Moderator Snakebite68 Posted June 30, 2021 Moderator Share Posted June 30, 2021 I've been commuting year round for 2.5 years now on my trusty old Thunderace and being an old bike, it requires regular and sometimes in depth maintenance. Which, because I'm riding pretty much EVERY day, it's not getting... So... I bought myself a 2018 edition (registered 2017) Suzuki DL1000A to take the strain off the Thunderace and also allow me to strip it down and do the work to it it needs. Now. I'm not used to a V-Twin so, my questions are: 1/ When you wind a V-Twin on, do they always sound like several people are hammering a piece of concrete a couple of doors away? 2/ Baring in mind the above question, how do I tell if the engine is struggling (when I'm in too high a gear)? It's easy to tell on the Ace, but I just can't tell on the V-Twin lol 3/ What should I be expecting from my gears, so far, this is all I have: Gear 1, appears to be zero to bugger all... Gear 2, appears to be bugger all to about 40ish... Gear 3, appears to be 40ish up to 70... Gear 4, appears to be a responsive cruise at 70... Gears 5 & 6, appear to be just something to do at 70 to cut down your fuel usage! Am I just doing it all wrong on an Adventure bike? Am I just too used to a sports bike? Thoughts and observations welcome! P.S. Riding a V-Strom after a Thunderace is like having to learn to ride all over again! All my corners are a bag of shit! I look like a n00b! rofl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted July 2, 2021 Moderator Share Posted July 2, 2021 You have gone from peak torque/peak revs to peak torque no revs. You need to watch the taco for a bit, revving a v twin hard will just send your fingers numb. Peak power is around 8 and peak torque around 7k rpm so in theory your sweet spot for gear changing will be around 7 to 8k. Your ears will argue with you because they are used to 20 valves and 4 pistons rattling around (figuratively they do make noise). Now you have 8 valves and 2 pistons so half the noise and exhaust note. Your head will be telling you to change at ? probably 16k. Not being sarky your waiting for the normal resonance of the ace at maybe 8 or 9k if your pushing. Dont worry about big handfuls of low rpm throttle either its where a v twin thrives, from as low as 3 k wang the throttle open and she will drive, the chunder ace would likely bog till it gets its stride. Short answer you need to turn your riding upside down, low rpm drive is the key. Your all finished and ready to have a cuppa before the ace would be getting on the cam properly. And, i have seen it first hand, those v twin suzuki's are a looooong way from slow, once you sus the riding style you will rip the commute apart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Snakebite68 Posted July 2, 2021 Author Moderator Share Posted July 2, 2021 Yeah, I'm getting used to it now. Strangely, the throttle seems to just keep turning, I've not reached the end of it yet! I suppose this is the whole 'fuel injection' thing, the Ace has carbs... I'm starting to enjoy it, but I do miss the balls out acceleration of the Ace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 Yeh " i hated my ride on a duke 990, and ducati Hypostrada, vibration,,- to much engine braking, after being on 2 stokes ,,yuk,,, Although " i rode a 650 Vstrom, and it was smooth ,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Snakebite68 Posted July 3, 2021 Author Moderator Share Posted July 3, 2021 Oh, they're definitely smooth.. I just can't identify all the little noises. I could have a big end going, and I wouldn't have a clue! lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted July 4, 2021 Moderator Share Posted July 4, 2021 On 7/2/2021 at 9:16 PM, blackhat250 said: Yeh " i hated my ride on a duke 990, and ducati Hypostrada, vibration,,- to much engine braking, after being on 2 stokes ,,yuk,,, Although " i rode a 650 Vstrom, and it was smooth ,, As a 2 stroke man john you should ride a propperly sorted vmax, crazy. Needs to be a good one though, lot more posers than do ers out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted July 5, 2021 Moderator Share Posted July 5, 2021 my tdm850 pulls from 1500 rpm, max torque at 5k and power 6.5. it'll rev up past the red line at 8k but nothing happens power wise. It also has a 270' crank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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