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Acceleration and bike size

Discussion in 'Pull up a chair and sit for a spell' started by jturuk, Jul 22, 2007.

  1. jturuk

    jturuk New Member

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    I've noticed that the bigger the engine the heavier the bike. Was just curious as to how this played out as far as bike acceleration.

    John
    jturuk, Jul 22, 2007
    #1
  3. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    well, the heaver the bike the slower it is going to be. more hp/torque is required to get the bike moving. im not sure of your question, but hope this helps.
    chucktx, Jul 22, 2007
    #2
  4. AFNurse

    AFNurse Moderator Staff Member

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    In many cases, bigger engine heavier bike...this can be true due to a couple thiings...engine must be physically larger, therefore heavier....I also feel that many times this is due to bigger frame (cruiser/tour bike).....comfort is the key. The bigger metric race bikes such as CBR, Ninja and others are some heavier, but not as big of a difference..... The key I feel is the kind of GEARING that they do for the bike. HD will be geared like the average John Deere Tractor.....lots of torque, not so much on the high end....then the sport bikes....high speed gearing, lower torque.... All of this effects acceleration.
    AFNurse, Jul 22, 2007
    #3
  5. jturuk

    jturuk New Member

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    What I was getting at was in my line of bikes for instance mine is just about the smallest crusier and weighs in at 558 lbs. The biggest cruiser that they offer is way heavier ( I think about 800 lbs) but of course has a way bigger engine, with quite a few sizes in between. I just wondered if you put every one of these bikes at a starting line and raced them all up to highway speed how it would shake out.

    John
    jturuk, Jul 22, 2007
    #4
  6. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    im just guessing here...but i believe the lighter bikewill win the drag.....to a certain point. at that point the larger engines may catch up then pass the lighter bike, as they have overcome the extra weight. the gearing is going to be different between the bikes also. the cruisers will be able to sustain the higher speeds longer than the lighter ones, and be a lot more comfortable doing it.....in nhra drags....different classes that include weight and hp. the racers try to keep the hp at the top end of the class, while keeping the weight at the lower....hope this helps a bit......
    chucktx, Jul 22, 2007
    #5
  7. mwelych

    mwelych Active Member

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    I agree w/ Chuck... By the way... Nice Avatar... Where'd you find her???:)
    mwelych, Jul 28, 2007
    #6
  8. chucktx

    chucktx Moderator Staff Member

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    mwelych, she was hangin round the ranch lookin to rodeo!!!!!:roflmao:
    chucktx, Jul 28, 2007
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  9. voodoochild

    voodoochild New Member

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    I got a pole she can swing on............:eek: :devil:
    voodoochild, Jul 28, 2007
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  10. Tomflhrci98

    Tomflhrci98 Active Member

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    The simple answer is power to weight ratio.
    Let's say the smaller engine has 70 hp, 70/558 equals o.125hp/lbs
    The bigger engine would have to have over 100 hp to match the smaller one in a drag race.

    There are a lot of other things like wheel size and gearing, but mostly you should go by power to weight for a closer guess.
    Tomflhrci98, Jul 28, 2007
    #9

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