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I was looking at a Suzuki Boulevard S40 yesterday. It seemed like a nice bike but it had a single cylinder 652cc engine. What are the pros and cons of a single cylinder?

It's going to shake the hell out of you at highway speeds, that one piston carries a lot of inertia.

But it's a great bike to learn on. If you can find a used one probaly called a LS650 which is what they were named before the "change to imperial" I'd say go for it.

It's easy to maintain, forgiving of mistakes and powerful enough to do everything that you need.
But if you're planning on doing a lot of highway riding be prepared to feel like a martini.

That last post of Sev's brings up a question I have never resolved. A lot of people say V twins are by nature vibey, others that a 90 degree V Twin is one of the most balanced of all engine configurations, and should produce fewer vibes than most.

I can't say I have ever noticed that the V-twins I've riddden are inherently more vibey than an in-line four, say. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Sevulturus wrote:It's going to shake the hell out of you at highway speeds, that one piston carries a lot of inertia. ...... But if you're planning on doing a lot of highway riding be prepared to feel like a martini.

It depends. My 1 cylinder bike has a "sweet spot" at 45 and 55 MPH where there are no vibrations noticeable. I believe other 1-cylinder bikes have sweet spots as well.

Well, at low speeds the ls650 (c40) didn't have a shaking effect, but you could feel every little pulse that it put out.

However once you hit a certain speed (typically 60+km/h) that massive cylinder had a lot of inertia behind it, and the pegs started to get a vibe in them. At 100km/h (highway speed) the mirrors become next to useless. You can still see stuff in them, but it's tough to make out distances.

It isn't a BAD vibration, it won't make your hands go numb or anything, but it will shake you quite a bit.

All in all it's a great bike to learn on however, and I would recomend it to anyone that wants to start out on a small sized cruiser.

sv-wolf wrote:That last post of Sev's brings up a question I have never resolved. A lot of people say V twins are by nature vibey, others that a 90 degree V Twin is one of the most balanced of all engine configurations, and should produce fewer vibes than most.

I can't say I have ever noticed that the V-twins I've riddden are inherently more vibey than an in-line four, say. Maybe I've just been lucky.

You also have to consider the angle of the V engine, and the displacement of the engine. Like Sev said, a large, single piston has a lot of inertia. Two large pistons have a good amount as well.

I've yet to drive a true v-twin, though I've been on the back of my friends marauder a couple of times.

And at highway speeds there is no comparrison between the two.
Two big pistons might vibe a lot, but it's going to be less then a single because they work in opposition and at least paritally cancel each other out.

I've owned the C40. And I'm telling you that you will get a LOT of buzz at highway speeds.

DustyJacket wrote:

Sevulturus wrote:It's going to shake the hell out of you at highway speeds, that one piston carries a lot of inertia. ...... But if you're planning on doing a lot of highway riding be prepared to feel like a martini.

It depends. My 1 cylinder bike has a "sweet spot" at 45 and 55 MPH where there are no vibrations noticeable. I believe other 1-cylinder bikes have sweet spots as well.

I drove the H-D Sportster 883 and 1200. Almost no vibration at all, right up to 60mph. The low end torque was good without that stuttering grunting a 1-cylinder can give you.

I have a 650cc single in my BMW and I will say that it's not the smoothest bike out there by any means but the vibration isn't bad either. I don't mind the vibrations at all. I rode the new BMW R1200ST a boxer twin engine and it was noteably smoother than my single cylinder thumper but again I don't mind the CS much at all. I think the single is pretty forgiving as well, at least in my bike. I have made my share of mistakes and it's never got me into trouble where the torque of a twin might have.

First, let me state that I'm no expert. My bike is the only street bike I've ever riden, all other experience has been on dirt.
I just took my bigish single 500 ('83 Honda Ascott) for my first "big" (it was big to me) ride last week (came out to about 125 miles). By the end of the day I'd decided that at some point I would like to get something a little easier on my butt (when finances allow) but I would do the same trip again tomorrow if I had the chance. Mirrors don't tell you what's behind you past 50-55, they just give you a vague fealing for what's back there.
I was also a little concerned that my bike wouldn't have the power to get me over horshoe bend hill (the local high pass) at the legal 60mph. Normally I have to downshift my little pickup to make it up with enough speed. On the Honda I managed to stay up to speed/fight myself not to speed more the whole time. Driving through horseshoe bend I started asking myself when they took out the hill...
So, for me, I'm glad I got my 500 and I sure don't regret it, but I am waiting excietedly for the day a v-twin cruiser is a possibiliity.