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slimcolo wrote:A in line four is a motorcycle with a four cyl. motor where 1) the cyls are in straight form and not a vee or boxer. 2) The crank shaft is parallel to direction of travel. (there were also in line twos like Sunbeam, and older BMW singles like the R27 are in line singles because of crankshaft placement)

Most four cyl bikes (even though all cyl are lined up) are not in line they are sideways (perpendicular, or trans-verse) mounted. (same is true with most front wheel drive cars, but same motor can be mounted either way in different cars----in line with most rear wheel drive)

Inline is only the configuration of the pistons in the engine, not the orientation of the motor in the bike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-4
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine-inline.htm

Ninja Geoff wrote:

Grey Thumper wrote:

JC Viper wrote:How about trying those Kawasaki vertical twins? What I noticed is that I-4 tend to have more power than torque and V-twins have more torque than power (or at a given RPM) and parallel twins have somewhat of a middle ground.

Yah mean like this one?



http://www.motorcycledaily.com/15july05 ... i_er6n.htm

Great idea, and a very cool looking bike, although sadly not available where I'm from.

Look at the Er-6F aka Ninja 650R. Same bike essentially, just with plastics. FWIW they're great in traffic. 0-80 in straight up acceleration it's on par with the 600's. After that the 600's top ends walk on them though. Oh well, let's see a 600 surge ahead at 2500 RPM in 2nd gear dodging a semi the way the 650R does

JC Viper wrote:Doesn't BMW sell a parallel twin in Manila? F800 I believe it is called. How about Honda, Yamaha? Don't they sell some kind of twins? I'm in he US and we get a fraction of what some other countries get.

The new F650's are twins for 08/09.

The BMW dealer said there wasn't going to be too much of a difference between the new and old 650 because the 800cc engine will be detuned to act like a 650. Some publications noted this as well so I'm guessing the guy wasn't trying too hard to get me to buy a bigger model. I want my 650 Dakar!

Thumper,

The inline 4 that you'll find on something like a 599 or FZ6 is detuned a bit from the sportbike versions. They're specifically tuned to provide more torque at lower rpms for street riding at the expense of a few horses at the top end. I've ridden both those bikes and they have excellent street manners.

If you've only ridden singles and twins, the first thing you're going to have to get used to is the lack of vibration. The I-4 is smooth as glass by comparison. You don't get nearly as much feedback from the engine vibration. It takes a bit of getting used to.

Like you, I rode singles and twins for years. The first time I rode an I-4 bike, I couldn't tell that the engine was running after I started it up

Wow! That honda is purrrty! Why don't we get any of those bikes here???

I just traded off my ZZR600, inline 4s are smooth and powerful.

I miss my rocket, but in the spring plan to pick up a ZX-14R

JC Viper wrote:

Ninja Geoff wrote:

JC Viper wrote:Doesn't BMW sell a parallel twin in Manila? F800 I believe it is called. How about Honda, Yamaha? Don't they sell some kind of twins? I'm in he US and we get a fraction of what some other countries get.

The new F650's are twins for 08/09.

The BMW dealer said there wasn't going to be too much of a difference between the new and old 650 because the 800cc engine will be detuned to act like a 650. Some publications noted this as well so I'm guessing the guy wasn't trying too hard to get me to buy a bigger model. I want my 650 Dakar!

I tried a used F800ST and didn't really like the riding position. The F650 twin felt great, except I'm not really willing to spend the dough on a new bike, especially one in its first year of production.

I think I'll go hunting around for a nice used SV650 first, and then a 4 if I can't find a good SV.

The new twin cylinder F650 is actually supposed to be quite a bit more powerful than the old thumper. The bugs should be worked out of it since it is almost the same bike as the F800s that have been going for a couple of years. You can't go wrong with an SV, but the new F650 looks to be a good machine.

I downed sized from a FJ1200, to a 650 90 degree twin.

Gas mileage went way up, new machine is lighter, and as fast, just doesnt have the top end.

Depends what you are going to do with your machine.

Dragon on Wheels wrote:Wow! That honda is purrrty! Why don't we get any of those bikes here???

Honda did bring those bikes to North America for a couple years. Nobody bought them.

Skier wrote:

Dragon on Wheels wrote:Wow! That honda is purrrty! Why don't we get any of those bikes here???

Honda did bring those bikes to North America for a couple years. Nobody bought them.

'cept one guy who bought one and rode it to Alaska....... so he can't be taken seriously

Just kidding of course.....