that fast. They do seem fast, but they are not really at the top of the food chain. I believe there are a few factors that play an important role and make motorcycles seem a lot faster than they actually are.

First, there are a lot more motorcycles out there than there are sports cars and more powerful cars in general. A motorcycle does not cost anywhere as much as a very powerful car—thus, it is more affordable, and more people can buy one. Motorcycles are also a lot quicker than cars. The fact that motorcycles accelerate a lot faster than cars creates a false impression in many people that motorcycles are really fast. Even dangerously fast. An interesting phenomenon is that you will feel like moving faster when riding a motorcycle compared to driving a car at the same speed.

And this is completely normal. While riding a motorcycle, you are exposed to all the elements. You also have a lot better visibility compared to riding in a car. You can also see the road passing by beneath your feet. Suppose you are in a car driving at the same speed. What do you feel? You are taken away from all that. All those factors that will otherwise signal to your brain that you are moving at high speeds have been severely limited and reduced for the sake of your comfort.

No longer are you exposed to everything that happens around you; thus, even high speeds will feel slow, not dangerous at all, and even boring. Hello, two-wheel enthusiasts! My name is Mike, and I am the person behind motorcyclebrave. I am ready to go for a ride at any time of the day or night. There is something about motorcycles that nothing else compares to. Here I share everything that I learn about motorcycles.

How long your motorcycle tires last is no doubt an important question. Not just that, but also how long they should be lasting is also worth looking into. Tires are easily one of the Arguably, one of the very first questions any beginner has is about what cc motorcycle they should get. There are just so many motorcycles, and many numbers are through around, making matters very Skip to content Many people consider motorcycles to be very fast, in some instances, even faster than many cars.