General SBK Discussion Thread

[Samarth 619]

MOD EDIT: PLEASE USE THIS THREAD FOR YOUR GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Please let me know about Competition 600s (R6, ZX 6R, etc.) -- the minimum rpm that "HAS" to be kept in 5-6th gear, for staying in powerband ... means for city driving ...

I know it sounds strange ... but please inform ,,, Thanks!

[greyanaroth]

Yes, it's a great thread ... So, the lady mentioned (Urvashi Sibal) owns this black bike??

and also, please let me know about Competition 600s (R6, ZX 6R, etc.) -- the minimum rpm that "HAS" to be kept in 5-6th gear, for staying in powerband ... means for city driving ...

I know it sounds strange ... but please inform ,,, Thanks!

Check out any mcn/motorcycle.com shootouts - they mostly have pretty detailed engine reports. Also lots of torque and bhp graphs. Those should give you a good idea of when the power is kicking in. Hope this helps!

[ken cool]

nice thread !.after reading..it felt like it is literally impossible to keep a SBK in city?

Not really. But between the months of April till July, make sure you have plenty of fluid intake, and I mean really LOTS of it. You can land up with heat/sun stroke if you are riding during the hot times of the day. I nearly landed in hospital due to dehydration and heat end April this year. Riding such a bike you tend to get carried away. Take care of yourself and the bike, choose your riding timing judiciously and everything will be bliss.

Yes, it's a great thread ...

and also, please let me know about Competition 600s (R6, ZX 6R, etc.) -- the minimum rpm that "HAS" to be kept in 5-6th gear, for staying in powerband ... means for city driving ...

I know it sounds strange ... but please inform ,,, Thanks!

From my riding experience, I am not sure you can stay in powerband on high engine capacity bikes in the city on 5th or 6th anywhere in the world. That would be a death wish for sure. Coz on powerband on 5th on a 600 means you are doing way beyond 130+!

Kenda could you give some input on your experience with your older carb ( or was it injected ? ) R1.I just love that retro can and looks.And it was my fav 02 R1 colour combo too.

The older one was carb. It had a totally different feel to it. Cannot be really compared. It had nice initial acceleration which also "felt" linear. But they cannot really be compared since things have changed a LOT since. A difference of nearly 40Bhp, poorly maintained first bike... I liked it then. I will not go back to it now even in Mint condition. Unless I am a collector. But then if I am a collector, I would rather go for Italians, British, French, Danish than for Japs.

[kriss]

@ken: You have one unanswered question in other threads. Can we put it here... Its regarding the ABS on supersports bikes....

[need4torque]

Lovely thread and glad that you have taken out the time to post it again Ken da!
I have one q for you, are you really confident about the level of service you get for your sbk? Or is it DIY?

[ken cool]

Lovely thread and glad that you have taken out the time to post it again Ken da!
I have one q for you, are you really confident about the level of service you get for your sbk? Or is it DIY?

Level of service, be it Delhi Scooters or KRP, both are good and competent. But I like doing things on my own as well. You have to have the workshop manual, the key Torque figures, a Torque wrench which is pretty expensive, and basic service like oil change, oil filter change is really no big deal. I will be starting the Sbk workshop thread once again as soon as I get the pix in order.

@ken: You have one unanswered question in other threads. Can we put it here... Its regarding the ABS on supersports bikes....

Good question. You don't give up do you! I like your spirit.

See it is very simple. I have NOTHING against ABS as such. Though I have only found it to be partially effective. I tried it on the CB500 2007. It is pretty decent on wet patches in a straight line on speeds of 60 odd. But did not seem very effective on a curve. But that with time and technology will get perfected.

What I am not in favour of is the CBS. The CBS is a pretty good system and effective. You squeeze the brakes with your right hand, or your right foot, either way, there will be braking on both wheels simultaneously. You do not even have to think about it, there is 70-30% braking happening automatically no matter where you press.There is only one closed circuit happening there. Which is what brings me to the security factor.

Just in case, I know that it is pretty rare, but it happens, just in case there is a leak in your circuit and your brake fails, your entire system fails. The way it does with cars. If you do NOT have a CBS, you have two independent braking circuits, working independently. Even if you have one brake that fails, you can atleast stop the bike with the other brake. I hope you get my point. This is the reason why motorcycle rallies round the world do not allow CBS bikes to participate.

[kriss]

Good question. You don't give up do you! I like your spirit.

See it is very simple. I have NOTHING against ABS as such. Though I have only found it to be partially effective. I tried it on the CB500 2007. It is pretty decent on wet patches in a straight line on speeds of 60 odd. But did not seem very effective on a curve. But that with time and technology will get perfected.

What I am not in favour of is the CBS. The CBS is a pretty good system and effective. You squeeze the brakes with your right hand, or your right foot, either way, there will be braking on both wheels simultaneously. You do not even have to think about it, there is 70-30% braking happening automatically no matter where you press.There is only one closed circuit happening there. Which is what brings me to the security factor.

Just in case, I know that it is pretty rare, but it happens, just in case there is a leak in your circuit and your brake fails, your entire system fails. The way it does with cars. If you do NOT have a CBS, you have two independent braking circuits, working independently. Even if you have one brake that fails, you can atleast stop the bike with the other brake. I hope you get my point. This is the reason why motorcycle rallies round the world do not allow CBS bikes to participate.

Is CBS central breaking system ??

But i feel like having this ABS or CBS. Normally when ever i ride busa... if i had to brake .... i hit front brakes to stop it. But i remember a couple of times where i had my heart in my mouth. In panic situations where i had to brake suddenly... somehow i dont know... why i use rear brakes...

Dont know if its my mindset or what...?? It makes me use rear brakes instead of front. Luckily ..both times somehow i was lucky...

Either this ABS or CBS would help me a lot... for my kind riding style.

[Streetfighter]

CBS is Combined braking system; AFAIK it is a Honda thingie.

You will void the warranty on the Yam bikes if you don't get it serviced by Yam/Dealer. That is what the Mumbai Yam shop told me. I have a 40 km ride up to their showroom for my service due any time now. I'm planning to truck the damn beast there and back; don't want to ride to malad all the way from south mumbai.

Cheers,
Streetfighter

[ken cool]

CBS is Combined braking system; AFAIK it is a Honda thingie.

You will void the warranty on the Yam bikes if you don't get it serviced by Yam/Dealer. That is what the Mumbai Yam shop told me.

You are right on both counts. CBS is from Honda so far. It might change in the future. I am not comfortable with it in case it fails as I have said in my previous post. I am fine with ABS but not CBS. Also remember that with a CBS you cannot do stuff like burnouts or be ready to completely screw up your rear disc pads.

Yam bikes HAVE to be serviced at Yam to avail of warranty which is either one year or two years, depending upon the clarity of the confusion that exists between the customer and the dealer!

[Streetfighter]

You are right on both counts. CBS is from Honda so far. It might change in the future. I am not comfortable with it in case it fails as I have said in my previous post. I am fine with ABS but not CBS. Also remember that with a CBS you cannot do stuff like burnouts or be ready to completely screw up your rear disc pads.

Yam bikes HAVE to be serviced at Yam to avail of warranty which is either one year or two years, depending upon the clarity of the confusion that exists between the customer and the dealer!

Having never tried a CBS bike I'm not too inclined towards that too. A very nice safety feature but will take away some of the fun element. ABS, whilst very good for safety also takes longer to stop the bike.

The Mumbai dealer told me 2 years warranty on my MT. I didn't know there was any confusion, can you elaborate?

SF

[ken cool]

Having never tried a CBS bike I'm not too inclined towards that too. A very nice safety feature but will take away some of the fun element. ABS, whilst very good for safety also takes longer to stop the bike.

The Mumbai dealer told me 2 years warranty on my MT. I didn't know there was any confusion, can you elaborate?

The confusion being this; certain customers in certain cities initially were not aware of the duration of the warranty, 2 years or one.

From what I have experienced, ABS did not seem that it took longer to stop. On the contrary, most tests show that it stops faster. Try stopping a car with and without ABS and you will notice the difference. You have both options on some models in India.

[Streetfighter]

Trying stopping an ABS enbaled car when dry; it will take longer. Sorry I should have mentioned dry.

SF

[crazy_rahul]

KEN that was a really good write up. it was like knowing a SBK in detail.
i always want to buy a superbike, would buy one soon inshan allah. it would be my first bike, though i have ridden a superbike, i actually never thought of the points you mentioned in your write up. infact after reading it has given me the jitters and have actually made me think over my decision to buy a bike. specially the points regarding breaking in of tires and brakes..

[Streetfighter]

Nothing to discuss mate. I'm no expert and have not done any controlled testing, I haven't even driven a non ABS car for a long time now; I'm just repeating what I've heard fairly often and see recently on a TV show (discovery or something like that).

Of course you are free to PM me anytime mate. Whether to discuss this or any other topic or just general banter

SF

[ken cool]

though i have ridden a superbike, i actually never thought of the points you mentioned in your write up. infact after reading it has given me the jitters and have actually made me think over my decision to buy a bike. specially the points regarding breaking in of tires and brakes..

Anybody with some biking experience can ride a bike. But it is a different story altogether of riding with responsibility, exercising care and caution. You should not get the jitters. Just be aware of the different factors. And please go ahead and buy yourself a good "big" bike. I would be the happiest person around to see you riding a Superbike. Try and realise your dreams.